Constructive Criticisms 1

These eighth graders are at a point where they need some constructive criticisms before handing in their finished project next week. Help them out please?

Gabe's

Vincent's

Lily's

 Calvin's

 Michael's

 Carlie's

Zane's

Danny's 

Please be kind and helpful! And have a good weekend!

An Introduction to Salvador Dali

The seventh grade art classes are going to be exploring the world of Surrealism next. 

In preparation we did a little value study where students individually worked on what seemed like an abstract black and white drawing. Once we hung them up, though, we realized it made something totally unexpected... Salvador Dali!

Dali found inspiration in his dreams and created works of art that played with the viewers' mind. He was very eccentric and a little bit crazy! In fact, he carried around a live ocelot {a wild cat}and he believed that he could receive messages from aliens through his moustache like an antenna!

His most recognized work of art is The Persistence of Memory painted in 1931.

Today's Extra Credit Question of the Week was even about Dali and his moustache.
What special powers did Dali's moustache have?

7th Grade Mixed Media Silhouettes

7th graders finished their mixed media silhouettes today! Here are some of the finished projects!

Madison's

Alex's

 Sara's

Lexi's

Brittany's

Catrina's

Noah's

Tyler's

in progress look at the artwork at NCMS

A sneak peek at the almost completed 7th grade mixed media projects.

 How about the amazing large scale portraits the 8th graders are working on? Looking great so far!

Local Publicity

Another HUGE thank you to our local newspapers {online & print} that have covered yesterday's visiting artist, Matt Smith.

We appreciate your support more than you can imagine!

"Pic du Jour: Woodcarver Matt Smith in Witwer Park" {Article by Morgan Day at the North Canton Patch}

"Artist wields chain saw, impresses students"{Article by Lisa Reicosky at the Canton Repository}

Here is the video Morgan Day put together for NC Patch:

Visiting Artist: Matt Smith

Today woodcarver, Matt Smith, visited NCMS to put his talents on display. Throughout the day Smith gave demonstrations to our 6th, 7th, and 8th grade art students.

Despite the cold and wet weather, everyone enjoyed watching Smith at work. We learned that it takes 3+ chainsaws to create a single sculpture! During his visit Smith created a penguin, eagle, and fish, all of which will eventually be raffled off to the community!

More photos can be seen on our Flickr account here.

A special thanks to Morgan Day at North Canton Patch and Lisa Reicosky at the Canton Repository for coming out and supporting the NC Art Department.

    

Photos From The Classroom

It's Friday and students are working hard on mixed media silhouettes {7th Grade} and self-portraits {8th Grade.} We love Friday's in the art classroom, it means MP3 players & rock music!

Here are a few snapshots from our day!

And, just a reminder, we have visiting artist, Matt Smith, demonstrating his craft on Thursday, September 15. Wood carving!

More pictures can be found here.

Art Classroom: Artist of the Month {September}

Kehinde Wiley

Important Vocabulary: Kehinde Wiley, Portraits, Sculpture, Social & Political Issues, Contemporary Art
Name: Kehinde Wiley
Born: 1977 (Age 34)
Nationality: American
Media: Oil paintings & marble sculptures
Artwork Inspiration: His portraits are based on photographs of young men who Wiley sees on the street. He painted men from Harlem’s 125th Street, then South Central neighborhood where he was born. Dressed in street clothes, his models were asked to assume poses from the paintings of Renaissance masters.

Insightful Thoughts

Today, I gave students some time to critically think and write about the work of Swoon. Here are some of the insightful things our students wrote:

"The mood depends on the picture, like the boy looks like he's sad or waiting for someone, the couple looks very happy, and the mermaid skeleton is happy and sad because mermaids are peaceful but the skeleton is depressing, sad, and full of death."

"I like this because she makes art out of and on almost anything, and that really stood out to me."

"She inspires me to give things a new perspective and a new view of things. She take the normal way people perceive things and changes it totally."

"I like it because it is in a bad location but mixes it with good art. It stands out in a place you wouldn't expect."

"There is nothing in the work of art that I don't like because it includes so much detail that it explains everything about it for me."

"I see a macabre looking mermaid which I find eye-catching. I love the organic and technical feel of the piece."

{Swoon in the Bushes, photo by redboy}