I LOVE IT I LOVE IT I LOVE IT!!!

When I went to Doug Bruno Basketball camp in the summer before 8th grade, whenever Doug yelled "Basketball!" we all had to yell "I LOVE IT I LOVE IT I LOVE IT!" And we did. I don't know if we loved being woken up with a blow horn every morning. And maybe we didn't always love running up and down "Love It Lane" (the path from the indoor courts to the outdoor courts....you were not allowed to walk). Actually, I loved all of it. And I loved basketball too. What a great camp. 

I hadn't thought of "I love it I love it I love it" for a long time. Then, I got an order that I absolutely love. Karen's daughter's, Rachel and Hannah, are "graduating" from their preschool this year. They spent 5 good years there, and as a personalized good-bye gift, they put together a bunch of pictures showcasing why they love Prater Lane Play School. I love the idea, I love the energetic drawings, and I loved working on it. In other words, "I love it! I love it! I love it!"

Under the Influence of Art-Monet

It’s hard to tell how long it will take children to complete an art project. But this week, I just knew they would be quick We learned about Monet, and they created impressionist paintings using sponges. As usual, I had coloring pages for them to work on when they were done. But this week I also laid out a big piece of paper, and they used their extra paint to create a class mural. It was fun seeing them work together to make the finished piece, which is now hanging in the art room. Maybe Miss Jane (the head of after school programming) will move it to the wall right outside her office. I think it would brighten anyone’s work day.

Under the Influence of Art-Picasso

This week we learned about Picasso. The last time I taught a Picasso class, the students did a collage based on “The Three Musicians,” and I loved the results. This time, we did self-portraits. With Picasso’s Blue Period as inspiration, the children picked a color to use. We learned how to mix the color with black, white, and extra water to achieve different shades and appearances. I was amazed at how much some of these pictures resembled the artist. What do you think?

Art Imitates Art

Emily is a talented artist in my "Under the Influence of Art" class. When we learned about Vincent Van Gogh, each child went home with a piece inspired by "Starry Night". Emily's mom then asked me to create a Raspberry picture based on Emily's "Starry Night." So, Van Gogh's work inspired Emily's work which then inspired my work. Art Imitates Art!

Under the Influence of Art-DalíWood

This week we stayed on Surrealism and learned about Salvador Dalí. The kids used different images to play with size variations and composition. I think they had a lot of fun creating these masterpieces. : )

Under the Influence of Art-Magritte

This week was learned about Surrealism. We started by reading a book called "Dinner at Magrittes's." It's about a boy who visits his neighbors, René and Georgette Magritte the same night their friend Salvador Dalí is coming over for dinner. It's a fun book to read with the children, because there is something interesting to look at on each page. The kids had fun pointing out what was surreal (or weird) in each picture.

Then I gave them each an outline of an eye. They were to draw something surreal, that didn't "fit" into the image of an eye, with the idea that people looking at their pictures might have to figure out what they were thinking. It was a pretty complex idea that I tried to simplify for them, and I think they did a great job. They used images that are prominent in Dalí's and Magritté's work, which we saw in the book (clouds, eyes, clocks) along with their own ideas. 

What do YOU see?