Pow Wow Regalias Reflect Who We Are

Fourth graders have begun to work on music, stories, and artwork to share in "Celebrating how the ARTS Keep Native American Traditions Alive!" Our Pow Wow this year for 4th graders and their parents, will be held on the morning of November 2nd. 
Each 4th grader has been sent home with an assignment sheet to create and wear a regalia to reflect their personality and their heritage. Because the timing this year is so close to Halloween, we encourage students to plan and assemble their regalia well before the due date of November 1... anotherwords ASAP! Here are a few regalia photos from years past to get your creative conversations flowing:)
My regalia involves an apron, safety pins, and a raid of my dresser and the ornament bin... be creative... but most important, be personal!

Iron on... fabric paints... 

... on a dress... add items that mean something special

...or paint on an old jacket...

... or on an old t-shirt...

...or Brownie uniform... no special purchases necessary:)

Exploring the Hirshorn... Always Something Thought Provoking

I spent this past Sunday afternoon at the Hirshorn with my son, finding inspiration in the found object sculpture, the zodiac heads, and the sculpture garden on a delightful day... what a refuge and an inspiration! I highly recommend this museum to inspire conversations about art and life.

Beginning this week and running until 2014, “Belief+Doubt” will cover 6,700 square feet of surface with bold slogans that are 12 feet high, and black and white and re(a)d all over.

OPEN ART... a Time to Chill

Fourth and Fifth graders use OPEN ART from 12-1 every day as a time to finish their projects, work on the pottery wheel, try their hand at Comic Life, Kidspix, or Garage Band, or just draw or paint. Younger students are invited when they need a little more time on their art project. Everyone enjoys the freedom to create during other times of their day at school.

Sophisticated Conversations About ART

I love listening to Lafayette 5th graders explore REALISM, EXPRESSIONISM, FANTASY, AND ABSTRACT styles of art through conversation, games, drawings and writing.

A Sporty Look for the Lafayette ART Room

Many thanks to the Washington Tennis and Educational Foundation for their generous donation of 100 used tennis balls to our art room stools. The traditional stools, a new addition to the art program last spring, are now quieter and safer for our youngest and oldest students!  Check out http://www.wtef.org/index.php

New School Year Warm-Ups

Before fourth graders learn about the proportions of the human face and personal expression through a self portrait Frida-Kahlo style, we warm up those observation skills with some BLIND CONTOUR DRAWINGS.

Students in Ms. Culver's class showed incredible focus as they studied and drew their hands and then the faces of their classmates. 

Summer Creations By Your Art Teacher

After a 30 year hiatus, I spent 6 weeks this summer at Glen Echo in the pottery yurt throwing pots. It was delightfully "centering"- both calming and inspirational to be one of many ceramic artists exploring their craft in a myriad of ways.

Photos: A batch of pots waiting to be glazed and a kiln of newly glazed ware waiting to be unloaded.