Welcome to Art!

Ms. Boushell

 In art class, students learn about the elements of art.  These elements are the building blocks of fine art.  They include color, line, shapes, value, texture, space and form.  Right from the beginning, starting with Kindergarten, the students are learning the basics of these art elements.  As students move up through the grades, the concepts and skills that relate with every element advance.  Understanding the elements of art gives students a great foundation for discussing, analyzing, and creating art!
 
A great example, and important component, is color.  In most classes, we begin the school year talking about color.  In Kindergarten and First grade, we learn about the primary colors and how they mix and become secondary colors.  We also discuss cool and warm colors, and how different colors can make us feel different ways.  In Second grade, we begin to look at the color wheel and complimentary colors.  We discuss different color combinations and their effects. 
In the higher grades, we learn how to make tints and shades by mixing paint, create tertiary colors and create value with colors  This is JUST the element of color!!! 
 
These foundations of art are taught in conjunction with a variety of art concepts.  We study specific artists and specific works of art.  Many times, the artist, work of art or art theme we study connects with a Core Knowledge subject students are learning in the classroom.  When Fifth grade studies the Renaissance, we look at artwork by Raphael and da Vinci that uses the technique, Linear Perspective.   The students learn how to use this technique and create a realistic drawing that looks 3-dimensional on their flat paper. 
 
The students experiment with a variety of materials as they learn about art.  We draw, paint, build, collage, print, cut and paste.