7th Grade Chalk Pastel Close-Ups

In seventh grade art we learned about the work of Georgia O'Keeffe. O'Keeffe was an American painter who specialized in close-up paintings of nature (mostly flowers). Here are some examples of her work:

 

We discussed O'Keeffe's process of "selection, elimination, and emphasis." The students decided this meant that it is okay to eliminate some things from your composition, and select/emphasize other parts for dramatic effect. They worked on this in their own chalk pastel close-ups. Students did not need to do a flower -- they could do anything as long as it was close-up and required blending. Check them out!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7th Grade Stained Glass

This year, seventh graders made "stained glass" window panels out of black paper, transparency sheets, markers, tissue paper, and the use of X-Acto blades. We began by looking at examples of stained glass and learning the history and original purpose of the art. (A long time ago, most people were illiterate; stained glass was an excellent way to visually present information, especially bible stories.) For our project, students could choose to create an abstract or representational panel. Below you can see examples of their beautiful art.

I feel it worth mentioning that it took me about three weeks to successfully hang these artworks. I tried masking tape, packing tape, frog tape, two different brands of sticky tak, and hot glue. All of these adhesives failed to hold these art projects to our cafeteria windows. It was frustrating. A last, however, I tried 3M duct tape. The stained glass has been hanging ever since. Thank goodness.

 

 

This student chose not to use an X-Acto blade.

 

 

 

Thanks to the seventh grade, our cafeteria looks a lot better now!

First Project: Secret Messages

For our first project in middle school art this year, everyone created an abstracted "secret message." Students chose a message, idiom, or quote they thought represented themselves in a positive light. Students then wrote the message in all capitals, and using markers, filled in the spaces in and around the letters. This created a kind of flat and abstract painting. Many people didn't even realize the works of art contained words (which means our messages truly are "secret!"). Take a look!