Adventures in Art

Spring Art Show; part 2

2010-05-22T19:35:00.004-04:00

More pictures from my schools first art show.........

Spring Art Show

2010-05-22T19:27:00.004-04:00

In April I held the first art show at my show. These are some of the pictures I took that day. The students (and aides) enjoyed seeing their art displayed and honored.

I am so proud of what they have been able to accomplish through-out the past year in art.

A new Adaptive Easel!

2010-05-22T17:18:00.003-04:00

A few weeks ago this easel arrived in my room. At my school we have a carpenter that makes adaptive equipment for all the students. His Name is Ron and he is amazing, the school is so lucky to have him.

As my students get older their wheelchairs have more difficulty fitting under the tables in the art room. I really wanted to get some type easel so my students could get right up to their work. Since traditional easels are not accessible I needed something a bit different. After meeting with Ron a couple of times he constructed this over spring break.

This easel has really made a difference in my classroom. Students of many shapes and sizes can use this easel to experience art. This works especially good for my students with a limited range of motion.

Color Field Painting

2010-05-12T18:52:00.000-04:00

Color Field Painting

In this Project we looked at the work of two abstract artists: Morris Louis and Helen Frankenthaler. Both were a part of the color field painting movement of the 1960’s and 70’s. These artists used many different tools in place of brushes to paint with. They would use raw canvas and liquefied paint to create large abstract works.

In our small painting we used runny tempera paint on muslin. We used three strange tools to apply the paint: a sponge to apply the yellow, an eyedropper to apply the red and a spray bottle to apply the blue. As we worked the colors over lapped on our fabric and create new colors such as orange, green and purple.

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

2010-04-26T21:05:00.004-04:00

I have always loved the book Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and thought this would make a great interdisciplinary lesson to do at my school. I teamed up with one of the really great teachers at my school and started this month long project. She read the book in class and did other lessons that focused on the things that happened in the book and food in general.

I introduced the students to the Pop artist Claus Oldenburg and his giant food sculptures. The students started to get really excited when I told them we would be making our own art based on the book and Oldenburg. For the food sculptures we would make as a class I had pre-made all the armatures out of cardboard and newspaper. We then worked together to cover the bases with strips of newspaper and paper mache paste. This took many days and was very messy, but the students loved to smooth the paper on to the forms. (I swore I would never do paper mache again, but that only lasted three weeks before I was cat it again.) After the food dried we painted each piece to look like real food. We even used colored paper to represent lettuce and cheese on our burger.

In class the students also watched the Movie version of the book and read the sequel, Pickles to Pittsburgh.

I can't wait to display this at the school wide art show this Friday.

Creating Digital art online

2010-02-25T19:04:00.003-05:00

I try to Incorporate the computer when I'm working with students one on one. I found this website a few weeks ago. My student are able to create a really interesting art work by using a switch to access the computer. It adds another option to my students who love the computer and hate getting messy.

Adaptive Scissors

2010-02-23T16:40:00.002-05:00

Many of my student have a hard time using scissors (even ones manufactured for students with disabilities) and holding the the paper at the same time. My school's OT department came up with this wood base to mount the scissors on, so that the students just press the top of the loop while they (or the aide) move the paper along.

Adapting A stamp

2010-02-23T16:33:00.002-05:00

Stamps are most often flat and small, and hard for student with special needs to use. Here I have adapted a sponge shape stamp so my student can better use it. The sponge is glued to a piece of cardboard, but next time I would use wood so it would last longer. Then I glued and old prescription pill bottle to the other side of the cardboard. This becomes a handle they can use, making stamping more accesible.

This is how "A" paints

2010-02-21T21:05:00.003-05:00

"A" likes art on his terms. I tried to get him to use a brush but he would alway turn it around and tap the handle on the paper. So thinking quickly one day I cut up some sponge into small rectangle that fit into the wells of the liquid watercolor tray. Right away he picked them out of the tray. He dropped them onto his paper making marks. He also squeezed them releasing the paint while moving his hand over top of the paper. I have to stay out of his line of sight while he works or he will just want to play with the sponges. I'm glad I found a way for "A" to paint because he aways has the biggest smile on his face when he enters the art room.

Getting "D" to paint

2010-02-15T19:43:00.003-05:00

Every inch he moves the paint brush on his own is a small victory. We have been working together all school year and "D" has come a long way. He doesn't like to lower his arms so I extended the handle of his tools with a dowel rod.

New Artwork up

2010-01-26T21:18:00.001-05:00

Finally got around to hanging new work. I love a burst of color in the dead of winter.

"G" Working with Chalk

2010-01-25T21:16:00.000-05:00

Ani Hoover inspired art work

2010-01-23T12:19:00.004-05:00

My Students traveled to UB North in May to see the Ani Hoover exhibit. The six panels were 30 feet tall and everyone was amazed at how they seemed to go on forever. The paintings were bright and very colorful. Many students picked out a favorite piece based on color. We learned that Hoover uses stencils with spray paint and ink. Also, we learned that her color choices are based on simple life events.

When we returned to the school we started our own circle painting. Each class chose a season to base the colors in their painting. The students then filled the 9 foot long paper witih bright circular stamps of color. They also used stencils and liquid tempera paint in spray bottles to make more circles. The paint dripped down the paper just like in Ani Hoover's work.

if you don't know Hoover's work check her out here: http://www.anihoover.com/

Student learning to use her head painter

2010-01-23T12:12:00.002-05:00

This is one of my students who just loves art but has very limited mobility. The OT and I constructed this head gear so she could paint with her head movement. Its a bit heavy but it works and she loves it.

Texture Tiles

2009-12-30T14:07:00.002-05:00

This was a project that was a part of my Texture Unit at the beginning of the Year. Students pressed air dry clay into a plastic lid (from a food container) Then they picked many different objects to press into the clay and leave a mark, creating lots of textures. The tiles were left to dry and in the next class the students painted them. I had them pick two colors only and split the tile down the center and paint each half so they didn't end up with a muddy color.

Printmaking

2009-12-30T13:57:00.003-05:00

These are part of a printmaking unit that I did with my students from room 30. Student glued cardboard shapes on to a large square of cardboard. Then they rolled it with ink and pressed it onto their paper. Next they inked with a darker color on the cardboard and off set it a bit when they placed it over top of their first print.

2009-01-19T18:05:00.003-05:00

To make this large abstract painting I made long brushes with a dowel rod and yarn. I then placed the paper and paint on the floor. From their chairs the students moved the "brushes" around the paper.

Working with a student

2009-01-19T17:54:00.002-05:00

Here I am working with one of my students. She has made a lot of progress over the year. She finally feels comfortable with me and we paint together almost every class. Although she only paints for about 10 minutes at a time she feels proud to have a canvas all her own.

2009-01-19T17:37:00.001-05:00

The paintings seen above were created with two essentials in my room; liquid watercolors and dippty dye paper. The watercolors are so useful, if you don’t already have some put them on the list for next year. The paper absorbs paint like fabric and doesn’t break down.

The students used medicine droppers to apply paint to the paper. It spread out and soaked in. They then stamped circles on their paper with half of a paper towel roll. I added a handle on the other end of the cardboard tube so the student could hold on to it.

Mono Prints

2009-01-19T17:18:00.004-05:00

I have done monotype printing in a few of my classes. They always turn out very unique. These were done by pressing bubble wrap and the ribs of corrugated cardboard into the spread ink. In the second layer of color the students scraped waves in the ink with a piece of chipboard.

What do you do with powdered Tempera?

2009-01-01T21:28:00.002-05:00

These really simple works were done by wetting black paper, laying it on the floor and then sprinkling the powder paint onto the paper. After the paper dries spray with fixative. Any one can do this project.

Choices

2008-12-10T21:33:00.003-05:00

Many of my students have a limited comprehensive level but I want them to be as involved as possible in creating their own artwork. This is where these colored crayon cutouts have become endlessly handy. For my students its best to give them a choice between two different colors and have them pick one. You need to learn how each student makes a choice if they are unable to speak. Some students grab the card they want; others turn their head or eyes towards the desired color. And I also have others who will smile when the right color is presented.

These are the simplest things in the world but I use them on a daily basis.

2008-12-03T14:14:00.002-05:00

The color field painter Morris Louis inspired this project. I saw a great show of his work last year in D.C. He stuff is so subtle and beautiful; I could stare at it all day.

In my student’s version I taped down normal white paper to larger pieces of cardboard. Large drops of liquid watercolor were then added to the paper. The students raised the cardboard on one side till the paint ran over to the opposite side and then repeated this till the paint was absorbed. The students worked with one color at a time. What I love about these paintings is that each one turned out so different.

2008-12-02T21:44:00.002-05:00

Another one from today. This is a painting by N. It might not look like much, but since I started there N. has been a real struggle to work with. But today was a break through. We did this Jackson Pollock type painting with liquid tempera and the medicine droppers. He squeezed and moved them around the paper with a little guidance from me.

It was a good day. When you work in a place like I do you appreciate small miracles.

2008-12-02T21:14:00.001-05:00

This was today’s project in most challenging class. It is a fabric collage. I ripped tons of strips of fabric from donated damaged shirts. I then mixed up a paste of Elmer’s glue and water. You could also use a fabric stiffener but this is less toxic. I put the mixture in bowls for each student. The students then dipped the strips into the mixture. At this point I received two different reactions from the children, some loved to touch the glue and got it everywhere. Others refused to touch it and used a spoon to arrange their strips on the cardboard.

The end result was a beautiful abstract textured panel.

In most of my lessons I try to have a sensory experience for my students. This was a great lesson because it has several. The fabric strips had different textures. The glue was different to touch then other liquids they have access to. And finally the end product is really interesting to run your fingers over.

2008-12-01T13:45:00.002-05:00

This is one of the first projects I did with one of my lower functioning classes. I almost always work abstract. This I find prevents the aids from taking too much control to make it "look like something." This class of students is all in wheel chairs so I set their paper on the floor. For this painting I thinned down tempera paint so it was a bit thicker than water. They then used large baby medicine droppers (that I got from a friend who works at the Pharmacy) To suck up paint and then drop it on to the piece of paper. The paint spread out in big round dots when it hit the paper. Many students where able to squeeze the dropper with little assistance, and most students needed help moving their arm so they could get paint all over the paper.

Adventures in Art

2008-11-30T10:51:00.001-05:00

In the beginning....

I just graduated college in May 08 with a degree in Art Education. By mid-summer I accepted my first art-teaching job. I was going to be teaching art to students with special needs at a specialized school. I had no idea what to expect on a daily basis but I jumped right in. Here is a snap shoot of what I walk into each day. In every room there are as many adults as there are students. Sometimes this is good, most times it’s a hindrance. Most of my students do not communicate through traditional channels and if they do the langue is very limited. The majority has some form of physical disability. Many cannot hold crayons or brushes in the usual way. Their hands may not grip or their arms could be folded up and stiff. I also have some students with severe behavior problems. Although I strive for independence almost all of my students work hand over hand with and aid.

Since the beginning I have turned to the Internet for ideas and help. I have found that it was a poor resource for my population of students. I became frustrated with the lack of information out there that I decided to start this blog. To reach other art teachers like me, to share ideas and learn from one another. I will be sharing my project ideas and tools I use in the classroom and I hope you will share yours.