Rouchell's Artist Statement

This painting is by Rouchell, a 5th grade student in Mrs. Caro's class at Central Riverside Elementary School and part of the DHH (Deaf and hard of Hearing) Program at Central Riverside.  

In art class, the students were studying depth in their art by showing a variety of undersea creatures in their environment, then positioning them in the foreground, middle ground and background as well as overlapping them.  

Upon completion of the paintings, the students wrote an artist's statement describing the strategies they used to create depth as well as how the experience made them feel.  Please, view the video below to see Rouchell tell us about her painting - not with words but with her hands as she uses American Sign Language.

Jordan's Artist Statement

This beautiful painting was created by Jordan, a 4th grader who is part of the DHH (Deaf and Hard of Hearing) program at Central Riverside Elementary. Jordan has put his thoughts into words in an artist's statement  but communicates to us not in the conventional way but by using American Sign Language.  At Central Riverside Elementary, students in Mrs. Caro's (DHH) class had the opportunity to paint an underwater scene then write about their work. Please view this video to see and hear 4th grader, Jordan's artist statement. As you can see, Jordan is very excited about his painting!

 

Her Hands Do The Talking: Breaira's Artist Statement

A big part of the creative process is the opportunity to reflect on one's art and articulate the intent behind the art making process.  One way to do this is to put thoughts into words in an artist's statement.  At Central Riverside Elementary, students in Mrs. Caro's (DHH) class had the opportunity to do this but not in the conventional way.  You see, Mrs. Caro's students are deaf or hard of hearing so they communicate with American Sign Language. Please view this video to see and hear 5th grader, Breaira's artist statement. You will see that her hands do the talking.

CRES Students Explore Art Beyond Sight

This is the short instructional video I created to support the lesson taught last week at Central Riverside Elementary.  My students celebrated Art Beyond Sight  by creating a contour drawing self portrait using Wiki Stix (wax covered string) to allow those of low vision to see the art with their hands. 

Each student was blindfolded then given an opportunity to touch sculpture reproductions to discover how they might feel if, with low vision, they could only "see" with their hands.
After that revealing experience, they were given an assignment: Create a self portrait - then share it with their classmates who were also blindfolded.

It was so rewarding to hear their conversations.  One boy said, "I sure am glad this isn't the way way I have to see all the time."  I was pleased that the students gained this insight of how it may feel to be vision impaired.

Symmetrical Bugs!

5th grade students showed their knowledge of symmetry in their drawings of insects.  After drawing with pencil on black paper, they traced over the lines with glue mixed with black ink. After the glue dried, the students added color with colored chalk, layering the chalk to create the illusion of depth.

 

 

5th Grade Students Dream of Seascapes!

5th grade students painted seascapes worthy of a vacation destination!  

 

Mosaic Fish!

Fourth graders learned about the beautiful tile mosaics created by ancient civilizations in Italy and Greece to inspire them to create their own mosaic fish.