Oh, what a busy year it's been!

Hello Maple Glen Families
One of my goals this year was to keep my blog updated and I did well until mid-winter!  This year is the first time I participated in Indiana's Youth Art Month.  Bev Staub, art teacher at WWES, was the coordinator for YAM this year so my services were called to the forefront!  It was a wonderful experience for the five students I entered in the event and I'll participate again.  It was also very time consuming but a good time was had by all!  Pictured are the five students honored to have work displayed at the Indiana State House.

First Grade:  Aubrey Hume-Her study of Wassily Kandinsky-lines, shapes, and color.
                    Hanna Dykema-Her study of Indiana artist Johnny Gruelle and beginning weaving
Second Grade:  Allie Wickham-Her study of George Rodrigue's "Blue Dog".  Allie won second place   over all in the elementary division!  Congratulations again to Allie!!!
Third Grade:  T.J. Smith-His study of Wayne Thiebaud
Fourth Grade:  Reagan Motsinger and her study of Batik and the techniques used to apply wax to fabric.

I am soooo proud of all of you!

Ms. Siminski

First Grade Texture Lesson

First Grade Texture Lesson

Texture in Art, Our texture owls turned out so cute!

First Grade just completed a new lesson about texture.  We had our texture hunt a several days ago and now here is our artwork.  I'd like to thank my art comrade, Katie Collier, for sharing this lesson with me.  I absolutely love it and the kids did too!  Enjoy!

Professional Development

January 3, 2012
I really enjoy professional development days, I really do.  I learn so much about things I'm interested in and often times things I'm not particularly interested in but benefit from knowing, for example:  how student fees are allocated, logging onto the district's web site to pay for your lunches, etc.  My favorite professional development days are spent with the other elementary art teachers in the district.  Today was one of those days!  My mouth actually salivates when I see some of the work of the other teachers in my district.  I love seeing the different lessons they teach and how they display their student's artwork.  Katie Collier's son actually made chandeliers from pizza rounds and paper towel and toilet tissue rolls.  She has them hanging in the hallway outside of her room.  They are great!  Katie's displays have a real whimsical touch to them.  I can't stop smiling when I see her bulletin boards.  I love the art language Bev Staub uses when she explains things to her students and to us, her art peers.  It is clear how deeply she understands the concepts she wants her students to understand.  I learn so much when I am with my art comrads.  My heart actually sings!

It's December 21st Already!!!

Hello Maple Glen Blog Friends,

We have been extremely busy here in the art room at Maple Glen and I find myself adding this post while Mrs. Buonanno's boys and girls are watching a Raggedy Ann and Andy video titled "Snowden".  First grade has been learning about Johnny Gruelle, the creator of Raggedy Ann and Andy.  These dolls have been around since 1920.  Johnny Gruelle wrote stories about them long before he and his family made the first dolls.  Did you know he was raised in Indiana and a close friend of James Whitcomb Riley's?  I would love to have been a mouse in that house!  He was also a political cartoonist for the Indianapolis Star.  His characters are great for drawing using different lines and shapes.  The children also learned how to weave using paper.  Their paper weavings allowed them to tuck Raggedy Ann and Andy into bed just like Johnny Gruelle's daughter, Marcella, used to do!

The kindergarten children created crazy lines on their paper by painting with marbles.  Yes!  Marbles!  You'll have to ask them about this experience.  We also learned a little about the dripping, drizzling, and splashing techniques used by Jackson Pollock.  We turned our marble paintings into a holiday ornament and lastly learned about Andy Warhol and his unusual use of color.  You may have recently received a very colorful picture of Satna Clause.  Andy Warhol has several wonderful renditions of our favorite elf in red!

Second grade has finished weaving in a circle.  I really believe weaving is a life skill.  I love teaching the children to weave and they love weaving!  Building on their paper weaving experience from last year they used a paper plate as their loom.  They each warped the loom and they were off weaving!!!  By weaving in a circle they just continue the "over and under" pattern.  There is no stopping at the end of their work to decide whether to start as an "over" or an "under".  It is easier and wonderfully successful!  We added tassels just for fun!

Third grade worked on their Robert Indiana project.  They used letters and numbers that were personal to them whether it be their jersey number or their birthdate, their initials or the name of a favorite relative.  I had the children work smaller this year.  In the past, coloring their paper with markers seemed like an endless exercise.  This year the project was much more managable.  They have recenlty learned about Wayne Thiebaud.  This lesson makes us all hungry right before lunch!

Fourth grade finished their self-portriats this week.  I'll hang all the self-portriats on the bulletin board so the children can find each other.  I continue to be amazed by their work.  They do an outstanding job!

Before I sign off I want to  wish everyone a wonderful holiday break.  My family and I celebrate Christmas and as of last Monday the 12th, I have a new little grandson to share Christmas with.  I am looking forward to Christmas morning when my other little grandson, who is nearly two, realizes that all those boxes under Grammy's tree actually had some pretty nice things in them!

What a great October!

Hello All!
It has been a terrific month!  I cannot believe how fast the school year is moving along!  You'll notice our sculpture, in front of the school, has some cute, little, jack-o-laterns in front of it.  Thank you Mrs. Poorman and her kindergarteners for supplying a great photo opportunity!

Kindergarten-The boys and girls have finished learning about Vincent vanGogh and the women of Gees Bend, AL.  These gals live on a very secluded island in Alabama where a ferry is their only transportation to civilization.  Living in extreme poverty, they managed to create wonderfully artistic quilts with brilliant colors and very contemporary patterns.  Their quilts have made them famous!  The children learned about the women of Gees Bend and how they saved every scrap of fabric to sew their quilts to keep their families warm.  Their quilt blocks are part of a  paper quilt currently displayed in the hallway outside the art room.

1st grade- Just finished a lesson about Wassily Kandinsky, "The Father of Modern Art".  He is called that because he was the first artist who believed that beautiful lines, shapes, and colors were all that are needed to create great artwork.  His artwork is non-objective!  They did a great job!  When I send artwork home that is more process related than product focused I will often apply a sticker to the back of the work explaining what the lesson was about.  Please check the back of their Kandinsky paper for a sticker!

We are currently learning how to weave using paper.  We'll keep our weavings to add to another project at a later date.

2nd grade-Has finished their lesson about Blue Dog by George Rodrigue.  This is one of my favorite lessons because they do such a wonderful job!  They were asked to draw Blue Dog copying the lines and shapes as they saw them.  It is always fun to see what they have Blue Dog doing or wearing in their artwork.  You know....Blue Dog doesn't have to be blue!

We are currently weaving with yarn on our handmade looms and loving it!

3rd grade-Finished their Jonathan Callicutt artwork and they look amazing!  We all loved this new lesson and I will be sure to teach it again next year.  While working on this lesson, the tenth anniversary of 911 ocurred.  This offered a great opportunity to share a little history with the children.  After all, they were born in 2001!  They know very little about the attacks.  Our Veteran's Day program in on Novemer 10th.  Their artwork will be on display for all to view! 

We are currently studying about Robert Indiana and graphin art.  He was born Robert Clark but changed his name to Robert Indiana in the 1970's.  This was a trend in some artistic circles.  His most famous piece of artwork is the LOVE image.  Did you know he could not copyrite that image because the U.S. government said he couldn't copyrite a word?  Donald Trump was able to copyrite "You're Fired!"  Just think of the royalties he has missed out on.

4th grade-Completed their batiks and they are currently hanging outside the art room.  They did a terrific job!  I hope some of you frame their work or make it inot a pillow or quilt block.  We had such a great time working on this project and the results were fascinating.  Ironing the wax out of the fabric left us with some fun surprises.  Batiking is not an exact art form.  It was an important lesson to learn.

 The kids are currently beginning a lesson about drawing the human face.  I am teaching them a formula for placing the facial features in their proper place.  Next, we will turn this generic face into a self-portrait.