Second Grade Gallery
In second grade, students continue to create art based on imagination and personal interpretations of varied themes related to their environment, activities and events. They see and discuss styles and types of artwork from varied cultures and periods. Second grade students develop perceptual skills and meaningful art vocabulary, with an emphasis on imagination, sensory alertness and visual recall.
Inspired by Miro
The students created a piece of chance art inspired by the bright/bold colors and simple shapes used by Joan Miro.
Modigliani "ish" Portraits
The students observed many of Amedeo Modiglinai's portraits in search of what made Modigliani's "style" unique. They discovered that while at first Modiglian's portraits appear traditional, in fact his style was to exaggerate the length of the models face, neck, nose, mouth and eyes, as well as suggest that the body is long by removing the appearance of shoulders. After making these discoveries the students created an oil pastel portrait in the style of Modigliani.
Haunted Houses
Second grade students used black markers to create the silhouette of trees on a monochromatic backdrop that they painted. They were encouraged to look at the branches of a tree and their resemblance to the letter "Y." They used scale, size, and overlapping to emphasize depth in a landscapes foreground, middle ground, and background.
African Masks and Kente Cloth
The students used a crayon and tempera paint resist to simulate the traditional African art form of mask carving. They were encouraged to look at traditional masks and discover the constant design elements that were present in the collection they were presented. The focus was on symmetry, geometric shapes, vertical and horizontal direction and composing a facial expression.
Mexican Tin Mirrors
The students used aluminum and Repoussage to simulate the traditional Mexican art form of tin punch mirrors. They looked at a variety of traditional ornaments and discovered the element of bold vibrant color is the star element of these ornaments. The focus was on using geometric shapes to create the general animal shape, contour lines for more realism, and playful colors and patterns.
Japanese Ukiyo-e Prints
The students used foam prints to simulate the traditional Japanese art form of tin Ukiyo-e prints. They looked at the color woodblock series: 36 views of Mt Fuji by the Japanese artist Katsushika and watched the video: Ukiyo-e woodblock printmaking with Keizaburo Matsuzaki. The focus was on using organic shapes and lines to create dragons that were transformed into Kimonos.
Aboriginal Dreamings
The students used construction paper colored pencils and crayons to simulate a mixture traditional Aboriginal art forms. They watched the video: Aboriginal Art Past, Present, and Future by Crystal video to discover the rich history of Aboriginal art as well as how contemporary artists have adapted these styles to create current art. The focus was on using lines and color patterns to simulate X-Ray paintings and dot clusters to create dreamings.
European Stained Glass
The students used acetate and permanent markers to simulate traditional stained glass. They viewed a slideshow of European stained glass windows and the video How to build a Stained Glass window. The focus was on using symmetry with shapes and colors.