PROGRESS

I am excited to post some examples of student art in progress. 3rd and 4th grade finished their unit on color, where they studied color theory including the color wheel, primary, secondary, complementary, warm, cool, and monochromatic color harmonies. We talked about why color theory is important in art and how artists choose color schemes in their artwork.

3rd grade has been spending the past couple of weeks studying the style of impressionism and the artist Claude Monet. Impressionist artists created paintings with intentional short brush strokes, to convey mood and emotion of the subject matter rather than a realistic interpretation. Monet completed 30 some versions of his Rouen Cathedral at different times of day and weather to reflect changes in appearance under different lighting conditions. After the scholars completed their unit on color, they were able to choose warm or cool colors using oil pastels in their versions of Rouen Cathedral.

Examples of Rouen Cathedral series by Monet

Examples of student work in progress

4th grade has been studying art of the Middle Ages, which is also the unit they are studying in history. We discussed highlights of the Middle Ages, including monks and monasteries and illuminated manuscripts. The scholars learned that illuminated manuscripts were highly important because they served as a means of communication for the common people since few could read or write. Illuminated manuscripts were highly decorated and detailed images that had a meaning or told a story. We studied the Book of Kells, one of the most well preserved examples of illuminated manuscripts, and have begun creating their own illuminated letters using one of their initials.

Chi Rho page from the Book of Kells

Illuminated manuscript

Student illuminated letter in progress

In 5th grade, we will be studying art of the Renaissance for most of the first semester, which also parallels their unit in history. The Renaissance was the rebirth of Greek and Roman culture and a wealth of great art was produced during this time. 5th grade has been looking at line, value, space, light, shape, and form in Renaissance art and discovering how artists used these elements to create 3D realism. They have been practicing drawing forms in their sketchbooks and are completing their sphere drawing project in the next week.