Art with Ms. Lagerstam

Stratton Money

Ms. Lagerstam — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 16:05:08 +0000

Stratton is now a MicroSociety. This means that they we will have our own economy, which means we will have our own Stratton money. Students are designing what they think our money should look like.

5th graders will design the 20
4th graders will design the 10
3rd and 2nd graders will design the 5
1st and Kindergartners will design the 1

Before we started designing we did some research. We examined US dollars through the Federal Bureau of Printing and Engraving. Then we examined what money looks like in other countries. Students were particularly interested in money from around the world! I found this website to help us. Ron Wise’s Banknote World. It has a great collection of older money as well as more recent bank notes. Enjoy!

Welcome Back!

Ms. Lagerstam — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 02:13:45 +0000

Welcome back to Stratton art class! The year is off to a great start. The first day of art class was spent reviewing expectations and decorating our folders. The folders will go home at the end of the school year filled with artwork and sketches.

All of classes have begun their first project of the year. Here is what they have been working on:

Kindergarteners have drawn self portraits and have explored making lines with various art supplies.

1st graders have learned the difference between 2D and 3D. They are folding and rolling strips of paper to create wild and exciting roller coasters.

2nd graders have been learning about insects in their classrooms. Students are able to apply this knowledge in art by creating a insect with an attitude!

3rd graders are learning about weaving and will create their own piece of cloth using yarn. Here is a short history about Kente cloth.

4th graders are reviewing the elements of art; line, shape, color/value, pattern/texture, and space. They are using all of these elements to create an abstract composition.

5th graders are beginning a unit on photography. They have made photograms. Photograms are photos made without a camera. Check out some of Maholy-Nagy’s photograms or Man Ray’s Rayographs. Students will soon take digital photographs. A special thanks to the Stratton PTA for providing digital cameras! Students will also analyze the photographs of several notable photographers.

Stratton Art Show!

Ms. Lagerstam — Sat, 14 May 2011 19:45:49 +0000

Please join us for an art show at the Orpheum Children’s Science Museum! There will be over 500 pieces of amazing art featured and students will be able to explore the museum as well. There will be one piece of art from every child at Stratton. Your child will recieve a ticket to get into the show for free, all others will pay $1 for admission to the opening. If you are not able to make it to the opening you are welcome to visit the Orpheum during their regular business hours to see the artwork. The show will be up until May 30th.

Hope to see you at the opening on Tuesday, May 17th from 6:00-8:00pm.

1000 Works of Art!!!!

Ms. Lagerstam — Sun, 13 Mar 2011 14:52:10 +0000

I set a personal goal of uploading at least 1,000 works of art to our online gallery at Artsonia and we did it! As of March 13, 2011, there are currently 1147 works of art available for your viewing pleasure. Your positive feedback about the gallery has motivated me to continue photographing and scanning the children’s amazing work. Thank you to all of the parents and children who have shared with me how much they enjoy the site. I’m pleased to say there have been over 2,000 visitors to our gallery. Check out our stats below!

Don’t forget you can upload comments and artist statements. I LOVE reading what the kids have to say about their artwork. What a great way for them to process their thoughts both visually and verbally!

Pinch Pots!

Ms. Lagerstam — Sun, 27 Feb 2011 04:02:47 +0000

What is better than a pinch pot made by a first grader? I can’t think of much. They loved making them and learning about working with clay!

Anxiously Awaiting Spring!

Ms. Lagerstam — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 04:00:41 +0000

The students and I are anxious for the warm weather and bright colors of spring. If you are too, this should cheer you up! Kindergarteners have been inspired by Vincent vanGogh’s Sunflowers. They created their own vases of flowers using a stamp printing technique. The stamps they used were objects most people might just toss in the trash. These inovative artists transformed plastic forks, sponges, marker lids, and empty spools into gorgeous bouquets!Click to view slideshow.

By the way, you can also find these beautiful works of art at Artsonia!

DonorsChoose

Ms. Lagerstam — Sat, 05 Feb 2011 18:57:50 +0000

I just wanted to remind everyone about my DonorsChoose proposal for digital cameras. I know it is a big request (almost $1800) but any small donation would be appreciated and it definitely adds up.

This request is to support an exciting (and favorite) unit on photography for 5th grade students. During this unit last year, students learned about composition, explored how to operate the cameras, and then critiqued their work. Some of their work was displayed at the Stratton talent show and at Class Act during the Boneyard Arts Festival. Our enrichment team supported an extension of this unit when 5th grade students were invited to photograph our spirit week. Students were thrilled to show off their new found photography skills! It was a great way for them to apply all that they had learned about photography.

This request includes:

5 digital cameras
2 replacement batteries
5 memory cards
4 toner cartridges for our laser printer to print the final photographs

These items were carefully selected by me to provide the best learning experience for my students, to reach the maximum amount of students over time, and to efficiently manage the photographs of 80 students.

The district does have 5 digital cameras (that were used last year), however these cameras are shared by 11 elementary schools! This makes it difficult to use the cameras for an extended amount of time. Another problem I encountered with the district cameras is that they use double A batteries which run out quickly. The cameras I am requesting have rechargeable batteries, this of course comes at a greater start up cost but over time is actually more cost efficient.

Thank you for your consideration! If you have any questions or concerns about this proposal, please let me know. I can be reached at lagersji@champaignschools.org or leave a comment for me here.

Click to view slideshow.

Enjoy this short slideshow of some of our photography from the 2009-2010 school year!

Snowed in? Visit an Art Museum!

Ms. Lagerstam — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 17:42:29 +0000

How is that possible, you ask. Through the Art Project (powered by Google) you can explore art museums all over the world! This is such an amazing resource.

I went to NYC and “walked” around MOMA (Museum of Modern Art). It’s tricky to navigate and it seems like you can only go to one gallery/room in the museum, but it does give you a good sense of what the museum looks like. Then I examined van Gogh’s Starry Night. I love how you can get so close to the paintings to see the brush strokes. If I got this close in the museum you can bet a guard would be asking me to step back!

Detail of Vincent van Gogh's Starry Night

After visiting MOMA I took a trip over to Amsterdam to check out the van Gogh Museum to examine more work by van Gogh. There I was able to examine The Bedroom.

van Gogh, The Bedroom

I had quite an adventure today and I haven’t even left my house! I hope you are able to spend some time exploring art throught this exciting new project.

Proud Kindergarten Students!

Ms. Lagerstam — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 22:48:11 +0000

Check out these outstanding bead necklaces the kindergarten students made!

It took a lot of fine motor skills to create these masterpieces. First they used air dry clay to shape the beads, then they used a small wooden dowel to decorate their beads and to put the hole in each bead. When the beads were dry they painted them with watercolor paint and then covered them with a protective varnish. After much anticipation, they were able to sting the beads on a flexible wire to create their necklaces!

Don’t you just love their proud faces! Thanks Soren, Malia, Lucia, and Tiera for modeling your work!

Click to view slideshow.

Virtual Art Gallery

Ms. Lagerstam — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 05:14:08 +0000

Our virtual art gallery on Artsonia is up and running! Thank you to all of the students who have returned their permission slips. I’ve already received over 100! You may turn them in at any time and the permission slip is good for the entire time your child attends Stratton.

Some things I like about Artsonia:

great way for students to share their work with loved ones anywhere in the world
students will see their work over time, as all artwork uploaded will remain on Artsonia indefinitely
it is a safe website, no photographs of students and no last names will ever be published
provides children an opportunity to write artist’s statements about their work

Please feel free to contact me with any questions, lagersji@champaignschools.org.