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!

Art Show Frames

Here are two images that have already been framed for the art show Wednesday night. The frames really show off the colorful artwork! The black frames have a double mat - a large white mat with a small black inside mat. The frames are available for purchase the night of the show or you can set up arrangements with Mrs. Argentina before the show by email.

Batik by 4th grader Amy and My American Gothic by 1st grader Jack

Art Show!

The Art Show is coming up this Wednesday, April 29! Every child in the school will have their best artwork on display in the gym from 5:30 to 7:00 pm. Like our past art shows the artwork will be framed in a double mat (white and black) and black frame. The frames really show off the nice artwork!

We are now partnering with Artome' to offer the frames to families the night of the show. If you would like to take the frame and artwork home on Wednesday you may purchase the frame for $20, CASH ONLY. If you are not interested in the framing package your child's artwork will be sent home at the end of the year in their art portfolio.

If you have any questions about the art show or the frames please email Mrs. Argentina at argentina@fultonschoos.org.

I hope to see you all Wednesday night!

Don't forget to bring a can of food for the Empty Bowls Food Drive raffle!!

Empty Bowls

The Empty Bowls Food Drive begins tomorrow! For two weeks we will be collecting canned food for donation to the North Fulton Community Charities. Students have created pinch, slab and coil bowls in the Art Studio and will be encouraged to trade a can of food for their bowl. Their bowl will be a constant reminder that there are empty bowls everywhere and will remind them to help others in the future. For more information about Empty Bowls please visit www.emptybowls.net.

Youth Art Month Artwork

Here are the two artworks that represented Abbotts Hill at the Youth Art Month show this year. Third Grader Christine made the beautiful antler studies in pencil and black paint and Fifth Grader Sophia made the wonderful watercolor tree painting.

Doodle for Google contest entry

We have reached the deadline for the Doodle for Google contest that I wrote about in February. Today I received an entry from Sarah in 1st grade. She did a great job!

The theme of the contest was "What I Wish for the World" and Sarah's doodle shows us that her wish is "that everyone should have a home, be friends, have food, use green energy and not cheat at games." Great job Sarah and good luck!

4th grade batik

Fourth grade students have been working on wonderful Endangered Species artworks for our artshow in April. We are using an oil pastel resist technique to duplicate the look of fabric batiks. Batik is a process that originated in Indonesia over 1500 years ago in which wax is painted onto cloth before it is dyed. Then when the wax is removed the original color of the fabric shows on those areas. For our batik students used oil pastels to create the resist areas on our paper and white chalk for the areas that we did not want to resist. Then we painted the entire paper with purple paint and wiped it back off. The paint wiped off easily from the oil pastel areas but stainded the areas that were only chalk. Here are some examples of the steps in the process.

Atlanta Humane Society Art Contest

If you love animals like I do then this is the Art Contest for you! Sponsored by the Atlanta Humane Society the theme for this contest is "Be Kind to Animals Week." Winning entries could earn up to $100 and possibly appear in the forthcoming book The Art of Being Kind. All proceeds of book sales will benefit the animals at the Atlanta Humane Society. For more details visit http://www.atlantahumane.org/services/artcontest.htm or email Mrs. Argentina. All entries are due at the AHS by March 31.

Here are some Andy Warhol cat drawings to inspire you:

Youth Art Month

Did you know that March is Youth Art Month? Each year during the month of March schools around the county celebrate art made by children. In Fulton County each school sends two amazing artworks to the Fulton Schools Administration Building to be in the Youth Art Month Show. I just finished packing up the artwork for this year and wanted to announce this year's artists who are representing Abbotts Hill. I sent a beautiful watercolor painting of winter trees by Sophia H. in 5th grade and a great antler study drawing/painting set by Christine K. in 3rd grade. Congratulations to Sophia and Christine! I forgot to take a photo of the artwork before I wrapped it up so I'll post one when the work returns in April.

~Mrs. A

Art Contests

If you are interested in participating in any of these Art Contests please have your mom or dad email Mrs. Argentina for more detailed information.

2009 Safety Belt Poster Contest from the Governor's Office of Highway Safety
Theme: Why You Should Use Seat Belts and/or Child Safety Seats
Deadline for Student Entries - Feb 23, 2009
All entries must be turned in to Mrs. Argentina

Doodle 4 Google Contest
Theme: What I Wish for the World
Deadline: March 20, 2009
All entries must be turned in to Mrs. Argentina
For more info: http://www.google.com/doodle4google/info.html