Free Art Week and Yarn Bombing!! Dec. 15 - 19

Hello!! I hope everyone had a wonderful and relaxing break - I know I did :)

The families who were here at GLOBE last year may remember how the students "yarn bombed" the school after learning how to finger-knit. Yarn bombing is a fun form of street art (or "guerrilla art") in which the artist covers areas of his or her community in yarn, usually by knitting/crocheting around objects, trees, etc. (The entrance to the Eastside trail of the Belt-line on Monroe Ave. was yarn-bombed recently, and I believe it's still there if you want to take a look!) We had discussed how public art like yarn bombing can impact communities by adding an element of fun (as well as beauty) to areas we typically overlook. Here are some pictures of the students learning to finger-knit, as well as a few areas of the school that we yarn bombed!

Since the students were so excited to learn this technique (and many of them went overboard - I apologize to the families who had to add yarn to their holiday shopping lists at the last minute!), I would like to invite you all to help me and the students yarn bomb the school again this year before Winter Break. And since the 3rd grade Free Art Friday went so well, we will also be creating free artworks in each grade to hide during the last week of school. From December 15 - 19, the school will be filled with small artworks and finger-knit creations from your children!

I do need your help, however: because the students are in the process of finishing up previous projects, we will probably not have enough class time to devote to finger-knitting. If your student would like to participate in the yarn bombing, I ask that they work on the finger-knitting at home. Thanks to many generous donations, I have lots of yarn to let the students take home if they agree to help with this project :) I will also be available after school from 3:00 - 4:30 on Thursday, Dec. 4th & Monday, Dec. 8th for students and families who want to learn and/or finger-knit together. Here is a link to a tutorial that should help you get started!

Ms. Elliott-Earby has requested that the yarn be picked up by the end of school on the 19th, so if any of you would like to help me take everything down from 1:30 - 2:25 on that day, I would really appreciate it!

Thanks so much, and please let me know if you have any questions!

Project Updates: 11/3 - 11/14

Happy Friday!

As always, the artists here at GLOBE are a busy group! Here is what we have been working on:

Kindergartners have been learning about how colors can express emotions. After drawing 4 self-portraits to convey different feelings, students colored and painted their self-portraits with colors that corresponded with the emotions they illustrated. Next week, they will will finish painting and compile their self-portraits to create a book of emotions!

1st graders began looking at the landscapes and still-lifes of Pablo Picasso and compared/contrasted them to those of Paul Cezanne. We discussed how Pablo Picasso sought to see objects in a different way and created paintings that were more abstract than those made by artists previously. The students chose one of their previous artworks to re-imagine (landscape or still-life) and began redesigning it in their sketchbooks by focusing on shapes and forms. What a transformation!

2nd graders have begun creating characters for a visual storytelling project we will be doing for the rest of the semester. Next week, each class will vote on a common theme for their stories, and we will look at ways in which artists tell stories using pictures.

3rd graders are beginning a Guerrilla Art project inspired by local artists Catlanta and Evereman, as well as The Guerrilla Girls, an internationally-renowned group of female artists who use posters, billboards, and print media to promote social change. We talked about the different functions of guerrilla art and also discussed how guerrilla artists create brands by using signature styles and easily recognizable symbols. Now the students are planning their own guerrilla art projects, focusing on visual branding and considering their purpose for creating and distributing art.

4th graders are continuing their preliminary drawings on the wooden boards that will soon become each class' mural. Slowly but surely we are getting there!

Finally, I have to give a HUGE thank-you to two wonderful fourth graders, Cole Church and Richard Kozkak, who volunteered to help me organize the studio during their lunch and recess times today. Together, we made a huge improvement! It's things like this that make me so appreciative to be a part of this community :)

More updates coming soon! Enjoy your weekend!

Project Updates: 10/20 - 10/31

Hi families!Today has been an exciting day here at GLOBE!

Not only was it character dress up day but we also celebrated our very first Free Art Friday! Third grade had previously created prints that depicted their "spirit animals," many of which were displayed during the Hispanic Heritage celebration. This week, they learned about Catlanta, a local artist who creates small cat-shaped wooden artworks to leave around Atlanta for people to find. We also discussed the Free Art Friday movement and how free art can benefit communities like Atlanta. They cut out their spirit animal prints and chose a few to hide around the school for some lucky students to find and take home!

Kindergarten began a new project last week that focuses on how artists can convey emotions. We read the book Today I Feel Silly and Other Moods that Make My Day and discussed all the feelings we experience, as well as the way we look when we are feeling those emotions. The students are now drawing 4 different self-portraits, each showing a different emotion. Next week, we will use colors in the background that relate to the emotions shown in the self-portraits.

1st grade students looked at and discussed a painting by Paul Cezanne, whose art is currently featured at the High. We talked about how Cezanne attempted to show the variety of colors that he saw in nature instead of simply trying to make his paintings look like photographs. We then created our own nature-inspired art outside using oil pastels!

2nd graders are finishing up their self-portraits and will be starting a new project in the next week or so!

4th graders were excited to see the surfaces we will be using for our murals! We spent this week deciding on the layout of each mural, working in groups to refine the imagery associated with each theme, and measuring/dividing up the mural space for each group to draw out their images.

10/6 - 10/10

Hi Families!

Here is an update on what your artists have been working on in class:

Kindergartners have been working on collages incorporating the small artworks they finished a few weeks ago ago as they explored various lines and organic vs. geometric shapes. These are looking fantastic!

1st grade finished a printmaking project in which they created multiple prints of their new symbols for "home." These turned out beautiful, and I'm so impressed with the variety of symbols!

2nd grade is continuing their self-portraits. Look at those details!

After viewing and discussing images of Alebrijes (spirit animal sculptures) found in Oaxacan folk art, 3rd graders drew their own spirit animals, focusing on the silhouettes. They drew and cut out these silhouettes on foam and have been making multiple prints of these silhouettes. They will cover their prints with patterns so they can be ready for a special surprise in a few weeks!

4th grade is continuing to plan their class murals (this is hard work, but it will pay off!). Two weeks ago, they worked on a collaborative artmaking activity, and last week they made a list of what they wanted to learn to draw in order to make the mural successful.

More updates to come soon!