How Disneyland Inspired 8th Grade Light Painting

In the summer of 2015 I camped out in my garage with my then 10 and 7 year old, an iPad and flashlights trying to figure out how we I could create a light painting design. I was just coming off of a Disneyland Vacation so I was totally inspired by the lights of the parades and totally determined to make my own magic! There were TONS of tutorials using a DSLR camera, but nothing on using personal devices. After a lot of research I discovered slow shutter cam app, which allows for long exposure photography on the iPad. Here are my practice shots from the garage using the app, flashlight and lightbomber- another light painting app. 2015.

This year my classroom was fortified with 12 iPad mini's- YAY! So, I had the slow shutter cam loaded and put light painting on the books! This year was my test year, and I learned SO much from this go around. I also surveyed the kids for their feedback. Overwhelmingly the kids wanted more time- which I totally agree with. We really only had about 1 hour of light painting when it was all said and done. From my perspective the camera on the iPads was tricky for some. I think what makes the difference is a stable tripod, proper app settings and a completely blacked out background in a addition to lots of practice and playtime. Despite all this, the kids created amazing designs!

The kids LOVED Light Painting and I can wait to revise this lesson and reteach it in the future! If Disneyland inspired this, What If Teacher Vacations were considered Professional Development?

December Charter Chat

Expressions Charter Chat: Decemeber 2016 from Jenell Novello

8th Grade Forced Perspective

This year I shifted Forced Perspective into a new unit called Trick Photography. This fast and furious unit is perfect for the fall leading into the holiday months helping restless students stay engaged. Plus, the milder temperatures are perfect for outdoor photography!
This year I had the students focus on the elements that make forced perspective work. We did a LOT of evaluating pictures from the past years. Students did a GREAT job identifying flaws and applying concepts that make forced perspective work into their photos. I am super proud of these student and their original, creative ideas!

7th Grade Soaring Perspective Success!

Right when I think I have it all figured out for the 7th grade Perspective Unit- a post on Twitter changes everything. Miriam Paternoster teacher middle school art in Italy and I follow her avidly. She posted a link from her website onto Twitter about Buildings in One Point Perspective that I instantly became obsessed with. One her post was a video tutorial for how to create the project, and I tried watching and applying the method repeatedly- posting my attempts and failures. Something just wasn't clicking for me! Then, I found a post by Alba Cordoza on Deviant Art that made everything clear to me. Her method was linear and mathematical making the process very easy and logical. I just had to share this process for others to use! Once I practiced her method I created several YouTube tutorials that I felt anyone could learn from and apply to their teaching. Anyway, long story short- my kids LOVED this project and were uber successful. I even created a digital extension for my early finishers. Next year I will refine this project by taking a day to practice watercolor techniques. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!

2016 Dia de los Muertos Exhibit

This is what the exhibit opened up with. Just amazing!

Then there were the Poets... Somebody, get me some Kleenex!

And of course, the student artwork. Such a great night!

8th grade Embroidered Sugar Skulls

This year I revised the Embroidered Sugar Skulls to maximize skill building and allow for a more relaxed timeline that would not require any homework. WOW! What a difference this made! No loaning out needles- ONCE! Transparent benchmarks that students self-monitored (big step for me!)! The result, probably the best hand embroidered skulls I have seen so far. YAY!

7th Grade Remembrance Skeletons

I love it when students get to work in groups in Expressions. I feel like art group work looks and sounds a lot different than core subject group work. All I know is that students really enjoy collaborating on their Remembrance Skeletons and they always turn out amazing!