YAM

March is Youth Art Month! I hope everyone will join us on Thursday, March 18 from 5:30pm to 7:00pm for an art show in the gym! Every child in the school will be showing off their BEST work from the year! Each artwork will be framed and hung gallery style in the gym to really show it off. Parents who are interested in purchasing the frame from Artome and taking the artwork home that night should bring $20 (CASH ONLY). All artwork remaining at the end of the night will be taken out of the frames and sent home in your child's art portfolio at the end of the year.

We are currently looking for volunteers to help frame the artwork, staff the art show, take down the frames at the end of the art show, and unframe the remaining artwork. If you can help with any of these and did not receive the email asking for parent volunteers, please email Mrs. Argentina.

Have an art-full month!
Don't forget that this Saturday is Fulton Free Saturday at the High Museum! (Bring ID)

Computer Lab

As January comes to an end I would like to share some wonderful examples of computer art created by the Kindergarteners! Each year I take every grade level to the computer lab for 3 to 4 weeks to create art using technology. During the month of January I have spent my afternoons in the lab with 2nd grade, 1st grade, and Kindergarten. Kindergarten students are being introduced to Kidpix and practicing how to use the program to create lines, shapes, and areas of color. We study still-lifes created by famous artists like Cezanne and Thiebaud then create our own. Here are some of the students adding finishing details to their artwork.

Cooper

Caroline

Brandon

"Can we take another test next week?"

Fifth graders completed their color unit and took their color test just before we left for Winter Break. We used the ActivBoard and ActivVotes for this assessment. The students love being able to choose their answer on their own hand-held ActiVote and get immediate feedback on their answer! Can you believe they say that taking a test this way is "fun" and they acutally ask me if they can take another test the following week??

Kindergarten clay projects

Kindergarten artists have been working on their first clay projects. We discussed how clay is formed, texture, form, pattern, and symmetry. Here are some photos of students pressing textured items into the clay slabs.





-- Mrs. A

Original works products

If you placed an order with Original Works you should have received your items by now. I hope you enjoy your custom items and that they are by also enjoyed by others if you give them as holiday gifts!



-- Mrs. A

Publix

I have changed out the artwork at Publix! This bulletin board can be found by the pharmacy of the Publix at the corner of Abbotts Bridge and Jones Bridge. The new artwork comes to us from Mrs. Wilson's first grade class. The following students currently have artwork on display: Dylan S., David, Sarah, Logan, Scott, Isha, Morgan, Mallika, Hannah, and Grace. Stop by and check out the artwork the next time you are shopping!
These paintings were inspired by Henri Matisse's Goldfish which was painted one hundred years ago! Students recreated the painting using primary colors, patterns, and collage. We made observations about forms in space and how they change based on your point of view. We also compared geometric and organic shapes and used both in this artwork.

Happy Birthday Abbotts Hill!

Abbotts Hill celebrated their 10th Anniversary last Thursday. Students wore our special 10th Anniversary shirts, sang the new school song, and presented their new grade level flags in front of a hot air balloon on the field. The students were really excited to see the hot air balloon on the field! Here are a few photos of the celebration.

It was a very windy day! Even Mrs. Hutchens had to help hold the balloon down!

First Grade Cityscapes

Look at the awesome cityscapes first grade just finished! First we printed the lines of our buildings with acrylic paint. Next we used liquid watercolors in either a warm or a cool color scheme to paint each shape. The really neat part was using some tertiary colors like yellow-green and red-orange. We learned that each tertiary color is named after the primary and secondary colors that make it.





These are going to look GREAT on the magnets!

-- Mrs. A

Original Works

It is time for Original Works again! For parents and students who are new to the school this is a program that turns your artwork into products such as tshirts, calendars, mugs, notecards, and more! These items make great gifts and are perfect for family during the holiday season. Here are a few photos I snapped a few weeks ago as we were working on the artwork.
1st grade cats - using Warhol as inspiration



3rd grade O'Keeffe paintings (sorry, I can't get them to turn)



4th grade paper molas


I will be preparing the finished artwork to mail this week. In October you will receive a packet from Original Works which contains information about placing an order and a sample magnet. If your family does not wish to order anything this year just return the packet to school and you will receive your child's artwork back. If you decide to place an order return the order form and check made out to Original Works. Your child's artwork will be returned when your order arrives. If you would like to purchase the sample magnet please keep it and send in payment for $6. Otherwise please return the magnet to school so that we can return it to Original Works.

Please look for more information in your child's Friday Folder or email me if you have any questions!

-- Mrs. Argentina

Welcome back!

I hope everyone had a wonderful summer and is ready for a creative year in Art! I had an exciting summer! I spent two weeks in Japan studying Japanese ceramics and firing methods. Here is a photo of me throwing wood in the anagama kiln we helped fire for 4 days and nights. To keep the fire hot enough we had to put wood in about every 5 minutes!

After returning from Japan I graduated with a Master of Arts degree in Art Education from Piedmont College. The trip to Japan was part of my coursework for the summer. I hope to share my new knowledge of Japan and Japanese culture and ceramics with the students at Abbotts Hill this year!