Mixed News

There is news, fellow artists. Charm City Art Room will be ending its 2 year journey with Furman Templeton Elementary. It has been a learning experience for all of us, and we made some wonderful art and even more wonderful memories.

However, it is time for a new adventure.

Ralph Waldo Emerson once said "Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow."

As an Art Teacher, I have taught elementary school for 4 years. It is time for something new, and for growth to happen on a variety of levels. I will miss my students and my school, but I am looking forward to a new challenge and new students.

That being said, this August  I will be moving on to teach at Woodlawn Middle School, and this blog will be retired.  I hope the art on here continues to be enjoyed by anyone that googles it.

Create on, fellow artists.

Shakayla's Puppets

Speaking of puppets, check out Shakayla's amazing puppet theater.
She took a previously made painting (that she kept in her portfolio) and turned it into an interactive playground with two girls, swinging on the swing-set.

1st Grade Puppets

In the studio we've begun discussing different types of puppets we could make in the collage center. Today, we learned how to cut a slit into a drawing to create a "theater", where a puppet could move around. These first graders ran with the idea - check out what they made!



Roderick's moving car!

And Jemera's beautiful dancing girl!

Making Puppets

Now that spring is here it seems that "playing" has been on the top of our list. We've been discussing different ways to play in art, and one of those ways has been through making puppets in collage.

Here is pre-K student Maeshai making a little girl puppet:

Kindergartner Jerome exclaimed that he was going to make "the biggest puppet in the world!" This was the birth of jerome-puppet, featured below:

in progress..

And on display!


Horray for puppets!

Shapes and Stuff

1st grader Michaela tells us what shapes she used to make her design.
she got it ALMOST right :)

2nd graders are a little too distracted by building to let us know what they're working on, but we can get the gist of it.
(I love when students are in the zone!)

Geometry and Art

After introducing tessellations to our 4th graders one day, I accidentally left a box of geometric shapes out in the drawing cabinet. Little did I know that the little guys would fall in love with them! Who am I to interfere with such creative, math based art?

So I present to you, geometry and art, pk-2nd grade style.


Student used these shapes to build a variety of things: people, cities, insects. This led to a discussion about what "designs" are, and many students tried to make their own abstract design using geometric shapes that fit together.

Collage Cities

Our pk-k students did a great job of creating collage cities for a big display! They used different cutting and gluing techniques to create these cities. Many students got creative and did some research in magazines to figure out what types of cities they were making.

Great job little guys!

Amazing 4th Grade Drawings

Here are a few 4th grade artworks done at the drawing center that have blown my mind recently.

Darius's breakfast still life

Detail of his cereal bowl (I love these cheerios!)

Miniya's still life - great value on those pencils!

Alvin's pop art still life
LOVE those concentric circles!

The Evolution of 3-D work

Since the beginning of the year, kids have been able to grow with their clay techniques, having never used it in a constant sense before. We've learned so much through experimentation!

The beginnings - "Look a porcupine!"

Learning about balance - "Look it stands!"



Making things from life - "Look a bathroom! With a tub, toilet, and sink!"

Expanding our imagination - "A circus! with 6 performers on the highwire and someone on a unicycle!"

And the culmination - "An alien planet with a monster in the middle and a man hiding in a cave in the back!" There's more too, i just can't remember all of it.

Wow. Great job kids.

Writing and Literacy in Art Class

One of the best part about a TAB studio is the ease that writing and literacy can be incorporated daily into the curriculum. Above is a 2nd grader filling out an artist statement at the finishing station so that her work can go in the 2nd floor showcase. Tania is finishing up her first draft so that she can write her final draft.

A few first grade girls decide to use the spelling words they learned in their core classroom to make a book in art class. First they are writing and drawing their pages, then they will cut them out and attach them.

More 2nd graders at the Finishing Station
(students are willingly choosing to write about their art so that it can go on display)

Pre-K students organize "little peices" to create letters, numbers, and pictures

"I made the letter 'A'!"

Share Time

Another new thing we're trying this year is a student-run share time. Students sit in the "sharing circle" at the end of the day with their work that they would like to share with the class. A "talking ball" is passed around, giving the holder permission to share one or two things that they made today. Here is a group of 2nd grade super-artists waiting their turn for the talking ball.

Artist of the Month: Keith Haring

Something new we're doing this year is having a Famous Artist of the Month. For September, our artist was Keith Haring, and students discussed the way he used simple images with few details, bold strokes, and "action lines". A lot of artists even used Keith Haring as inspiration for their own art.

Dayson in 3rd Grade

Irvin in Pre-K

Hard At Work

The art studio is already up and bopping in our 2nd year of TAB! 5 weeks into the school year, and most classes have Painting, Drawing, Collage, and Clay, with fiber arts to open soon. Here are a few catch-up images (as it has taken me forever to get the ball rolling this year)

Cheeseburger necklace by Tre'Mar

Trentaz made a spiderman "man pocketbook"
(it started off just being a person, but Trentaz realized that he made him upside-down and dubbed it spiderman)

Mixed-media abstract landscape

A PORCUPINE!!

First day portraits and abstracts

The art studio is already up and bopping! 5 weeks into the school year, and most classes have Painting, Drawing, Collage, and Clay, with fiber arts to open soon. Here are a few catch-up images (as it has taken me forever to get the ball rolling this year)

1 more day!

I hope all my amazing kiddos are reading for an even more spectacular year in art!
See everybody on monday.

From,
Ms. Donegan

Furman Templeton Art Show 2009

It has been brought to my attention that I never put up art show pictures! With all the bustle of the end of the year (and grading and cleaning and planning for next year) it must have slipped my mind. Regardless, better late than never! May I present to you.. the 2009 Furman Templeton Art Show!

Great job kids!
Can't wait to do it all again next year and I hope everyone is having a great summer!

Preparing for the art show - Part 7

We're so close to the show!!

Our grand opening is next Friday, May 16th, from 2:00 - 5:00

This is a half day for students, so while school gets out at noon, thats when our day really begins - hanging, organizing, and getting things ready for the opening, which will be from 2:00 to 5:00. Cookies and Juice will be served and ALL are invited. Bright your friends, neighbors, great uncles, everyone!

In the meantime, students are finishing up their projects and writing their artist statements and our curators (MaeQuelle, Deanna, Rashaye, and Shaun) are getting things mounted and organized. Here are some more projects ready for the show..

"Divisible Colors" by Deanna in 5th Grade

"Field of Colors" by Shaun in 4th Grade

A Self Portrait by Tyson in 5th Grade

2 Sisters, Janiya and Aaliyah, proudly display their art show projects

"The Longest Dragon" by Mikai in 1st Grade

Preparing for the art show - Part 6

A sewn-together collection of Ojos De Dios by Christian in 5th grade

Interactive portrait (the fork moves so you can feed her!) by Tony in 1st grade

A Picture of our school by Mickey in 2nd grade

Awesome painting by Brandon in 2nd grade

3 different embroidered houses by Nate in 3rd grade

Preparing for the art show - Part 5

A colorful portrait by Dayshannay in 3rd grade

I can't wait to hear the story behind Dayja's painting from 3rd grade!

Robot DX by Shatan in 3rd grade
(great use of 3-D shapes!)

Digital Art called "The Paint" by Davina in 3rd grade

and a Picasso-styled portrait by Tashawn in 5th grade