Wednesday, October 31, 2018

Sugar Skulls


What a great lesson to introduce not only Sugar Skulls and history but to cover a new artist named, Thaneeya McArdle. Thanks, Cathy for allowing us to share on the blog. Our lower school artists did a fantastic job on this unit. See a few facts found on the web about Sugar Skulls. There is so much information out there on this topic which make it so much fun to teach.

Sugar skulls represented a departed soul, had the name written on the forehead and was placed on the home ofrenda or gravestone to honor the return of a particular spirit. Sugar skull art reflects the folk art style of big happy smiles, colorful icing and sparkly tin and glittery adornments.

During the celebration of Dia de los Muertos (the Day of the Dead), sugar skulls are often used to decorate the ofrendas (offerings), and they are exactly what their name describes--skull-shaped sugarTraditional sugar skulls are made from a granulated white sugar mixture that is pressed into special skull molds.

Sugar skulls are often used to decorate the gravestones of the deceased. The reason they are called “sugar skulls” is because the authentic sugar skulls were made out of clay molded sugar, decorated with feathers, colored beads, foils and icing.

Like the memory of a loved one that never fades, Dia de Los Muertos also survives. It may change and evolve, but it never vanishes. The Spaniards learned that when they arrived in central Mexico in the 16th century. They viewed the ritual, which was started by the Aztecs some 3,000 years ago, as sacrilegious.

5 Facts About Día de los Muertos (The Day of the Dead) See link below:

Blog post that relate to Sugar Skulls:
Other Art Lesson Related To Sugar Skulls:















 Other examples of Sugar Skulls in the blog:
Inspirations by Thaneeya McArdle:
 Links to learn more about Thaneeya McArdle:









Tuesday, October 30, 2018

Oh My! Those SCREAMING First Graders!

Oh yeah!  What better way to teach Edvard Munch's "The Scream" than to draw SCREAMING FIRST GRADERS?!?  

The first graders totally freaked out at Munch's art.  They thought it was super creepy.  I guess they are probably right, but it is a classic creepy!

Directions:

I showed the kids the real Munch "The Scream."
The kids screamed!
We talked about the warm and cool colors in the painting.
They drew.
They painted.

This is one of those lessons that you get your self portrait and your warm and cool colors teaching done.

Go me and my screaming first graders!

L👀K!











I have a song to share by the Ohio Players that was number 1 in January 1976.  I was 11.  Anyway, there was a rumor going around that in the scream you hear in the background was actually one of a murdered woman.  How gory is that?


1965

Monday, October 29, 2018

Florida Strong / Panhandle Strong, Thanks Melissa for letting me share these!

I was walking through our Maclay Lower School and this bulletin board caught my eye. Can you tell why? This board packs a punch in many ways. This board helps validate my Art Room's Essential Questions of the year.
What influences creative expression? 
and 
How do images influence our view of the world?
Think about it. Ponder that for a moment...think about social media, commercials,music and more! Art helps us to be well versed in many things. Yes, #wellversed is our hashtag for the 2019 Celebration of the Arts here on Maclay's campus. 
I am very thankful for lower school teachers here on campus. They produce some way cool art work and this one just resonated with me. The meaning and message was pretty powerful after seeing all of the damage from Hurricane Michael. Thank you, Melissa Ferraro for creating these master pieces with your class. Kudos to you for integrating this into your curriculum.
Amazing it is the same lesson but each one is created and crafted very unique.