Welcome Back to School! Time for your Self Portraits 😀

Welcome to the 2016-17 School year! 

The start of the school year is a great time to assess where we are starting from, and reach toward where we want to go. I have many goals for this school year that I am excited about. For one, I need to update this blog more often. I also want to connect with more families through social media including my Twitter and Instagram accounts. 

The start of the school year in my art classes also means it is self portrait time. We create a self portrait at the beginning of the school year, and again at the end. I hold on to these drawings so that we can compare them at the end of the year. It is amazing to watch my students personalities, skills, and ideas develop. It is also a fun way to break in our new art supplies! 🎨

Digital Learning Day

D62 is celebrating Digital Learning Day today by having all staff members compete in a D62 twitter war. Follow me @ms_todorovich to find more exciting things in the Art room. #62learns #62CU

Paper Weaving with 3rd Grade

All of my students have been working on paper weaving the past few months. The students created a warp (vertical strips that connect the weaving) that connected all of the weft (strips of paper) pieces in an AB pattern.

Once they completed their weaving, students added another pattern on top of their simple AB weaving. This is Mrs. Adams class from Cumberland. They did a great job!

click here for presentation

The Year of Technology

I have been very fortunate to be a grant winner with the D62 Mission iPad program this year. Through this program I was able to secure 29 iPads for my Cumberland students to use regularly. I have been working hard to explore new apps, explore the possibilities that Google has made available, and think of the Art curriculum with a new dimension. I have also been able to learn amazing things through a professional learning community. The future is very bright. Be prepared in the weeks and months ahead to get your mind blown by the incredible things we will be creating!

Welcome Back to School!

Welcome Back to School!!! I am very excited about this school year, and all of the creative learning that we will be doing! I have high hopes to incorporate technology into are Art learning environment in new ways, as well as work on some group projects, and creating some new 3Dimensional work. Follow along to see what the 2015-16 school year has in store for you and your friends!

Journal Idea Week 5: Doodle or Zentangle

I have been working on doodle designs several of my 5th grade classes recently. We have looked at how patterns from doodles can connect to make more complicated designs. This is very similar to the art of Zentangle. A zentangle is a design that is created through steps and helps you relax. You can learn more about these here.

I started my design my drawing a rectangle and a squiggle line that divided up the space in pencil.

Next, I started adding different patterns within the shapes.

After filling in all of the spaces, I traced over my patterns with Sharpie marker, and erased. I love how complex the design turned out, and the contrast between curved lines and straight lines. You could add color if you would like, but I think the black and white look nice together!

Journal Idea Week 4: Draw A Mitten

This week has been so bitter cold that we were off of school for 2 days!

Your journal idea for the week is to design a mitten that could keep your hands warm. Most mittens are knit, and have some sort of pattern or design in them. I took the time to draw individual stitches in my mitten I drew in my journal. I also drew different designs within my pattern. Whatever you decide, have fun!

Journal Idea Week 3: Draw A Mug of Hot Cocoa

The last couple of weeks have been a good time to get cozy at home with a nice cup of hot cocoa! 

This week try to draw your favorite mug with steaming hot cocoa.  You could also make up or design a mug that you would like to have. Or you could use the photo that I took of my favorite mug and draw it. 

Enjoy!

Journal Idea Week 2: Snowflake fun

This week we came back to school after a very messy, snowy, and cold winter vacation. We actually didn't even have school on Monday or Tuesday this week because the wind chills were way too cold!

I love to make snowflakes! I love to draw symmetrical snowflakes like my 3rd graders at Forest did this week,

And I love to cut them, like my 4th and 5th graders at Forest did this week.

I showed the students a fun website called Make-A-Flake where you can make as many cool snowflakes as you want! There is also a great gallery to look at for ideas.

Journal Idea Week 1: Hand Drawing

I've kept a journal since I was 14 years old. I seen a lot of new blank books, and am always puzzled by where to start. I think in my first journal ever I did start with a drawing of my hand. You always have your hand with you, and can do so many different and interesting things to make it a creative endeavor.

Take a look at your hand, and draw it in a creative way for your first page of your journal. Don't forget to put the date you drew it on the page as well. Have fun!

Welcome to Art Club!

Welcome to Art Club! For the rest of the year I will be posting ideas or mini-assignments for you to follow along with at home every Friday. I know that some of my students are addicted to Art! I wanted to share with them ideas and inspiration to find their own art adventures at home.

This year I was fortunate enough to win a grant from the D62 Foundation to form an Art Club with my students! I have always wanted to have an Art Club at Cumberland School. However, this year I am at 3 different Elementary schools. I want for all of my students to have an opportunity to participate.

The way this Club is structured is that ALL of my students are able to follow along and be creative in their free time. I would love to see what students come up with on their own as well, and would love to post their work on here. All of my 4th and 5th grade students made a book, or journal that they will collect their work in. Please feel free to use a sketchbook, or folder to collect your work in at home. I will be meeting at lunch with my 4th and 5th grade students that are participating from Cumberland for special activities as well.

Mrs. White and I with the prize patrol 

Before Winter Break students sewed together books to collect their drawings in. We also created unique covers with our names on them using scrap book paper and fun tools! It was a great activity as we prepared for winter break :)

"Elf"ing our self

Ms. T as an Elf



This week many classes are making self-portraits as elves. I thought it might be fun to share this video, and link so that you can elf your self online as well if you would like!

Wishing you all a very happy holiday season!

Ms. T

Smocks! Smocks! Smocks!

5th graders from Ms. Otrigoza's class model their smocks

It's that time of year kids! Everyone needs to bring in a smock from home. We are starting to do some interesting, messy, and crazy things in Art. It's really important that you all bring your own smock from home to protect your clothes from any damage.

By having your OWN smock, you will not have to share germs or critters with anyone else!

What if I don't have one? EVERYONE can find an old shirt at home, either from Mom, Dad, Grandpa, Sister.... it doesn't matter what it looks like. Please bring one in to school in the next few weeks if you haven't done so already :)

My Art Show

I just thought I would share with everyone where I will be showing my art work this weekend in Chicago! I will have a tent at the Lakeview Fall Fiesta. the event is around the intersection of Southport and Addison. I will be there from 12-7 on Saturday and Sunday if you would like to stop by and say, "HI!"

Welcome Back to School!

I thought it would be nice to start the school year off with some inspiration! The art work below is by 5th grade student, Janejira N. Janejira is an amazing artist that has taught herself how to draw on the computer from watching Youtube videos! Since 2nd grade, every day she gets out her computer drawing tablet and creates a manga style cartoon!

Each year art teachers in the district select one student to participate in the Gallery 62 program. This last school year it was Janejira. She had a 4 part self-portrait (one of the parts is shown below). The assignment was given as an in-class drawing assignment, but Janejira took it home and created the work digitally! Wow! Great work Janejira!! 

My hope is that her art will inspire us all!

"We can always be friends, even if we're different"

"Plant Omega"

"A Seal from Sweet My Comic"

"The Musical Side"

"Artistic"

"The Idea"

Retirement Gifts

This year will be the last one for 2 very special teachers at Cumberland Elementary. Mrs. Polson, and Mrs. Michalsen will be retiring at the end of the year. I worked with each of the classes on a special project to help them remember their last class, and their time at Cumberland.

The students had two jobs to help make these collages. The first was to write a note to their teacher wishing them luck, and expressing how they felt about them. The notes were incorporated into the background of each collage.

Each student also got paint or print a piece of paper to incorporate into the collage. I pieced the papers (that included paw prints, lunch calendars, homework assignments, and letters home) on to an underpainting that I had created. This way everyone had a hand in the finished piece of work, yet it comes together to create one image that holds special meaning to these special teachers!

Cougar Contest

 

Winners of the Cumberland Cougar Contest were recently announced! All 4th and 5th grade students were invited to create a drawing of a Cougar that will be used for future Cumberland Spirit Wear. The staff members at Cumberland voted for their favorite designs, and did they have some amazing art to choose from! All of the contest entries were fantastic!

The winner of the Cougar Contest was Tara J., a 4th grader.

Second place went to Riya P., a 5th grader,  for her very graphic Cougar.

Third place went to Joanna K., a 5th grader.

There was a Fourth Place tie between Jamilee J. and Melissa G.!

Thank you to all students that submitted drawings! We were blown away by the drawings that we received, and plan to hold another contest in the future!!!

Tromp l'oeil April Fool's Day

Everyone in Mrs. Huffman's class today got glasses! Just kidding, it was an April Fool's joke. The 2nd graders all looked at photos of people's eyes to draw them onto a pair of glasses. This makes the students look very silly! They look real, but they just aren't themselves. I got this lesson from the blog, Art Projects for Kids.

The students learned a little about tricks that artists like to play on people. One of the styles they use is called tromp l'oeil. Below is a picture of a drawing that someone made on an actual side walk. The realistic drawing plays a trick on the viewer as it looks like the sidewalk is caving in because it is done so well!

Cougar Mascot Contest

Cumberland School is in search of a new school mascot. We are holding a drawing contest in search of a very special Cumberland Cougar. Here are the requirements:

-All 4th and 5th graders are welcome to submit a drawing of a cougar.
-Drawings should be in black and white (sharpie).
- Drawings and parent permission is due to Ms. Todorovich by Monday, March 18th.
- Teachers will vote on the drawings and a winner will be announced on Friday, March 22!
- Top 3 entries will receive a prize!

Valentine Teddy Bears

Last week, Staley the Chicago Bears' Mascot, visited Cumberland School to talk about bullying. It was such an exciting assembly that I decided to draw bears with my first grade students. They did a FANTASTIC job!

This week we drew teddy bears together and created Valentine's Day teddy bears by following step-by-step directions I am posting below. Every bear was unique and adorable!

I was so inspired by these bears and decided to do a painting of a bear myself. My bear is much more scary and fierce than our sweet teddy bears. Bears are one of my favorite things to paint.