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Welcome to the colorful world of art! Dear families, Alisonh@traversechildrenshouse.org “Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.” Pablo Picasso |
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| Alison Hoffman, Art B.A. Northern Michigan University, Art Education The Children's House experience (2007- present): Classroom Support and Substitute Summer Art Program |
Classroom Highlights
Art- Nadine’s Class 1/25/23
Students in afternoon art classes were recently introduced to the artist Charles McGee. He just recently passed away at the age of 96, but was a resident of Detroit and practiced his art there for almost 75 years. The students were shown a brief video of the artist talking about and explaining his artwork, followed by a closer observation where we discussed the lines, textures, figures and shapes we saw. For the past couple of weeks, we have been working on a project based on some of Charles McGee’s work, Focusing on black and white lines, shapes and designs that we will eventually turn into something sculptural.
Art by Charles Mcgee
Sandra’s Class - Art 1/11/23
Last week, students in afternoon art classes were introduced to the artist Charles McGee. He just recently passed away at the age of 96, but was a resident of Detroit and practiced his art there for almost 75 years. The students were shown a brief video of the artist talking about and explaining his artwork, followed by a closer observation where we discussed the lines, textures, figures and shapes we saw. This week we began a project based on some of Charles McGee’s work, Focusing on black and white lines, shapes and designs that we will eventually turn into something sculptural.
Art by Charles Mcgee
Junior High - Art 12/15/21
Currently the JH students are finishing up a 5 week unit in ceramics. They were introduced to the task of creating a “set.” This could include a set of cups, plates, bowls or really anything they could think of to create a set. The most difficult challenge for this task is to create similar objects out of clay to make them look like they match or belong together. Most students realized that they had bigger dreams than our timeframe allowed and had to simplify their projects down in order to finish on time. Tomorrow will be our final class together for this unit, where students will be focusing on putting the last strokes of glaze on their clay pieces so they are ready for a kiln firing.
Kindergarten - Art 12/01/22
For our first class together this year the students and I drew penguins together. We started with the number 8 for our penguin bodies, first in pencil and then in black crayon. We added one eye with our crayons and talked about how it looks different when something is looking to the side instead of straight on. After filling in our penguins with black, leaving the bellies and the eyes white, we added orange beaks and flipper feet. We then discussed how to make the penguin look like they were standing on ice with a blue painted sky. The students painted a line on both sides of the belly and filled in the sky above. They were a fantastic group of kids to work with for the first time and their penguins turned out fabulous!
Jamie’s Class - Art 11/9/22
In afternoon art classes we have just begun a unit on optical illusion art. Each student was given a 9x9 piece of paper and instructed to make an even 3 inch grid. They then worked with rulers and made concentric boxes inside. The next step was to use curving lines to break up each 3 inch box at least once. The last and most challenging step was adding color. We looked at several examples of colorful combinations and noticed that the most impactful designs were when a dark and a light color were used. After making their color selections, the students were told to start with one 3 inch box at a time and move across the page, alternating colors when they hit a line. It has been both a fun and challenging project!
Karin’s class - Art 10/26/22
Students in both Upper and Lower Elementary classes have been working on designing their lunchtime placemats for the year. These placemats are such a wonderful insight to each student’s personality and they take careful time and great care in the production. Some students choose to draw and paint cartoon characters, some do landscapes, others choose to depict their favorite animals and of course there are ALWAYS sports themes. Upon completion of this annual project, each classroom becomes a beautiful gallery of art each day at lunch.
Sandra’s Class - Art 10/12/22
Students in both Upper and Lower Elementary classes have been working on designing their lunchtime placemats for the year. These placemats are such a wonderful insight to each student’s personality and they take careful time and great care in the production. Some students choose to draw and paint cartoon characters, some do landscapes, others choose to depict their favorite animals and of course there are ALWAYS sports themes. Upon completion of this annual project, each classroom becomes a beautiful gallery of art each day at lunch.
Nadine’s Class - Art 9/28/22
Students in both Upper and Lower Elementary classes have been working on designing their lunchtime placemats for the year. These placemats are such a wonderful insight to each student’s personality and they take careful time and great care in the production. Some students choose to draw and paint cartoon characters, some do landscapes, others choose to depict their favorite animals and of course there are ALWAYS sports themes. Upon completion of this annual project, each classroom becomes a beautiful gallery of art each day at lunch.