NEW INTRODUCTIONS ARE IN ORDER

VALUE SCALES

7TH GRADE ART WHEEL - 3RD QUARTER - 2017-2018

graphite & colored pencil accents

Let me introduce you

 to probably one of the most talented 7th graders I had the pleasure of working with last year,

Itzel Huerta.

The piece above was the very first piece she created for me

 and when she turned it in I was blown out of the water.

Can you find her 3 value scales in the piece?

OMG, 

this is so not 7th grade level.

I was absolutely delighted to have her aboard.

And lucky for me she is back this year for more!

Another awesome talent was Jaden Sioson

Almost everything he created was shared with the class.

His designs were always outstanding.

And then there was Mai-ly Dinh.

What a super fun imaginative piece!

I adored it!

Feels to me like an illustration for a children's book.

And check out how she used the colored pencil in the tree area.

Fabulous texture by using circles of color.

And then there was Raiche Gutierrez with this super cool piece.

Where do these kids come up with these great design ideas????

And then to already know how to work with colored pencil.

Truly remarkable.

I am a lucky woman!!!

I HAD A FUNNY FEELING...

OIL PASTEL

7TH GRADE ART WHEEL - 2ND QUARTER - 2017-2018

that there was at least one more Oil Pastel from the 2nd Quarter Art Wheel group.

Turns out there were two.

What I especially appreciated about these two pieces were that the kids Zentangled over top 

the pastel with pencil point.

It adds so much visual texture and pattern to the art piece

which is always a great thing. 

This top one was the work of Krystal Lin.

I adore her color choices!

And the bottom one belongs to Kayla Vicencio.

Note the way Kayla applied her pastel in her foreground, 

with pointillist marks.

Fabulous!

Also Krystal is working in an Analogous Color Scheme,

and Kayla is using a Primary Color Scheme.

Bravo young ones!

ENDINGS

WATERCOLOR BLOBS

7TH GRADE ART WHEEL - 2ND QUARTER - 2017-2018

watercolor brushes, paper, & pigments

fine felt tip markers

Well,

we've come to the end of seeing the artwork from the 2nd Quarter 7th graders from last school year.

These were their Final

and there were so many exceptional ones in the bunch.

This assignment requires 3 class periods to complete.

One day to lay and flick the watercolor down in a Color Scheme they can name,

and 2 hours during Final testing to outline their found creatures,

then Zentangle them in.

These are each so very unique and whimsical.

Enjoy!

Audrey Cho

Kameryn Mitchell

Aaron Park & Kayla Hamakawa

Akarsh Suresh

Bianca Contreras & Matthew Bautista

Krystal Lin

Koa De Leon & Rachel Song

A LONE BUT POWERFUL RANGER

OIL PASTEL

7TH GRADE ART WHEEL - 2ND QUARTER - 2017-2018

oil pastels on black paper

This pastel took my breath away when it was done in the 7th grade class.

I loved everything about it from the diagonal horizon to the textural foreground.

And for me what made it so very sensory was how Koa used her colors

in the sphere then repeated them in the background.

Really sophisticated for one so young!

DOODLE OR ZENTANGLE?

LINEAR, PATTERN & TEXTURE W/ WATERCOLOR

7TH GRADE ART WHEEL - 2ND QUARTER - 2017-2018

watercolors, brushes & felt tip markers

So in my day we called it doodling.

We did it while we talked to our friends on the telephone with the cord wrapped around us, 

trying to get as far away from our parents as the cord would reach.

We did it all over our "Peachies" (note folders),

and I especially did it in all my boring classes 

along the edge of my notes in English, Math & Science.

These days it's been elevated into an art form and I see it everywhere I shop.

Books & magazines in the grocery stores, 

 coloring books for adults at the book & crafts stores,

and of course how-to books as well.

It's fun for the kids and teaches them so much about design, patterning & texture.

I like to throw in watercolor as well to give it a beautiful backdrop.

And the kids love the watercolor lesson.

We start with Kayla Vicencio.

I really like how she threw in text with the floral designs and paisleys.

These two were done by Zoe Hoksbergen & Ashlyn Wong.

Both girls used a warm Analogous color scheme.

They put in so much time and effort to craft them and draw in all the lines.

Then more time to fill in some of the shapes as well.

Fabulous work Zoe & Ashlyn!

Some of them are really subtle like Krystal Lin's above,

while others are bold and powerful like Matthew Bautistas.

Loved the color schemes that both Faith Osaji & Daniel Yorba picked (Primary).

Yet each looks so very different.

Both equally as wonderful and powerful.

We end with Salome Agbaroji.

She designed so much movement into her piece.

I almost feel that those spirals are dancing and leaping for joy under a warm Caribbean sun.

Fantastic job all of you.

I'm so proud to show you off to the whirled.

THANK YOU GLENNIS DOLCE

SHIBORI

7TH GRADE ART WHEEL - 2ND QUARTER - 2017-2018

white paper towels, Indigo vat, washed cotton squares, rubber bands, string

This project is so in vogue right now, 

even Target is selling Indigo dyed and patterned pillows, sheets, etc.

I began working with Indigo several years back 

when I took a class with Shibori Girl,

Glennis Dolce.

You can see her blog under Artists I Follow on the right column of my blog.

Her work is quite remarkable,

She usually takes a trip to Japan every year to collect fabrics and learn more techniques.

My 7th graders love this assignment because they get to turn their hands blue,

or not (I have gloves for them to wear).

Plus it's so much fun to see who does the most amount of dips

and achieves the darkest, blackest blue.

Of all the Shibori pieces done by 7th graders,

 I think this one by Kayla Vicencio is probably one of my all time favs.

I just adore the design she used and the ranges of values she achieved.

It took my breathe away the first time I saw it,

and still continues to do so.

This next one by Kayla Hamakawa is also really cool.

It almost reminds me of butterfly wings but going in opposite directions.

Krystal Lin got her piece to go in the perfect traditional tye-dye circle within a circle design,

and it almost looks like it's being kissed by the sun's rays.

Esther Lee used a more contemporary design technique

 where you pinch the cloth in a spot then start to twist into a cinnamon roll and bind.

It reminds me a bit of a spiral sea shell. 

Another favorite of mine from this group was created by Salome Agbaroji.

Isn't this just the most gorgeous example of a jelly fish floating in water?

A stunning work Salome.

And if you are wondering how some of the kids got those wonderful rusty shapes,

they had an option to wrap or clamp rusty objects I've collected for them into their cloth designs.

 This super cool piece was done by Zoe Hoksbergen.

SO MUCH CREATIVITY

GRAPHITE SPHERES

7TH GRADE ART WHEEL - 2ND QUARTER - 2017-2018

graphite on white paper, colored pencils

One of our favorite veteran teachers asked me today if I had noticed a lack of creativity 

in the kids coming up thru the ranks recently

because she has.

I told her no I hadn't, 

but what I have noticed is a lot more procrastination and lack of effort.

And I blame this on the Internet and gaming devices.

Our children are addicted,

and are admitting to me that they spend way too much time on them 

instead of limiting themselves so they can get their schoolwork done.

I believe that this is a huge problem worldwide.

But as you will see here,

there is no lack of creativity in these young ones.

We started with the most talented young 7th grader in the class,

Akarsh Suresh.

What you are seeing above is raw talent.

I hope so much he will come back to me this year so I can help him refine his technical skills.

Next we have Koa De Leon,

one of my favs of all the 120 7th graders I worked with last year.

The reason was because of her maturity and wisdom.

She was like an old soul,

very wise, attentive and intuitive.

Everytime I looked her way in her class of 31 kids,

she was the one who was the "most with me" as I spoke.

And man oh man,

did I love that!

She also has a very creative side for illustration.

Like we saw in the last post on this group,

her work could be used for a children's book. 

This next one took my breath away.

Such a powerful piece because of the dynamic movement of the sphere

and the use of color.

And what a wonderful border Hanna Estrada!

These last 3 pieces I'm totally guessing who created them

 because I can't find any paperwork on them.

So these are my best guesses.

Young ones,

send me a comment or e-mail and let me know if I'm wrong so I can make corrections.

I want to say that this one belongs to Matthew Bautista.

Love the diagonal that he used for horizon and placement of sphere.

And of course the colored pencil really helps this piece to pop!

I'm pretty sure this one belongs to Kayla Vicencio.

I love the beautifully done Zentangle border she put around her sphere.

BACK TO IT

WATERCOLOR BLOB ANIMALS

7TH GRADE ART WHEEL - 1ST QUARTER - 2017-2018

watercolor and pen & ink

I'm sure all you art students have noticed I've taken a rather long break 

from posting your pieces this summer.

This seems to happen to me every summer.

Just needed a bit of time off to decompress from the very busy school year.

But as August draws near,

I'm back to it and will try to blog everyday to finish off this past school year.

This was the 7th graders 1st Quarter Final,

these fabulous Blob Animals,

inspired by illustrator Carla Sonheim.

Each child had to pick and be able to name their color scheme before they started.

They also had to add a bit of Zentangling as well as a lot of crazy creatures.

In this eye catching piece above by Eileen Rodriguez Salehi,

she has chosen a Primary Scheme which when worked Wet over Wet,

mixes and brings out all the other colors on the Color Wheel.

The next delicate piece above was done by Emily Ahn in an Analogous Scheme.

 And Aniket Chaudhry above used a Neutral Scheme,

 putting in so much coolness to find within his drawings and Zentangling.

David Song,

using an Analogous Scheme,

 gave me all his effort and superb craftsmanship.

I love how all his separated pieces connect in his drawing.

Reya Syed based her designs on a Harry Potter theme,

and I love how she designed everything to loosely float on a diagonal.

It creates so much movement.

Both Serena Lee and Eva Matentsiann used an Analogous Scheme with their blue and purples,

yet each looks so different.

Serena's is bold and striking,

while Eva's is soft and sophisticated.

Check out her use of Pointillism as well within her drawing.

Well done young ones.

AROUND THE WHIRLED

OIL PASTEL SPHERES

7TH GRADE ART WHEEL - 1ST QUARTER - 2017-2018

oil pastels on black construction paper

It always flabbergasts me the level of sophistication that the 7th graders bring to my class.

Like in this oil pastel preliminary by Alia Cortez.

Just breathtaking!

And in this one as well by Emily Ahn.

She is using the pastels in 3 different ways all in one piece for a beautiful composition.

And check out the brilliant use of color and value in this one by Alanna Chan.

Shaniya Gentry went for a bit of extra credit

by using a pencil lead over the oil pastel to add a whole other layer of movement, texture and pattern.

A COMPLETE PACKAGE

COLLAGE BOXES, WIRE PENDANTS & STAMPED TISSUE

7TH GRADE ART WHEEL - 1ST QUARTER - 2017-2018

old jewelry boxes, tissue paper, stamp pads, rubber stamps, craft wire, pliers w/ wire cutters

Oh boy, 

we have so many beauties it was hard to stop photographing for this post.

What you are seeing are three assignments in one,

collageing the outside of a jewelry box, 

learning 7 different surface design patterns & putting at least 2 together on tissue, 

and making a wire pendant with a personal treasure.

The kids seem to love this

 because we are entering the world of 3-D and craftiness after all the drawing exercises.

I want to start with Eva Matentsian because I felt her box was really eye catching

with her keyhole design rather then just random patterning.

And this one by Serena Lee was simply gorgeous!

I adored her layering of leaf shapes on the lid.

And Alanna Chan made great use of the recycled Vans tissue.

I love how she turned the word all different ways.

Feels a bit like looking into a kaleidoscope.

We are also seeing her stamped tissue done in a Drop Stack pattern.

Emily Ahn has chosen the prettiest color scheme to work in.

And by throwing in a bit of black & white it really makes the design pop more.

And check out her softly patterned tissue as well.

Sai Samatham brought in a lovely rhinestone piece of jewelry that his mother gave him to use.

And he wrapped it so perfectly to show off all the stones.

He even flanged the bale to give it a softer look.

Shaniya Gentry had so much fun picking out all kinds of text for her lid.

And take a peek at the two keys she wire wrapped together for her pendant below.

Cool!

THE ART OF "ZEN"

LINEAR PATTERN & TEXTURE W/ WATERCOLOR

7TH GRADE ART WHEEL - 1ST QUARTER - 2017-2018

watercolor & felt tip marker

When I was in school we called these marks doodling.

Now the catchphrase is "Zentangle".

Whatever you want to refer to it as,

 the kids love it,

as well as learning how to do a watercolor wash.

I've graded hundreds of these over the years,

but I never see two exactly the same.

These kids create beauty & magic with this assignment.

The gorgeous one above was made by Reya Syed.

The students are allowed to use repetitious line, shapes, text, images,

pretty much the sky is the limit;

as long as they fill up as much negative space as possible.

Above we have Shaniya Gentry.

I really like how she turned many of her lines into shapes by filling them in.

And to pull it all together she drew the continuous trail of circles.

Next up we have Eileen Rodriguez Salehi with this gorgeous rainbow of color and design.

Just so yummy!

 Alia Cortez has brought us a much more serious and dark design 

that moves our eye diagonally across the paper.

Such cool & expressive work Alia!

These next two beauties belong to Sara Wong and Serena Lee.

Fantastic movement in value thru their watercolor backdrops.

And these two were done by Sabrina Wang and Anika Kasula.

Note the amazing craftsmanship going on in both pieces!

And one of my favorites was this playful piece by Eva Matentsian.

Just adorable!

Great job 7th graders!!