International Dot Day!

Today is International Dot Day, created by Peter Reynolds, the author of The Dot. There are 115 countries and 3,970,708 people celebrating this day today! Byam students and I are especially excited about this project because Peter Reynolds grew up in Chelmsford and even graduated from Chelmsford High School!

In art class, we read The Dot and each grade made their own different dots. Kindergarten learned about using primary color to draw dots, first grade learned how to use dot markers, second grade painted their dots with watercolors, third grade made large dot mandalas, and fourth grade made dot magnets. Here are some pictures of our dot day artwork below!

Every student at Byam will "Make their Mark" on this large poster. So far there are about 7 classes. I will update our large Byam dot when everyone has had a chance to make their mark!

How will you make your mark and inspire others today?

Welcome Back!

Welcome back everyone! I hope you had a wonderful and relaxing summer. It has been so nice to see excited and familiar faces at Byam today.

While I was not at Byam this summer, I stayed busy by taking graduate classes at Framingham State University. In July I took an Encaustic Painting class. We used a hot plate (shown below) and wax pigment to paint with. This was difficult because once the paint brushes left the hot surface with the wax pigment, you had to act quickly and make a mark on your board because the wax dried in about 5 seconds.

Here are some paintings I made during the course!

This summer I also visited a few museums and taught several classes at the Danforth Art Museum. Here are some different projects we made below. I am looking forward to bringing some of these new ideas and techniques to Byam this year. 

Eric Carle!

Last weekend, I had the pleasure of meeting one of my idols, Eric Carle. Mr. Carle was receiving an honorary degree from Amherst College where my younger brother was graduating from. I had the chance to speak with Mr. Carle and I mentioned that Byam students were inspired by his books and even created their own collage artwork. Mr. Carle was very kind and gentle and I felt honored to be in the presence of such a talented artist. Here are a few pictures below!

 

2nd Grade Butterflies

2nd grade has been learning about the life cycle of a butterfly. Each student was given a caterpillar and they watched as it turned into a chrysalis and then emerged into their very own butterfly. In art, we studied the Monarch Butterfly and learned about different lines of symmetry. Next, we painted the outline of our butterflies and then colored them in with chalk pastel. They came out very bright and beautiful, great work 2nd graders!

Kindergarten Eric Carle Collage

This week in the art room, Kindergarteners learned about Eric Carle and his collage technique. An artist from the Eric Carle Museum even came in to do a workshop with all K classes and showed them how Mr. Carle worked in his studio. After reading The Tiny Seed and The Hungry Caterpillar in my class, we created a collage of our own. Here are some beautiful flowers with some caterpillars and butterflies below!

4th Grade Abstract Landscapes

This week, 4th graders took a look at the difference between abstract and realistic landscapes. We looked at some artwork by Claude Monet, Winslow Homer, John Singer Sargent, Frank Hobbs, Liza Hirst, Erin Gregory, and myself too! We noticed the different brushstrokes and the attention to detail. We imagined how these artists created their paintings and then we painted our own abstract landscapes on a canvas board. The students used large brushes and acrylic paints. I especially love how each one is so different. Check out the results below and come see them at the art show on June 10th!

Principal's Gallery April

Congratulations to the students who were chosen for this month's Principal's Gallery! Here are the names below.

Kindergarten - Kaylee B.

First Grade - Lucian P.

Second Grade - Ethan W.

Third Grade - Ceilagh H.

Fourth Grade - Sidney S.