SCULPTURES and COMPLEMENTARY COLORS!

The Kindergarten art students are continuing to explore the workings of the

COLOR WHEEL.

Along with their knowledge about

 Primary and Secondary Colors,

 they are also learning about

COMPLEMENTARY COLORS.

Each color on the color wheel has a COMPLEMENTARY COLOR

which is located directly across from (opposite) that color on the wheel.

These colors "say nice things" about each other and "work well together".

You can see the different combinations of

COMPLEMENTARY COLORS

 on the color wheels belows...

RED and GREEN

PURPLE and YELLOW

BLUE and ORANGE

With this color theory in mind, the students were asked to create a

PAPER SCULPTURE

(interesting to look at from ALL sides)

using strips of one color, along with a base of its Complementary Color.

They had to come up with ways to make the strips pop up off the paper when gluing them such as

 twisting, folding, rolling, crumpling or bending.

They also worked the strips

under, over, around, and through each other.

The finished sculptures were hung side by side...

to create one LARGE SCULPTURE!

WOW!

Artist: PIET MONDRIAN

The Kindergarten art students

 have been learning the names and uses of five types of

 LINES: horizontal, vertical, diagonal, zigzag, and wavy.

They have also been discovering things about the

 PRIMARY COLORS (red, blue, yellow)

 such as where they are located on the color wheel,

and how they can be mixed together to make other colors.

Piet Mondrian

(1872-1944)

was a Dutch artist

who worked exclusively with vertical and horizontal lines,

 and primary colors in his paintings.

In fact, it is said that he painted for thirty years and never made a curved line!

Of course we had to give this a try!

*Composition (Blue, Red, and Yellow), 1930, Oil on canvas

Each student

began by gluing strips of black paper both vertically and horizontally on the paper.

The ends of the strips had to go either to the edge of the paper, or stop when they reached another strip.

Overlapping their lines in this way created squares and rectangles.

These shapes were perfect for painting,

which they did using only the primary colors.

Like Mondrian, they balanced their paintings by leaving some shapes white throughout.

Artist: HANS HOFMANN

The Kindergarten students studied the artwork of German born artist

HANS HOFMANN.

(1880-1966)

This artist liked to explore colors in what he called his

"push-pull" theory 

using WARM and COOL colors.

The painted shapes in Hofmann's paintings show how

cool colors seem to recede into the background

while warm colors work their way forward in a painting.

We began our Hans Hofmann studies by painting 9x11 papers a variety of warm and cool colors.

Those papers were then cut into random size rectangles

and arranged and glued onto individual papers filling them to the edges.

Care was taken in placing warm colors and cool colors together.

Once dried, each students work of art was place side by side

on the round wall in the Kindergarten wing...

to create one large masterpiece!

WOW!

Artist: VERMEER

The Kindergarten students learned the difference between

portraits and self-portraits.

 They studied the portrait titled "Girl with a Pearl Earring" (pictured above) painted hundreds of years ago by a famous Dutch painter named Vermeer.  We looked closely at the details of the different facial features (i.e. the colors and shapes and layers that make up the eyes, nose, lips), and how the placement of such features can help to determine the mood of the piece.

Each student then began a self-portrait by drawing, and then painting the shape of their head ears and neck. Using torn paper and glue, they added a shirt. Using a mirror as a guide, they matched the color and length of their hair before finally gluing a variety of object on for their face.

 

This group display of the entire Kindergarten class can be seen in the art area of the Kindergarten wing through the month of December.

We invite you to stop by for a look and a smile!

MASKS

The second Kindergarten art project for the 2011-12 school year was for each student to design a

SYMMETRICAL MASK.

A good deal of time was spent discussing and exploring the concept of

SYMMETRY.

The students discovered that if a line were drawn down the center of their own face, whatever facial feature appeared on one half also appeared on the other.  This creates a visual sense of

BALANCE.

With this concept in mind, the students were each given a white mask template.  They painted their template a base color of their choice.

 Then, they were provided with an array of items and began working out their symmetrical design. 

Whatever items they glued to one side of their mask had to have an identical item on the other side that was:

the same shape

the same size

the same color

and

 glued in the same place on the opposite side of their mask.

Phew!

With the design complete, the last step was to add some hair.  The students experimented with ways to fold and roll long strips of colored paper to add while still keeping the concept of symmetry present. 

It was a challenge, but what FUN they all had throughout the process!

Many of the masks were on display in the Kindergarten wing through the month of October.

Artist: VINCENT VAN GOGH

Wow!

This 2011-2012 school year is really buzzing right along.

The Kindergarten artists began their year in September learning about Dutch artist

Vincent Van Gogh. 

 In particular, they studied several of his sunflower paintings and then worked together to create this larger than life group sunflower arrangement.

 

 They began by observing real sunflowers and discussing their parts, shapes and colors. Then, they drew what they had observed on large white paper.  The parts of the flowers, and the vase, were then filled in using glue and small pieces of torn construction paper.  The overall finished piece is more than 8 feet tall!  Initially, it was displayed in the Kindergarten wing, but it has now found a permanent home in the Wells Elementary School library.

We hope you'll stop by to take a look!

Artist: GRANDMA MOSES

The Kindergarten students have been busy learning about

American Artist

Anna Mary Robertson Moses

better known as

GRANDMA MOSES.

They looked specifically at her rural winter landscapes while creating one of their own in a similar style.

Here is their process...

 

The students began by painting a winter sky using watercolor.

Gluing along the torn edge, they attached a piece of white paper (for snow) to their sky.  This created a HORIZON LINE  (where the earth and the sky meet). 

Next, they began recycling colorful scrap paper from previous projects...

into interesting details by cutting and combining basic shapes...

and carefully gluing them into place.

They learned how to make objects appear

 NEAR and FAR

 by placing SMALL DETAILS up near the HORIZON LINE,

and LARGE DETAILS down near the BOTTOM EDGE.

Carefully tearing brown paper into long strips gives a natural look for tree bark.

The glue is spread on the back of each piece of torn paper...

and thoughtfully put into place.

Small evergreen trees are placed in the BACKGROUND closer to the HORIZON LINE.

PEOPLE are added. 

DETAILS such as coats, snowpants, boots, mittens, scarves and hats are included.

Some even added their own extra touches to their pictures...

making their pictures unique!

A sampling of work from each Kindergarten class will be on display in the Kindergarten wing through the month of February.

We hope you'll come by to see!