Fine Arts Frenzy 2015

I visited the final day of this year's Fine Arts Frenzy.   Kids were exploring science, math and art.   Mrs. Howard did a great job with the kids! Here are a some examples of their work. 

 

 

Fine Arts Frenzy 2014

Fine Arts Frenzy

How did we do it?

 

Chihuly Project Explained  

Our project began with students collecting water bottles at snack times each day.  I also brought in other water bottles so we’d have larger bottles to work with. 

We removed labels, caps, and later cut the bottoms off each bottle using scissors.  The bottle crushes at the bottom at first, but once a hole is made, it’s easy to cut the rest.  We saved the caps and bottoms as well.  There are other ideas for their use as well. 

Painting the Bottles

Students painted the inside of bottles with acrylic craft paints or left over interior satin paint.  Both worked well.  I emphasized using a thin layer of paint to be sure it would dry over night.  (The reason for painting the inside was to get the shiny outside that looks more like glass.)

Cutting Spirals

As bottles dried, we started cutting them from bottom to top in spirals.  The closer the cut, the longer the “spring” or “slinky” we created.   I had to remind students not to cut too narrow as the larger bottles creating a very long spiral.  Too wide yields little change in bottle shape. 

Attaching each bottle with wire

The base structure was created from a 54-inch tomato cage wrapped in chicken wire. 

I attached bottles to the base structure with lightweight wire (floral wire).  It took several hours each afternoon attaching bottles.  The kids enjoyed seeing its progress each morning and were eager to prepare more bottles if needed. 

 






Before flipping it over

The children’s art show and performance took place at our high school performing arts center.  The kids were extremely proud of all their hard work! 

On Display at the Performing Arts Center



Art in Parts

Students in grades 4 and up demonstrated their knowledge of fractions through the art of origami.  They were allowed to choose colors that would represent a fraction of the total parts in each of their designs.  They glued them onto black construction paper when they were finished with folding and assembling.  The final step was to write a math problem or math statement that was true about their art. 

Wayne Thiebaud

During Fine Arts Frenzy 2012, third grade students had the opportunity to learn about the artist WayneThiebaud.  They practiced what they had been learning about fractions by looking at his painting, Cakes, 1963 and answering math questions about the painting.  Once the students finished with our review, they were allowed to paint their own dessert art using tempera paint. 

Here are a few examples of what students chose to create. 

Fractions in Art

Fine Arts Frenzy: Math

Students learned about fractions through music, art, and dance this summer.  Here is one of the projects they worked on during art. 

Peacock Fractions



I modified this project from one that was featured on the smART class blog.

Students made the marbled paper by using shaving cream and concentrated liquid watercolor. They loved making their own paper designs.

They used cool colors for the large part of the feathers and warm colors for the circles.

They also painted their hands with washable tempera paints and made a print for the head of their peacock.   The neck was to be painted on with a brush after they finished their print. 

We used a clean spot on this sheet to draw the eye and colored it with crayons.

I provided a template for the feathers and circles since our time was limited.  Once everything was painted and cut out, students assembled their projects using glue sticks. 

We reviewed what they had been learning about fractions and practiced drawing equal parts in pencil before drawing the actual fraction circles on their feathers with Sharpie markers.

Inspired by Chihuly

Fine Arts Frenzy 2012 was a great success! 

In addition to individual projects tied to fractions, we worked on one large collaborative piece inspired by Dale Chihuly. 

Every child had a part in helping to create this work of art!  Would you believe it's made from plastic water bottles?

This piece is approximately 4.5 feet tall and used several hundred plastic bottles to complete.

Fine Arts Frenzy

Fine Arts Frenzy started out in the summer of 2011 as a collaborative effort between Adrian Schools and Boys and Girls Club of Lenawee.  Our first year involved integrating arts and science while working with students in 5^th-8^th grade as they chose a focus area in art, reader’s theater, or choir.  Our theme was space.  The kids worked hard to get ready for a culminating performance for parents and friends.

Students involved in art created props for the stage.  They also had the opportunity to create space art using spray paint.  They turned out really well.  We had them on display in the gallery the day of the performance.   I’ve included a short slideshow to highlight their work.  

 (Slideshow requires Flash Player) 

This year, Fine Arts Frenzy Does Math will take place during the first part of August.  Once again, we are collaborating with the Boys and Girls Club and will have a performance at the end of our time together.  We have two weeks to explore math through the arts!  Participating students grades 3-8 will be involved in learning math through the arts (visual, music, and dance).  One focus will be fractions, so I’ve been busy looking for and putting together art that involves practice with fractions.  I hope to post examples later.