Check out the beautiful window at Mangia, Mangia restaurant. It was painted by 5 St. Helen junior high students. They certainly captured the feeling of the holidays.

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

We are getting ready for the holidays. All of the students are taking a few moments in art class to make snowflakes to decorate for the annual Christmas dinner, which is going to take place on Dec. 18th.

Mini Matisse

After watching "Droppimg in on Matisse", students in Kindergarten and First grades have been making their own paper cuts in the style of Henri Matisse. The movie told about Henri Matisse, the Fauve painter. Students learned about his life and his artwork, especially his paper cuts. Each student then created their own Matisse-style artwork.

The junior high students are learning to really look closely at what they are drawing. We focused on the figure and then created these graphic silhouettes.

We have had a great start to the school year. Everyone is excited to get going and make art. After going through all the rules and procedures of the art room we did some exercises to train our eyes to really see, like an artist sees. Pictured is our eighth grade class doing some blind contour drawings. Some interesting drawings came about from doing this. We will be concentrating on improving our drawing skills for the first part of this quarter.

WELCOME BACK!!!
I am very excited for this year. It is wonderful to have a room to get ready. I have ordered some new materials and have spent my summer working on new lessons in sculpture, 3-D design and drawing, so get ready for an incredible year.

Congratulations Class of 2009

The eight graders have finished their final project. They painted a shoe in the style of the artist that they did their research paper on. I must say, that their were quite a few very creative shoes, but I think that the Andy Goldsworthy shoe, that was covered in moss and rocks, takes the top honor of craziest shoe.

Congratulations to the class of 2009. It has been an honor and a pleasure to have taught you and watch you create over the years. You are all AWESOME!!! I will miss you.

1st Place!!!!!

Congratulations to Amanda O. for winning first place in pastel drawing at the Regina Art Show. Her artwork titled, "O'Pear" is done in chalk pastel. We are so proud of you.

Students in 2nd and 3rd grades have started making relief prints. They are turning out beautifully.

This 3rd grader is busy making geometric designs for printing. Each student learned about a variety of geometric shapes, overlapping, and the importance of the background.

Delectable Designs

"Cakes" by Wayne Thiebaud, 1963

2nd grade just finished their "Cake Paintings" and they look delicious. We studied the art work of painter Wayne Thiebaud, looking closely at his paintings of cakes. Each student drew out their cake. They then painted them using tempra paint. Each student learned to mix paint to expand their basic palette of blue, red, green and yellow.

The students here at St. Helen's have been very busy making ceramic hearts to sell next week. The proceeds from the sale will go to help Alyssa Marie. Alyssa is a 10 year old girl with a rare skeletal disease. Her family is in need of help to get her the medical treatment that she desperately needs. The students were happy to help and I am so proud of them for their kindness and generosity.

Kindergarten Creations

This past Sunday we had the paper bowls that the kindergarten class made displayed at our open house. They looked awesome!!! I had many, many people comment on how wonderful they looked. Each kindergarten student took their time and made a beautiful work of art. I am so proud of all of them.

What Are They Doing???

Our 5th graders have a new found appreciation for Michaelangelo, since we have studied his most famous fresco painting on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. After looking at slides, each student is getting a feel for what it would be like to paint on a ceiling. We taped paper on the underside of the art tables and students tried to create their own frescos laying on the carpet squares on the floor.

These 8th graders are really "handy"

Eighth graders have just finished their sculptures based on the work of artist George Segal. Please stop by during the Open House on February 1st to see them displayed. They did a wonderful job.

A New Start

Welcome back, I hope that everyone enjoyed their time off. We are back in the swing of things here in the art room. Every class is starting new projects and I will be sharing them with you over the next couple of weeks.

I posted a short You Tube video. This video is part of a documentary that the 6th grade is watching titled "Rivers and Tides". It is about the Scottish artist Andy Goldsworthy. He is one of my favorites. He works outside using only what he finds in nature to create his art. Take a look, I think you will like it.