NEVER FORGOTTEN

I ran across this pix recently from last years 7th graders.  

The assignment was given to them by their English instructor

 to write to one of their teachers who made a difference in their lives,

and to thank them.

Know that I loved each one for your heartfelt notes,

and that I have them in a special place so that when I retire,

I'll put them in my book of Whitney memories.

I FORGOT HOW DELIGHTFUL THESE WERE

OIL PASTEL SPHERES

7TH GRADE ART WHEEL 2014-2015 4TH QUARTER

oil pastel on black paper

OMG,

that's right,

these are the work of 7th graders!!!!

So sophisticated for ones so young,

right???

These pieces make me crazy excited  :)

Not only have the little ones grasped the concept of light and shadow,

 but they are also shading in a color scheme they can name.

And then on top of that creating a balanced composition,

and for extra credit throwing in linear texture with lead pencil.

Like the ones above and below by Emma Yang and Megan Ly.

And then check out this one by Adele Sarmiento.

Notice the brave scale she is working to.

Notice the pointillism technique she has researched and is using like Monet.

And the quality is that of a professional.

Stunning!!!!

HAPPINESS IS...

FELTED SOAP SCRUBS

7TH GRADE ART WHEEL 2014-2015 4TH QUARTER

hot water, bar soap & dyed wool rovings

I couldn't resist capturing the smiles as these young ones were felting their soap scrubs.

By the time they were done all table tops were filled with soap suds.

And they were such sweethearts, 

they cleaned it all up!

And below center is Malia Pulido who I'm always asking for help with who made what.

I taught art to both of her parents,

Gloria and Mark,

 back in the day.

And now her daddy is our Mayor of Cerritos.

Pretty dang cool!!

SOAPY GOODNESS

FELTED SOAP SCRUBS

7TH GRADE ART WHEEL

colored wool roving, soap bars & hot water

Oh Malia,

Malia Pulido,

I need your help again!!

My husband accidently threw away some of my notes for who created these pieces.

Do you know whose are whose???

Help!

I adore the rich colors both these students worked with.

The one on the left reminds me of a watercolor with a human on it's knees;

the one on the right marbleized papers wrapped up with twine which Malia tells me 

belongs to Gabby Roxas..

And how clever to use "Starry Night" as inspiration Adele Sarmiento!

And all three of these have such great color and pizazz.

Thinking the happy face was done by Min Kim.

But it was this subtle one that really moved me by Jessica Uyan.

Makes me think of a waterfall in the forest.

Very tranquil.

7TH GRADERS ROCKING THIS ASSIGNMENT!!

LINEAR TEXTURE WITH WATERCOLOR

7TH GRADE ART WHEEL 2014-2015

watercolor and pen & ink

These are referred to as Zentangles these days,

but for my 7th graders they are really an exercise in pattern and shape,

along with learning about color theory & watercolor washes.

One of my favorites was done by Shannon Carizon.

Love that tree silhouette balanced by her moon.

And the wash is so well done with lots of atmospheric values.

This next one by Megan Ly is so well thought out and executed.

Stunning piece sweetheart!

Malia Pulido went all out in this amazing design above.

She is such a hard worker and will spend hours on her pieces.

Her design is so pleasing to the eye.

Sydney Eng came up with a super unique design,

also spending hours on all those tiny marks.

We were all so impressed with this one by Gabriela Roxas.

Her craftsmanship was impeccable!

And Emma Yang brings her sweet & bubbly personality into this last piece.

It reminds me of an illustration you might find in a beautiful children's book.

And the quote by Yoko Ono is perfect.

These young ones just amaze me with the time and effort

 they are willing to put into their assignments.

And the creativity is out of bounds!

LOOKIN' SHARP

CHARCOAL CONES

7TH GRADE ART WHEEL 2014-2015

charcoal on paper

These are so lovely,

I haven't looked at them in a while,

and I forgot how nice they were.

Let's take a look.

I believe we saw Sydney Eng's  pencil sphere recently,

 and it also had this filagree detail floating above.

Adding something special like this helps pull the piece together,

 and makes it more interesting to the eye.

In this next one by Shannon Carizon,

she has managed to pull off a very chilly landscape.

Notice the slight curve in the sky?

Almost feels like we are in a winter tunnel.

And clever Annie Lin has brought both joy and movement into her composition.

Not an easy thing to convey.

Great job girls!!!

THE BALL'S IN YOUR COURT

GRAPHITE SPHERES

7TH GRADE ART WHEEL 2014-2015 4TH QUARTER

graphite on paper w/some colored pencil 

My 4th quarter 7th graders did not disappoint with their spheres and creativity.

And these are pretty challenging;

trying to make the transitions in value seamless.

Let's take a look.

Richelle Valdez gives us a very delicate backdrop and a couple of cornerstones

which helps to anchor her sphere on such a large piece of paper.

A good solid design kiddo!

Sweet little Emma Yang gets playful by putting her sphere on top a piece of swiss cheese.

Notice how she placed her cornerstones,

in opposite corners.

Clever!

Sydney Eng gently brings in a touch of colored pencil

which pulls her design together.

I really like how Adelle Sarmiento bordered her backdrop using colored pencil for both.

Another solid piece!

And Bernette Xiao went all out with her creative design.

Wow!!!

So much to delight the eye.

Thank you sweet ones...missing you all!

SCRUBBING BUBBLES

FELTED SOAP SCRUBS

7TH GRADE ART WHEEL 2014-2015  3RD QUARTER

bar soap, very hot water & dyed wool roving

The little 7th graders love this assignment cuz they get to make a soapy mess,

and we do the felting outside the room because it gets just a little too crazy wet.  :)

I want to start with their happy faces...

and then show you the cool results.

Above we have Elliana Lee and Rachel Tanala,

and below are Adriana Endow-Smith and Jazmin Salazar.

Each is unique and lovely.

WORKING WITH COLOR

OIL PASTEL

7TH GRADE ART WHEEL 3RD QUARTER 2014-2015

oil pastels on black paper

My 3rd Quarter 7th graders outdid themselves with color choices and drawing skills 

in these oil pastels.

They only had one day to practice and then one day to make these yummy pieces.

This first one by Stacy Min was everyone's favorite.

You would never guess that it was done by one so young.

Next up we have Kayla Kim.

I thought it was very clever of her to include text in this very fun composition.

My favorite was done by Elliana Lee.

The rich colors she combined really called to me.

And I love how she brought so much range of value and interest to her sky and foreground.

Brilliant work all of you!

IT'S THE WHOLE ENCHILADA

WIRE PENDENTS W/ COLLAGED BOX & STAMPED TISSUE

7TH GRADE ART WHEEL 3RD QUARTER 2014-2015

wire, paper collage, tissue & hand carved stamps w/ ink

These pendants and boxes always turn out beautifully,

and are a popular assignment with the 7th graders.

The wire wrapping is a bit frustrating at first

 so I have them do a practice piece first around a bit of rock.

Then I have them bring in something special from home for the second try.

Jillian Sarreal wrapped this gorgeous piece of jewelry that she brought from home.

And I also really like her randomly stamped tissue design.

Vania Oguri got creative and made her own piece to wrap, 

a heart from foil.

That might be a really cool idea to have the kids do next year.

Thanks Vania for the inspiration!

And notice as well her heart stamped tissue, 

great visual flow.

BritneyWu created my favorite stamped tissue design using a mirrored design.

I teach the kids the 7 basic pattern designs:

Regular Repeat, Irregular, Drop Stack, Random, Alternating, Overlapping, and Mirroring.

We use rubber gum erasers to stamp with.

The designs have been craved by previous classes or my T.A.s.

Sadly,

I only have the 7th graders for 8 weeks or else I'd have them carve their own. 

Kayla Kim made this exquisite pendant above.

She brought in a lovely shell

 and did an impeccable job wrapping it.

And Meera Stackhouse worked in a pretty purple and gold color scheme to create her box and paper. 

I also really like her double pendant drops. 

So delicate.

IT'S GONNA BE MESSY

CHARCOAL CONES

7TH GRADE ART WHEEL 3RD QUARTER

Working with charcoal is fun and easy but it goes everywhere.

 Oftentimes when my kids leave for the day they have little smudges on their sweet faces and they don't even know it.

:)

So let's take a look see at what they've created.

This first one is the work of Carl Estrella,

a very quiet and shy young man with a bucket load of skills.

What I strive for with the kids is for each of them to find their own working style and design.

I never want their work to look alike.

So I love that I can show off Elliana Lee's super crafted piece here versus Carl's highly atmospheric work above, and then down to Chasha Montreesirikul's textual piece below.

All equally wonderful.

Hari Iyer kept surprising himself with how well all his work was turning out.

I kept asking him if he had ever had an art class before and the answer was always no.

I love when the 7th graders bring text into their works.

It gives us more of an insight into who they are,

as well as bringing visual interest into their pieces.

The one above was done by highly creative Joyce Park.

And I really enjoyed getting to know and work with gentle Kayla Kim.

I like the contrast brought into her design between her tightly crafted cone and her soft backdrop.

And we finish off with Adriana Endow-Smith.

I got the biggest kick out of working with Adriana.

In every one of her pieces she would find a way to incorporate a cat.

I thought this cat with the conical ears was adorable and very clever.

FAREWELL MY 3RD QUARTER 7TH GRADERS

GRAPHITE SPHERES

7TH GRADE ART WHEEL 3RD QUARTER 2015

graphite on paper w/ some colored pencil

Know that I've only just begun to post your work.

I'm running at least two months behind schedule right now,

so stay tuned for much more  :) 

I'm always so impressed with the design ideas these little 7th graders come up with.

And I love that they like to incorporated text into their drawings like Chasa  Montreesirikul did below.

And then Hari Iyer knocks his piece out of the park,

inspired by Van Gogh's Starry Night.

And sweet Kayla Kim gives us this gentle kitten at play while

Dafne Hernandez dares to go bold, 

below.

And Elliana Lee,

above,

 always does one of the most lovely pieces in the class.

I really like how she thought to put the little giraffe and banners across the top to visually balance her ball.

And lastly Jullian Sarreal,

who came to me with incredible drawing and shading skills,

was a pleasure to work with and to take even further in your artistic growth.