November Charter Chat

Expressions Charter Chat: November 2016 from Jenell Novello

8th Grade Plaster Sugar Skull Awesomeness

Color, Color, Color! That was one element I did not want the kids to leave out and man, they took it to an extreme and I LOVE IT! It took us two days to plaster 87 student faces and that was a really smooth process. I think it was their willingness and enthusiasm of the plaster process that fed into the designing of the masks.
This year I had students pencil sketch their designs onto the plaster first and then paint the base color. They could paint over the designs and the pencil would still show through. While their paint was flash drying outside I have them work with hand control manipulating puffy paint on skull worksheets. By the time they mastered the puffy paint their base paint was dry enough for them to begin design. Other materials that added to the vibrancy included fabric markers, yarn, jewels, sequins and tissue paper. I am SO EXCITED to have these on display this year!

7th Grade Printmaking!

I LOVE PRINTMAKING! This art form is so appealing to students of all ages for many reasons. First, there are many options for print creation. One can use an existing image or create their own. Second, the process of creating the stamp is very tactile and engaging. Tools and materials range from potatoes, foam, lino or wood. The print outcome depends on how one manipulates the tools. Very engaging with an element of added suspense when it's time to stamp!

I scaffolded the printmaking process with the foam technique. I started off the class by showing this video to introduce the process. I selected a skull line design image that was very interesting and demo'd how to imprint the image onto foam. Once done, I demo'd how to use the brayers and stamp on paper. The students were UBER excited to get started!

Then it was time for Lino Blocks! We used both sides of the block to carve. Side 1 was of a skull image I provided and side 2 was a skull image of their choice. I also had the students create texture in the background on both sides of the block. Since the objective for these stamps is to create cards for Monster Mail, students were really invested on the quality of their work and made many revisions after reflecting and practicing printing their stamps on these worksheets.

I have to say the I am SUPER impressed with all of their stamped images! On Monday we will talk about the elements of design pertaining to paper layering and card creation. By the end of the day we should have over 250 AWESOME Monster Mail Cards for Leadership to sell! Stay Tuned!

8th Grade Van Gogh Sugar Skull Portraits Are Amazing!!!

I just LOVE this oil pastel image overlay project! Every year the students seem to kick it up a notch and it really shows in these examples. So much emphasis and movement was created within each portrait and I just have to share!

7th Grade Mexican Paper Cutting

The 7th grade dove right into the Dia de los Muertos unit by honing their Xacto Knife skills to cut out Papel Picados. This was NO EASY TASK! Most of the students had never handled an Xacto knife before so there was a lot of frustration at first. I am so very proud at how hard they worked to overcome challenges to create these amazing banners!

If you are considering introducing this project into your classroom I have some tips. The key to success is having sharp blades! I took the time to test and replace over 40 blades before we started. It would be SO NICE to have cutting mats as well but if you don't have those using newspaper or a magazine will do. Then, practice! First, build up to the tissue cutting by printing out a practice cutting page. The ruler technique helps to reinforce rotating the pattern to make cuts keeping the hand at a steady position to avoid fatigue. Then build skills slowly with a practice pattern with tissue. Finally, let students choose their favorite pattern from this book for the final project. With practice we spent a total of 5 45 minute period which ended up being plenty of time. I had early finishers create tissue flowers!

8th Grade Ceiling Tile Murals

The 8th grade have completed 12 Collaborative Op Art Ceiling Tiles as their Mastery Project. This was NO EASY TASK. Students needed to dig deep in order to communicate, problem solve, and collaborate with table top members from all 3 classes. The students worked through the process with perseverance and finished strong. The ceiling tiles look amazing and have been installed in the classroom. Stop by and check them out!