A New School Year

Kindergarten students never cease to amaze me. We started Self Portraits this week and I was so impressed by the details these children were able to draw. We began using Sharpie markers then added color with oil pastels. Next week, we will talk about finishing our work using watercolors to paint the background and create unity.

All students at PPS will have their finished artwork uploaded to Artsonia.com, a website that acts as a digital art gallery for students. Parents will receive an email from Artsonia if their student is new to PPS. If your child already has an Artsonia account from last year, I will continue to upload art to their account. If you have any questions about Artsonia, privacy, or how it works, please let me know and I'd be happy to give you more information.

Contact: amanda.vella@colchestersd.org

Adventures in Sculpture

There's been a lot of serious Making going on in the PPS art room. Kindergarteners have created paper mache donuts (classic ring donut, jelly-filled, and of course, the infamous munchkin). 1st Graders have been using paper mache to build realistic ice cream cones. And 2nd Graders have been using plaster gauze to create sculptures of the Blue Whale which they have been researching in their Library classes with Mrs. B. Here are some pictures from our adventures in sculpture this week:



Don't forget to fry your donuts before you frost them!



Appling frosting can be so much fun!




Carrying the donuts can be a difficult task in itself. They roll around on our paper plates like meatballs...










Kindergarteners adding "chocolate and strawberry drizzle" with small squeeze bottles of paint



Chocolate chip, anyone?










These two definitely love chocolate ice cream



A collection of Mr. Shepherd's class's Blue Whales

Josh's Whale Photography



Stop Motion Creatures by Mr. Shepherd's Class

Stop Motion Creatures by Ms. LaRose's Class

Stop Motion Creatures by Ms. Warren's Class

Stop Motion Animated Creatures by Mrs. Bissonette's class

In second grade, we created articulated creatures inspired by mythology and imagination. After creating the creatures (which had movable limbs from using fasteners) we made short animated movies in partner groups. Above is a video of two groups in Mrs. Bissonette's class working to create their videos. Below are their finished videos

Discussing Artwork can be Enlightening!

Listen to how this Kindergartener discusses his owl painting. I am often pleased, surprised, and impressed by how my students explain their pictures. The talking that goes along with picture-making is an essential part of the process for little ones. Everything has some sort of meaning or symbolism at this age. (Those circles are nostrils...who would have guessed?)

Just Make a Mark & See Where It Takes You

For our first art project of the year, all students at PPS got to find out where their mark took them. We read the book , "The Dot," by Peter H. Reynolds which is about a little girl who doesn't think she can draw, but discovers she really is an incredible artist. Here are some pictures of our incredible artists hard at work!

Ms. Vella's Summer Art Projects

I've been doing a lot of painting this summer, as I hope you all have too. Ms. Millham was so nice to give me an enormous box of some of her old paints that she discovered while cleaning out her basement. They were high quality paints too! I've used a lot of them up already, if you can believe it.

I was lucky enough to take a course this June-July with Julian Bradshaw at St. Michael's College entitled, "Educator as Artist." The course focused on personalized learning in the arts. Each student enrolled in the course were encouraged to work on their own passions and interests as an artist while developing a large body of work.

Here are some of my paintings I did during my time working on my concentration; you might see some of these at the South End Art Hop in Burlington in September, if you get a chance to visit the Innovation Building off Lakeside Avenue.

2016 Colchester District Art Show

I hope you have had a good vacation. I spent a good chunk of mine preparing for our upcoming art show. All schools in the Colchester School District participate in this one amazing show that demonstrates our students' talent and creativity ranging from kindergarten to grade 12. I do my best to include as many students in this art show as possible. 

The Show runs from Tuesday 5/3 - Friday 5/6 and will be open 8am-4pm all days. There is also a closing reception being held Thursday night (5/5) from 6pm-8pm. Refreshments will be provided.

Students who have artwork on display are listed below by class along with which artwork will be on display:

Kindergarten 26 TOTAL

K Donnelly

1.       Ben Donuts and snowman

2.       Lily Donuts

3.       Nellie Donuts

4.       Shania Donuts

5.       Ella Butterfly

6.       Charlie Butterfly

7.       Bella Tape

8.       Caleb Feathers

K Bourgea

1.       Jenna Donuts and Building

2.       Jillian Donuts

3.       Hannah Donuts

4.       Emma Jean Donuts

5.       Kasey Numbers

K Belaski

1.       Rowan Numbers

2.       Liam Tape

3.       Mary Warm up

4.       Aya Feathers

5.       Elijah Building

6.       Evan building

7.       Chelsea building

K Allbee

1.       Meredith Panda

2.       Nick Panda

3.       Isabelle Panda

4.       Isaac Building

5.       Jordan Building

6.       Anna Building

1^st Grade              20 total

1 Plunkett

1.       Ryann Donuts

2.       Keira Donuts

3.       Sullie Fox

4.       Everett Police Car

5.       Ciara firetruck

6.       Ava Police car

7.       Addie portrait

8.       Reason Dayclouds

9.       Keira owl

10.   Chase feathers

1 Hershman

1.       Alee Portrait

2.       Brayden Portrait

3.       BreezieLynne Feathers

4.       Makayla Map

5.       Ayson Portrait

6.       Madison Portrait

1 Silverberg

1.       Tre cement mixer

2.       Tara portrait

3.       Josh feathers

4.       Brayden fox 

2^nd Grade             32 Total

2 Warren

1.       Emily H Puppet

2.       Lexie Autumn DP

3.       Izzy Water

4.       Jacob             Pumpkins

5.       Raleigh         Marten

2 LaRose

1.       Emily Puppet and water

2.       Naomi Puppet and water

3.       Ariana Puppet and pumpkins

4.       Kaleb Birds

5.       Saya Autumn DP

6.       Chloe Birds

7.       Zach Eagle

8.       Jackson Water

2 Bissonette

1.       Olivia Puppet

2.       Hailey Puppet

3.       Ryan Marten

4.       Lucien Marten

5.       Blake Printed flwer

6.       Caleb S Printed flower

7.       Jane Printed Flower

8.       Jason Eagle

9.       Zachary Sturgeon

2 Hooper

1.       Brynn Puppet

2.       Luna Puppet

3.       Nate Birds

4.       John Eagle

5.       Maddie water

6.       Isaiah Warm up

2 Shepherd

1.       Bleona Sturgeon

2.       Riley Sturgeon

3.       Simon Eagle

4.       Lucy Printed Building

Champlain Valley Regional Art Show

28 artworks by PPS students are on display now through March 25th at the University Mall in South Burlington, VT. Check it out this week, before the stunning display comes down! If you can't make it, be sure to  find room in your schedule to see the Spring District Art Show, held in the Colchester High School gymnasium May 3-6.

Puppets!

In art for the past several weeks, students in 2nd grade have been designing, building and creating puppets using a whole lot of imagination and problem solving. In Mrs. Hooper's class, students worked in small groups to write short dialogue discussing their new knowledge about some important Americans. Check out these puppet shows we put on using the dialogue they wrote in class. Thanks to Mrs. Hooper for being an amazing collaborator and helping to make this happen. It has been a blast!

Snowflakes

Mrs. Millham came into the art studio just as Mrs. Belaski's Kindergarteners were finishing up these beautiful "make-and-take" snowflakes. We decided it would be a good opportunity to get a picture of the entire class along with their finished work. I'm thankful for such perfect timing! Say "Cheese," or better yet; say, "Snowflake!" We are ready for winter!

Painting Spirals

Spirals are everywhere; from the tiniest organisms to the largest galaxies. 1st Grade students at PPS created these vibrant paintings after viewing a series of images of spirals seen throughout nature (including snails, hurricanes and fiddle-head ferns). On day one of this lesson, students drew a spiral and used it's shape to guide the direction and movement of their paintings. On the second day, students finished painting and embellished their spirals with colored oil pastels. These 1st grade artists have demonstrated immense creativity, color sensitivity, and expression through movement.

Using our Imaginations to See

If you are interested in fun and easy drawing activity to activate the right side of your brain, I've got just the one for you! Take some strips of tape and place them randomly on a piece of paper. Turn your paper around until you "see" an animal or creature in the tape. Then use a pencil to outline the animal; you can add more details with colored pencils and markers.

Why is Drawing Important?

I just wanted to share this video because it really aligns with my thinking. We all appreciate the arts, but it's important to think deeply about why we appreciate them, and why we need them...

Drawing Featheriness

Feathers make excellent subjects for drawing. Kindergarten students studied a variety of feathers today, representing them using a wide selection of materials to demonstrate their fluffy, light-weight nature. Students were able to select materials they found necessary. These materials included graphite pencils, water-soluble graphite crayons, charcoal pencils, vine charcoal, handwriting pens, metallic crayons, white cray-pas, and watercolor paints.

Drawing Means Taking Risks

This trimester we are focusing on taking risks as artists. In order to grow as an artist, a person must try new things and allow space within the art making process to make mistakes. To aid in creating that space, I have been offering students the opportunity to draw using new approaches, such as drawing without looking, drawing from photographs or drawing without knowing what will come next.

Welcome Back to the Art Studio!

This trimester we will be honing in on developing our drawing skills! Did you ever wonder how your favorite artists became so good at drawing? Practice. That's right, you don't need to come from an artistic background, or hold some sort of magical power to be a great artist. You just need to draw! The more you draw, the better you get. I promise. When you get home every day after school (or work if you're an adult), do a quick 10 minute drawing. After a few weeks, you might really surprise yourself! Try it out and let me know how it goes.

Summer Art

I hope everyone is having an exciting and creative summer. I know I have! Summer is a fantastic time to recharge artistically. Here are some images of the paintings I've been working on for the past few weeks. These paintings were all created using acrylics on canvas. Ask me in August about Acrylic Paints and I'd be happy to share more information about their qualities and capabilities. See you when school starts; until then, keep creating!

At the Intersection of Battery and Maple

Poker Hill Landscape

Red Mountains

Route 15, Jericho, VT