Cookies & 'Crackers . . .

Kindergarten worked with the Gingerbread man, while 1st grade examined the Nutcracker.

After their theater trip, First Graders created their own Nutcrackers...



Ceramic Leaf Bowl

By Ben M. and Drew R.
 
The 4th grade students of Purchase School made ceramic leaf bowls. Our first step was to get a big leaf and roll out a slab of clay. We put the leaf on top of the clay and used a rolling pin to get the veins to show in the clay. Next, we used a clay needle to trace and cut out the shape of the leaf. Then we took a cup of water, dipped our finger in it, and smoothed over the edges of the clay. We laid it out on a paper towel and placed it into a bowl to get the shape of a bowl. While we were gone, Ms. Palefsky put the clay into the kiln to be bisque fired. When we came back, we glazed our bowls with special glazes that contained little pieces of different colors. The colors of the glazes looked different in the container, but they changed when they were heated in kiln. After we finished putting on three coats of glaze, our bowls were put back in the kiln for another firing. When they came out, they were waterproof and very shiny. You can also see the little color bursts that created speckles of different colors. Making the ceramic leaf bowl was a great experience.

Enjoy the slideshow of our process.

      

Still Life Collages

Second graders explore the many possibilities of paper -- weaving, cutting symmetry, tearing & overlapping -- to create Matisse-inspired Still Life Collages. They set the table with artistic flare... and just in time for Thanksgiving.

A still life shows objects that don't move.

Matisse paints his objects overlapping one another. 

Thinking about composition, 
students arrange their materials.



                                                                                       



  

       

   

   

 

   

                                                                                                                                     

Installation Art

By: Judy F. , Isabella C. & Rachel S.

Every year the 4th Grade comes together in art for a big project.  We split into groups and each group makes a life size stuffed person. We make it look like real kids. Here is a little about the process…

First every group traces a real person on a big sheet of paper then they cut the person out. This all involves lots of teamwork! Next, the group thinks of lots of ideas of what the person is going to look like (clothes, nose, mouth, eyes, shoes and bottoms), that way it will look realistic. Next class, the goups start to design the person. For example one group used someone's real shirt that didn’t fit any more and stapled it on and used shorts that didn’t fit them too. You also get to paint the person first. You get to use a variety of materials. After your group is done with the body, you can move on to the face and shoes. You can use yarn for the hair. In our group, 3 people designed the shoes with lots of different fabric. When you are in 4th Grade you are going to have a blast with this project! Ms. Palefsky is the best art teacher ever!

Fourth graders collaborate to construct life-size paper sculptures to be placed around the school.  
Each figure demonstrates a way to Care About Yourself & Care About Others (C.A.Y.C.A.O.)

Proportion - the relationship of one part to another.
Students traced their own bodies for accurate proportion.

Mixed-media - when two or more media are
combined in a single composition.

Students combined paints, fabrics, oil pastels & markers,
creating different textures.