Sarah Walton Art Teacher

Kindergarten Art Club (in process)

2010-02-14T11:54:00.001-07:00

My first attempt at making videos! This work is in process!

Here comes the pottery wheel!

2009-11-18T17:28:00.003-07:00

Students in Laurel's Integrated Learning Program each got to take a turn on the wheel! Not only did they make beautiful clay pieces, the students loved watching their friends have a turn. These kids will work over the next few weeks, perfecting their skills!

A typical day in the art room...MESSY!

2009-11-05T18:37:00.002-07:00

These students are typical of the art room...messy, having fun, learning a lot and talking to each other about their work.

Mrs. Leicester's Class-Insect Masks

2009-10-15T09:01:00.003-06:00

These second graders are studying bugs in their classrooms. After creating bug drawings in art, they also created bug masks. The students later wrote a description of their bug (name, where they live, what they eat, etc).

Book Making Club!

2009-10-13T18:28:00.009-06:00

Students of all ages participated in BOOK MAKING club! Sixty students filled three classes for seven weeks. The students started by assembling the spine, front and back of their books and folding signatures of pages. The students then decorated the front and back cover. The content of the books was up to the student and most of the class was spent as individual exploration of art materials. Each one of these books is an absolute treasure!

Kindergarten Flowers & Caterpillars

2009-10-13T18:23:00.003-06:00

These pieces are of caterpillars and flowers as an introduction to art class and art materials. These students were able to use tissue paper, paint and oil pastels for these drawings and paintings.

1st Grade Silhouettes from Africa

2009-10-13T18:17:00.005-06:00

These first graders are studying Africa! We practiced drawing the shape or silhouette of various African animals. We also talked about what a sunset looks like and saw examples of photography from Africa. These final products are black marker on tissue background.

2nd Grade Bug Composition

2009-10-13T18:13:00.006-06:00

2nd graders created real or imaginary backgrounds for their real or imaginary bugs! We talked about composition, color and balance for this project.

3rd Grade Abstract Plant Drawings

2009-10-13T18:07:00.004-06:00

3rd Graders looked at cells of plants as well as common plant forms and then put the two together. We talked about how to abstract an image and representing the same image in two ways. Students used black marker on top of a tissue paper background.

4th Grade Printmaking

2009-10-13T17:58:00.002-06:00

Students chose symbols of Colorado to create a reduction print. The 4th graders then chose to embellish their work with various art materials.

The first day of school is almost here!

2009-08-04T21:57:00.003-06:00

A quick message:

August 19th is fast approaching and the art room at Laurel Elementary is being prepared for the year ahead! I have spent the summer thinking about the 2009/2010 school year and planning exciting and creative projects for art class. I would like to welcome all of the incoming Kindergarten students as well as students that will be new to Laurel this year. Art class is a place where students learn about themselves through the creative process. I encourage individuality, creative thinking, taking risks and a comfortable and inspiring work space. Most of the time we get kind of messy, sometimes we get really messy, and we always have fun learning new things. See you soon!
Sincerely,
Ms. Walton

3rd Grade: Rucker

2009-05-12T20:40:00.003-06:00

Mr. Rucker's class made papier mache masks based on some traditional African masks. The students focused on created 3-D features with tag board as well as mixing colors. Each mask is clearly unique which is always a goal in art class!

2nd grade flowers- Leicester

2009-05-08T15:38:00.006-06:00

Mrs. Leicester's class did a wonderful job painting these various flowers. The students did practice paintings in order to decide what their final painting would look like. The students experimented with various brush strokes and mixing colors. The students also added details with oil pastels after the paint dried.

4th grade: Stetson

2009-05-08T14:03:00.002-06:00

4th Grade Flower Vases
Students based these compositions on Van Gogh's Sunflowers. The students learned brush techniques and were required to mix all of their own colors from just the primary colors. We looked at composition, pattern, value and color.

4th Grade: Native American Horse and Buffalo

2009-04-29T23:46:00.005-06:00

These fourth graders are studying Native American Tribes in their classroom, as well as in the art room. For a special enrichment art class, the students created hand-made paper. The students chose either a horse or a buffalo and added Native American symbols to tell a story.

Kindergarten: Pillard & Cromley

2009-04-29T23:39:00.003-06:00

Kindergarten: Cromley
These students looked at Piet Mondrian and we talked about primary colors in class. The students were very careful to paint within their borders and worked on mastering their glue skills.

Kindergarten: Pillard
Georgia O'Keeffe was the inspiration behind these beautiful flowers. These kindergarten students looked at close up and far away flowers, as well as the giant sunflowers that normally 'live' near the front door of our school. For their art class, the sunflowers hung down over their tables. The students had the opportunity to explore multiple techniques and styles.

1st Grade: Fogelberg & Vandever

2009-04-29T23:34:00.005-06:00

1st grade: Vandever
This might look odd at first glance, but these students looked at the sculptures of Claes Oldenburg. Their favorite sculpture was the giant spoon and cherry. In class we made this city scape where the giant clothespin sculpture stands. The students used mat-board scraps for the buildings and various paper for the windows.

1st grade: Fogelberg
These first graders looked at the work of Keith Haring. We practiced outlining figures holding up giant hearts!

2nd Grade: Leicester & Arellano

2009-04-29T23:27:00.004-06:00

2nd grade: Arellano
Paul Klee inspired these 'warm' portraits. In class we talked about warm versus cool colors as well as shape. The students painted the background and used tissue paper for the head and shoulders.

2nd grade: Leicester
These students found out why this painting is called American Gothic by Grant Wood. Who knew that a window could be so important! The students also agreed that this couple probably did NOT spend a lot of time relaxing and watching TV, and that the woman looked a little mean. The students did a great job capturing expression!

3rd Grade: Frasier & Rucker

2009-04-29T23:21:00.004-06:00

3rd grade: Rucker
These students found inspiration from Wassily Kandinsky! Music, geometric shapes and color create these original compositions, as well as 3-D lines.

3rd grade: Frasier
The artist is Salvador Dali and then students loved the melting clock! The students focused on the basic elements of a landscape as well as paint application techniques. The floating rose and clock create this surreal place!

4th Grade: Williams & Stetson

2009-04-29T23:14:00.004-06:00

4th grade: Williams
These students looked at Pablo Picasso's contour outline drawings. After practicing timed and blind contour drawings, the students picked a subject based on Picasso and created the outline. Like Picasso, the students chose to emphasize a certain aspect of their drawing with color.

4th grade: Stetson
Paul Gauguin was the artist that this class studied. We talked about how the artist 'escaped' to paradise and looked at his work inspired by the islands. The students created their own 'Tahiti' landscape using paint as well as collage techniques.

5th grade: CHAPMAN & POLINTAN

2009-04-29T23:07:00.004-06:00

5th grade: CHAPMAN
Leonardo Da Vinci was the inspiration for this project. The students looked at Da Vinci's sketches of inventions and then created their own invention. The students also wrote a few sentences describing what their invention is. Like Leonardo, the handwriting is backwards and requires a mirror to read.

5th grade: Polintan
These students studied the work of Romare Bearden and discovered the art of collage. Like Bearden's work, the students used music as a theme in their work.

6th grade CASTRO & NIELSEN

2009-04-29T22:49:00.006-06:00

6th Grade: Castro

These sixth graders looked at the work of M.C. Escher, specifically his tessellations. These tessellations were created by drawing a free-form shape and then 'finding' the creatures within the positive space (negative space creatures was optional).

6th Grade: Nielsen
These students were inspired by African masks as well as African paper beads creations. The students were excited to work with unique media and learned several techniques to roll paper beads.

"MASTERS" Art show

2009-04-29T22:47:00.003-06:00

Students at Laurel have worked the past few months to create a Master Works art gallery in our own halls. Each class learned about a specific artist and created art based on what they learned. What an exhibition!

Student work used by Local business

2009-03-24T22:02:00.000-06:00

Congratulations to Tierdri Savage! Her artwork was chosen by the Bas Bleu Theatre for their program jacket and promotional items. Her Statue of Liberty quilt square attracted viewers because of it's Warhol-like appearance and color choice. What and honor to have artwork from Laurel displayed in our community! Congratulations Tierdri!
(picture coming soon)

6th Graders participate in creating a community quilt

2009-03-24T21:54:00.000-06:00

Students in Mr. Castro's class were chosen to create quilt squares for a community project. The quilt squares that these students created will be sewn together by local senior citizens and then be put on display throughout the community. The students used watercolors on a gesso-ed quilt square.

Laurel Places 2nd & 3rd in competition!

2009-03-24T21:51:00.000-06:00

Congratulations to Mrs. Fogelberg's class for taking 2nd place in the Bulletin Board Contest! Students worked in class to create this masterpiece!

Congratulations to the third and fourth graders of Laurel who placed 3rd place in the same contest! The Wild Side of the Wall won money to be spent in the art room!

6th & 5th grade vases

2009-02-20T21:09:00.001-07:00

Fifth and sixth grade students created greek-style vases. The students started by creating their vase shape. Next, they covered the entire shape with a thick layer of wax using crayons. Finally, the students painted their vase black and etched their images using a paper clip.

1st Grade Frogs

2009-02-20T21:05:00.001-07:00

Clay frogs-How cute are these creatures!

4th grade bowls

2009-02-20T20:56:00.001-07:00

After a long wait, fourth graders finally got to see their finished clay bowls. The students got to use traditional and special glazes to complete the project. The bowls were worth the wait!

Kindergarten Tiles

2009-02-20T20:17:00.001-07:00

Kindergarten students at Laurel made these beautiful clay tiles by drawing on and glazing the clay. The students learned about the different stages that clay goes through and what it means to 'fire' a tile. The students are very excited to finally take them home!

the WILD side of the wall!

2009-02-20T20:11:00.001-07:00

"THE WILD SIDE OF THE WALL!"
Third and fourth grade students created this mural for an art contest. The theme, the wild side of the wall, was determined by our rock wall background. The students used wild safari paper to create real or imaginary flowers and or insects. Good luck in the contest!

SUPERART 2009!

2009-02-08T18:40:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to 1st grader-Grace Giveans!
Her artwork was selected for the 2009 SuperArt display.
Her art will hang for a whole year in the boardroom at the JSSC.
Good work Grace!

After School Book-Making Class

2008-12-12T13:45:00.000-07:00

Fifth and sixth grade students had the option of participating in an after school book-making class for art enrichment. The students first ripped out all of the paged from an old encyclopedia. Then the students created their own signatures and inserted them into the spine of their encyclopedia shell. Next the students used collage techniques to decorate the outside covers and the inside of the cover. Here are just a few examples of the final product.

Laurel Students Chosen for DRUG FREE Poster contest!

2008-12-10T08:36:00.000-07:00

The Fort Collins District Attorney's Office hosts a Drug Free Poster contest each year open to 6th, 7th, 8th & 9th graders in the Poudre School District. Congratulations to Trevahn Jackson & Hannah Malers for being the individual school award. Congratulations to Brenden Fretwell! Brenden was chosen as the one and only Team Fort Collins winner! Brenden's poster was professionally framed. These students will be honored at our assembly in December.

GOOD WORK LAUREL STUDENTS!

2008-12-04T21:28:00.000-07:00

Upcoming event:
Wednesday, December 10 and Thursday, December 11, the students of Laurel Elementary will be performing a holiday concert! The students have been practicing their songs for about nine weeks and based on the rehearsals this week, their efforts have paid off!
The students have also worked very hard to create giant snowmen to decorate the gym walls. The students were split into groups in order to create the different 'pieces of the snowman.' The teachers of Laurel Elementary will be voting for the snowman that they believe to be most creative. Each student contributed ideas for the snowmen in order to create this collaborative project. The students learned a great deal about working together and communication.
These snowmen are truly one of a kind!
PICTURES COMING SOON!

2008-11-23T22:20:00.000-07:00

Here is a sampling of artwork that was on display at Barnes and Noble for a school fund raiser. I could only choose a few per grade which was a very difficult task! Many of the projects were based on Shel Silverstein poems, others were 'best works' from the year so far.

Kindergarten:
Students looked at Kandinsky's "Concentric Circles" and then painted their own shapes in a similar layout. The students were able to explore color-mixing and worked on mastering their painting techniques. They also loved saying "WASSILY KANDINSKY!"
Kindergarten also created fall leaf compositions using cu-tips. The students learned about warm colors, tracing straight lines and look what happens when the wind blows!

First Grade Hippos!
In first grade we read the poem "Hippo's Hope" by Shel Silverstein. We learned how to mix the color purple and control our small brushes. Most importantly...don't forget the ears!

There once was a hippo who wanted to fly -- Fly-hi-dee, try-hi-dee, my-hi-dee-ho. So he sewed him some wings that could flap through the sky -- Sky-hi-dee, fly-hi-dee, why-hi-dee-go. He climbed to the top of a mountain of snow -- Snow-hi-dee, slow-hi-dee, oh-hi-dee-hoo. With the clouds high above and the sea down below -- Where-hi-dee, there-hi-dee, scare-hi-dee-boo. (Happy ending) And he flipped and he flapped and he bellowed so loud -- Now-hi-dee, loud-hi-dee, proud-hi-dee-poop. And he sailed like an eagle, off into the clouds -- High-hi-dee, fly-hi-dee, bye-hi-dee-boop.

Second Grade: TREE HOUSES!
Second grade students read "A Tree House" by Shel Silverstein and then created these fantastic 'dream tree-houses.' The student's classroom teacher spent class time looking at tree houses and creating collage poetry. The students brought their poetry to class as inspiration for their art-making! The students worked on color-mixing, painting techniques, perspective and overlapping. The students also made their houses look 3-dimensional!

A Tree House

A tree house, a free house,

A secret you and me house,

A high up in the leafy branches

Cozy as can be house.

A street house, a neat house,

Be sure and wipe your feet house

Is not my kind of house at all~

Let's go live in a tree house.

Shel Silverstein

3rd Grade: "One inch Tall"
Students read the poem "One inch tall" by Shel Silverstein and then created an illustration based on the idea of being only one inch tall. The students focused on colored pencil techniques and perspective.

One Inch Tall- Shel Silverstein
If you were only one inch tall, you’d ride a worm to school.
The teardrop of a crying ant would be your swimming pool.
A crumb of cake would be a feast
And last you seven days at least,
A flea would be a frightening beast
If you were one inch tall.

If you were only one inch tall, you’d walk beneath the door,
And it would take about a month to get down to the store.
A bit of fluff would be your bed,
You’d swing upon a spider’s thread,
And wear a thimble on your head
If you were one inch tall.

You’d surf across the kitchen sink upon a stick of gum.
You couldn’t hug your mama, you’d just have to hug her thumb.
You’d run from people’s feet in fright,
To move a pen would take all night,
(This poem took fourteen years to write–
‘Cause I’m just one inch tall).

4th Grade: Picasso Portraits
The fourth graders looked at paintings and drawings by Pablo Picasso and searched for ways that he exaggerated facial features. I found a great website that illustrates Picasso's techniques, www.mrpicassohead.com The students did drawing exercises included blind contours, drawing with your eyes closed and drawing portraits in 5 seconds in order to explore different ways of drawing. The students then look at all of their warm-up drawings in order to decide what to put in their final composition. The students used oil pastels and contour lines for this project.

5th Grade: Cezanne's Apples
The Fifth graders looked at paintings by Paul Cezanne for inspiration on this project. We talked about still-lifes, composition and color mixing. The healthy fruit of the month at our school was apples so we decided that apples would be the perfect object for our paintings. Students took time to study all the colors found in a wide variety of apples and were encouraged to exaggerate those colors in their painting. The students practiced painting techniques, color-mixing and composition.

6th Grade: Printmaking

The artwork from sixth grade are examples from a school-wide enrichment program. For this enrichment each grade is learning basic printmaking techniques that will be built upon throughout the year. The sixth grade followed a reduction printmaking process that required three colors. This project was process-oriented and created a basis of understanding for future printmaking projects.

Welcome

2008-11-23T22:16:00.000-07:00

This site is a way for me to share all of the wonderful artwork that my students create! This first year of teaching has blown by mostly because I love the students and staff at Laurel Elementary. The kids do a fantastic job and are slowly getting used my classroom rules...
1. Do your best
2. Never say "I can't do that!"
Enjoy!!