Semester Final Test

There will be a semester final next week at the end of the week next week. The students have been given a practice test to help prepare them for the final. We are going to review the practice test together at the beginning of the week so that they have all of the correct answers.

This week, we are finishing up the batik project. It should be turned in with their artist statement on Monday or Tuesday, depending on if your students comes to my class on an A day or a B day.

Decembers Calendars

Hello parents! I wanted to keep you in the loop about what is going on in our classes and when your students work is due. I have put together a calendar for December for the students. We have discussed it in class and it is posted in the room as well. I have done this in the hopes that it will keep the students on task with their work and we can ALL reach our goal of successfully completing the projects!

5th and 6th Grade Calendar: C:\Documents and Settings\klw2219\Desktop\Lesson Plans 2009-2010\Batik\5th and 6th Grade Batik Calander.htm

7th and 8th Grade Calendar: C:\Documents and Settings\klw2219\Desktop\Lesson Plans 2009-2010\Batik\7th and 8th Grade Batik Calander.htm

All four grade levels are currently working on a unit called Batik. We started it this week and will be working on it for the next week and a half in class. They shouldn't have any homework for this unit, unless they fall behind. It is a fun project and something that everyone should be able to complete on time. Please remind your student to use their time wisely!

More work

We are working hard on the projects and the effort is paying off. Here are some previews for you!

ELA and Art

On Friday, Mrs. Huntsman and I teamed up and taught the seventh grade students together. We were working with the students on creating original writings based off of some paintings. We walked through process that started with observing, interpreting and then finally writing. It was a wonderful day and we both really enjoyed seeing the students walking through the process and gain confidence. We will be repeating this process again in the months to come.

Leaves, Egypt, Textiles and Hands

We have started four new projects in the art room at Whale Branch. There is a lot of activity and excitement from the kids on something new.

The fifth graders are studying chromotology in their science class so we are going to be creating two leaf projects. One of them is a clay leaf and the other is a painting, with leaves as the subject matter. We got started on the clay leaves this last week and will begin our paintings this week as the clay is fired in the kiln.

The sixth grade students are studying Egypt with Ms. Dunn in social studies. There is so much art in the Egyptian culture and so it is a wonderful connection for us to me in the art class too! The students are currently in the process of creating their name in hieroglyphics on stratchpaper. Also, we will be working with copper tooling in class to design artwork that incorporates Egyptian Gods and crowns.

The seventh graders are studying the Industrial Revolution with Ms. Rentz and part of that includes the textile industry. We will be designing our own textiles in class and making some prints. We will also be studying Kente cloth designs as the source of our designs.

The eighth graders have started a value study for a portrait of their hands. The portraits will be done as a collage. Each student was asked to create a pose of their hands that expresses something about themselves. They have come up with some really great ideas and the final products are going to be incredible.

And lastly, in our extra time, we will be creating various drawings for some Christmas cards.

It is safe to say that we have our hands busy in the art room. I am really excited about all of the work being created and will try to make sure that I capture the whole process. Here are some pictures of the clay leaves that we started last week. Both Mr. Neely and Ms. Gabbey, our band teachers, were able to lend their hands to help get this project up and running!!! Thank you very much for your time!

It's finished!

We have completed the lighthouse project. The students were working on this for a very long time and the final project was incredible! Through the help of many hands, we were able to build a lighthouse and then cover the exterior with the work of the incredibly talented students at Whale Branch Middle. This lighthouse was complete with a light on the top and stained glass windows, made from paper, on the top! There were a lot of hours poured into this project and a HUGE thank you has to go to Mr. Ed Williams from the I-Tech program for being instrumental in the completion of the lighthouse. The stained glass window pieces were done by the 8th graders (and two seventh grade students), the drawings on the black paper were done by 7th graders and the drawings on white paper are the work of 5th and 6th graders.

Here are some pictures of the final product!

The lighthouse will be on display at the USC Beaufort Campus as a part of the art show in honor of the Hunting Island Lighthouse anniversary. The show will open on Saturday, October 17th at 5:30.

Artsonia

WBMS visual arts now has an online gallery set up for each student that is in the art class. This will allow students to display their work throughout the year and give people an opportunity to purchase the artwork on various materials. All of the profits from those purchases come right back to WBMS visual arts. Please check out our site at http://www.artsonia.com/schools/school.asp?id=116854.

The most significant thing for your student though will be to have your support through your words. Please leave comments on the artwork that you like, even if it is another students, just to let them know that people out there are looking at their work!

Thank you for your support!

Welcome!

Thank you for visiting the Whale Branch Middle School Visual Arts Blog! We are excited about this school year and the exciting work that the students are going to create. We have had a great beginning to the school. Here are some pictures of our year so far in the Art room. We just finished up a project on the Hunting Island Lighthouse in celebration of it's 150th anniversary. We completed our project with a field trip to the lighthouse.