5TH Grade Artists
Greek Caryatids were the last topic of the year in 5th grade. Students looked at caryatids and we thought about if they had seen these statues in a movie. Well if you've seen Despicable Me, the scene when Gru is in the bank and the columns are being held up by people and they get smashed more and more as they go, those are caryatids! So, we just had to watch a little of Despicable Me to get some inspiration! We studied more caryatids and their poses and details. They realized that the tops of them are either very simple or very detailed which are called doric, corinthian and ionic columns. The hair had a lot of detail such as intricate braids along with the long, draping cloth that they wore. A lot of students made them as a self portrait. They dressed their caryatids in very detailed and interesting clothes and the girls had some amazing hair detail. This was a great project to end the year and students had a lot of fun with them!
PICASSO! Students studied Picasso in 2D and 3D form. First students studied Picasso's portraits along with correct facial proportions. Students drew a self portrait by looking in a mirror. Once they were drawn and colored with oil pastel, they cut them into geometric and organic shapes and glued them back together to create a Picasso like self-portrait. Next was clay. Each student planned their clay piece first. They had to use a slab and coil in their design. In many of Picasso's work the faces are split down the middle with unrealistic facial proportions. The students used Picasso's inspiration to create wacky clay faces. They broke them into sections with lots of texture, patterns, and after firing, color! This Picasso unit was a huge success for 5th grade!
5th grade conquered the difficult topic of 1-point perspective! They discussed eye level, horizon line, vanishing point, horizontal, vertical, and diagonal lines. First they learned how to make squares appear 3D. They practiced boxes and other shapes then went onto making their final shapes. They needed to have at least 10 shapes and create a balanced composition. When they were done drawing they traced their pencil lines with sharpie then started to color. They had to choose a color scheme to color the sides of their shapes. They discussed possible color schemes including primary, secondary, warm, cool, complimentary, or choosing one color and using different shades of that color. They were encouraged to color different patterns on the sides of their shapes with their color scheme. When color was complete it was onto creating the background which was collaged out of magazine pieces. The background had to match their color scheme and could be taken out of magazines, wallpaper books, and any other material they could collage together. When their collaged background was glued, it was time to cut out the shapes. This cutting took a lot of patience and concentration because they wanted to try and keep them all connected in the center at the vanishing point. Once the shapes were cut out they could place and glue them anywhere they chose to. They were very interested in 1-point perspective and found it interesting and it definitely showed with the amazing outcome of this project!
Masks from around the world were studied by 5th grade. 5th grade started out learning about masks. Their uses, what different cultures use them for, materials, and symmetry. Masks in Canada, Mexico, France, and many more were studied. They talked about uses such as protection, entertainment, and celebration. Their materials were paper, crayon, paint, and extras such as yarn, raffia, glitter, and feathers. They started by folding the paper in half, drawing a design and cutting it out. Next, drawing on one side, drew the eyes, nose, mouth and any other design they wanted. To get it exactly symmetrical, they folded it in half the other way, rubbed the back of the paper with the end of a marker to transfer the pencil to the other side. They colored with crayon until it was about 75% crayon. Next was painting over the mask with watered down black tempera paint and lightly sponging it off. This gave it a old, antique look like most of the masks that they looked at from other cultures. Last was punching holes adding yarn, raffia or both and also fun extras like glitter and feathers. These masks showed great character with ones with animal characteristics and human characteristics. The glitter details really made them pop!
Before the holiday break 5th grade helped put some holiday spirit in the hallways of Elmwood. Students started out by drawing the lights, coloring them with oil pastel and cutting them out. Students glued their "wire" to the paper then traced the lights along the wire. Before glueing the lights along the wire, they used chalk pastel. They put down the color of their light and added white to change the value of the color and create a glow. Last they glued their lights down into the glow. The students learned how to make different value by adding white (tint) and black (shade). The hallways had a fun holiday spirit thanks to the talented artists of 5th grade!
5th grade worked very hard to complete these 3D dogs for the 5th and 6th Grade Fine Arts Night. The students learned about the artist George Rodrigue and the Blue Dog Series to get inspiration for their dogs. First they sketched their dogs to figure out what position they will build their dog. They used a paper towel tube, newspaper, and tape to make the armature of their dog. Next they did 3 layers of paper mache. Finally it was time to paint their "Blue Dog." The students could paint their dog any color or pattern they wanted. When their dogs were painted they wrote a story about their dog. Their stories were so very creative and it was great to see the inspiration to their dog! These dogs turned out wonderfully and had great stories!
Falling Into...? The students learned about perspective and foreshortening. They traced their shoes and hands that were large to show that they are close. They also worked very hard on their coloring to show that things are darker when they are closer and lighter as they go further away. Their environments that they were falling into or out of became incredibly imaginative! I found out I have a lot of adventurous kiddos that would love to go sky diving!