Long time no see!
As you can probably tell from the time without posts, it has been a busy winter. With winter break, many snow days, and two winter colds behind me, I think it is time to get back to the work of blogging my artventures. I thought a monthly challenge might be a good idea to help keep me motivated, so this month I will be posting at least one art project or tip per grade level that I teach. I will be starting with sixth grade and working my way backwards. Hopefully this will make up for my inactive blog for the past month or two.
Closer to the beginning of this last semester my sixth graders embarked on our annual yearbook cover design competition. Each year our yearbook editor selects a theme and my sixth graders are challenged to create a cover design that incorporates the theme. This is their first and sometimes only drawing project during sixth grade, and the pressure is on, as every drawing is entered in the final competition. Students have two full weeks to complete their drawings, and the drawings are submitted to the yearbook editor for judging. In years past our editor has even taken these cover designs to her graphic design company and asked her coworkers to judge the work and select the finalists, which is very exciting for my students. Each finalist gets a ribbon, and the winner receives their yearbook for free, paid for by our PTA. I make predictions regarding which will make it into the top ten, but I never know who the winner will be and it is especially exciting project for my students.
This year’s theme was “Building the Future”, as our school is currently in the middle of a major rennovation. Students were allowed to choose from the following media: colored pencil, marker, crayon, watercolor, and one student even chose to use photoshop to create his artwork. Students were graded on neatness and control of whatever media they chose, as well as their ability to incorporate the theme in their design. I was excited to see the designs roll in, and I have to say, these are the best designs I have seen since I started teaching here three years ago. Below are photos of the finalists’ designs.
