The Art Room @ Briargrove - GREEN Effort!

Recycled Paper Ornaments

2010-12-17T06:28:00.000-08:00

Mrs. Taylor over at School at St. George Place shared this awesome idea for ornaments made from recycled magazine pages!!! I decided to try it out with my 4th and 5th graders who were finished early with their painting unit, and oooohhh it turned out so great!!!

We used our massive collection of bottle caps to trace circles of various sizes and glued them together with glue sticks. A few students even glued them to large plastic lids to make them more sturdy! Also, some students glued them onto a square of colored paper instead of making an ornament - that looked great too! Check out the whole lesson plan on Mrs. Taylor's site... Thanks for the great idea!!! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

GREEN MATERIAL SPOTLIGHT: Cardboard, Part 2

2010-11-02T20:52:00.000-07:00

Part 2 of the Green Material Spotlight is where I feature lessons from my fellow art-teaching bloggers (plus a couple of my own.) Here are some great art lessons using CARDBOARD! One of the best parts about sharing units is that they can give way to many more amazing ideas in all of our classrooms. So inspiring!

Geometric Animal Sculptures

by Anne Farrell from Use Your Coloured Pencils

Cardboard Collages

by Ms. Ale from Art Lessons for Kids

Cereal Box Turkeys

by Megan at Plum Pudding

Cardboard and Recycled Paper Collaborative Forest Mural

by Lauren Taylor from School at St. George Place Creation Station

Cardboard Stamps and Contrasting Cutouts

by Amida from Journey into Unschooling

Cardboard Coffee Cup Collage

by EcoHeidi at Instructables

Cereal Box Mosaics

by Hester Jane at Fun in the Making

Cardboard Mural with Cardboard Animals

by Katie Gonzalez (me) at Briargrove Art Elementary Page

Cardboard Shadow Puppets

by Anne Farrell at Use Your Coloured Pencils

Collagraph Printing Plates

by Katie Gonzalez at Briargrove Elementary Art Page

Frank-Stella-Inspired Relief Sculptures

by Julie Durocher at Ms. Durocher's Art Room

I have come across so many wonderful art units involving cardboard in the past! I couldn't find every one that I remembered. If you have or know of another great lesson, please leave a link in the comments! If I get together enough, I will do another post like this!

GREEN MATERIAL SPOTLIGHT: Cardboard, Part 1

2010-10-26T06:28:00.000-07:00

CARDBOARD is by far one of my favorite materials to incorporate into art lessons! It's always abundantly available and there are TONS of ways you can use it to make art! It can be used in place of more expensive paper products such as card-stalk or matte board. It can have a smooth or rough tooth, making it compatible with a variety of materials. It's sturdy yet easy to manipulate. So versatile!

Cardboard is a paper product, which means it comes from trees. To find out more about how cardboard is made, click here. Cardboard is used to package and protect all sorts of items, from food to furniture to building materials to mail to... you name it! Millions of tons of cardboard boxes are used each year! Fortunately, cardboard can be recycled, and is biodegradable. However, it requires less time, money and energy to reuse than to recycle cardboard, and where better a place to do that than in the art room?!

WHERE CAN WE FIND THIS MATERIAL?

At Home:

- Boxes for food items such as cereal, pasta, sodas, crackers, cookies, frozen dinners, fruit snacks, popsicles, tea, baking packages, etc. Make sure that any item containing food is free of all residues, crumbs, etc. in order to avoid problems with allergies and bugs!

- Boxes for household items such as light bulbs, toothpaste, band-aides, beauty products, etc.

- Used moving or shipping boxes

- Shoe boxes, hatboxes, etc.

(I'll do a separate post about cardboard rolls!)

At Work:

- Boxes for office supplies such as paper clips, scotch tape, pencils, ink cartridges, etc.

- Boxes for reams of paper (these make GREAT storage boxes, and the lids are excellent supply trays)

In the Community:

- Grocery stores - lots of boxes for transporting food!

- Coffee shops - those little cardboard sleeves that keep your drinks warm are just begging to be reused after the drink has been guzzled down!

- There are infinite possibilities!!! So many things get thrown away, so look around!

HOW DO WE PREPARE THIS MATERIAL?

For thin cardboard (such as cereal boxes):

- Remove any inner bags, food particles, etc.

- Undo the top and bottom flaps so that the box can be flattened along it's side seams. (Do not crush or force box to flatten it - warping or creasing the flat surfaces of the box makes it way less useful as an art material.)

For packing/shipping boxes:

- Have an adult remove any staples or other sharp binding materials that may have been used to hold the box together.

- Remove anything left inside the box such as packing papers or peanuts.

- Remove any leftover tape, papers that were attached to the surface of the box, etc.

- Undo the binding so that the box can be flattened (do not crush or force box to flatten it - warping the flat surfaces of the box makes it way less useful as an art material)

HOW DO WE STORE THIS MATERIAL?

Depends on a couple factors: how much of the material are you collecting? what type(s) of cardboard are you collecting? what do you plan to do with it? There are lots of methods that can work; here's what we found effective:

For thin cardboard:

- Create a storage system that allows you to sort unused, flattened boxes by color. You will need a clear storage bin, box, shelf, or file drawer for the following colors: red, orange, yellow/gold, green, blue, purple, black/grey/silver, and rainbow.

- For storing thin cardboard boxes that have been cut up into smaller shapes use either one large, clear storage bin or many small, clear storage bins; the large bin can hold assorted colors, or the small bins can be used to hold separate colors.

Considerations: Students looking for boxes with specific colors and designs will find it helpful to be able to flip through flattened boxes as if they searching through a file drawer. Stacking boxes on top of one another, though convenient, often leads to big messes when students are in a rush. Also, it's good to have one box for leftover scraps of all colors so that students do not put small pieces back into the main boxes (which also leads to a big mess!)

For thick cardboard -

- The best options are either a wide shelf for stacking boxes or a vertical shelving system for standing boxes upright.

- Boxes should be flattened in order to take up the least amount of space.

- Keep in mind fire safety regulations in your building. Remember that cardboard is flammable and can be a fire hazard if not properly stored!

- Considerations: When stacking flattened boxes on top of one another, stack biggest on the bottom to smallest on top - otherwise the stack could topple. The same works well for vertical stacking, so that all boxes are easy to find. Also, flattened boxes that are stored vertically can sometimes bend, warp, or become worn at the edges.

WHAT OTHER ART MATERIALS ARE COMPATIBLE?

Acrylic paint - adheres nicely to cardboard; be careful not to water-down paint, a thick layer is needed to cover print or color already on the box

Spray Paint

Exacto and Utility Knives - blade will need to be replaced somewhat frequently for smooth cuts

Duct Tape & Packing Tape

Hot Glue - for attaching heavy items

Elmer's Glue - for attaching lightweight items like paper, buttons, soda tabs (some heavier items like bottle caps work for this too - you just have go put on a thick layer of glue and let it dry for a long time!)

Permanent Markers

Heavy-Duty Paper Cutter (as long as it specifies capability for cutting cardboard) - works well to quickly cut thin cardboard

Kids Scissors - for thin cardboard only

WHAT MATERIALS ARE NOT COMPATIBLE?

Washable Markers - will not stick to the surface of glossy cardboard; colors do not show up well on colored surface.

Watercolor Paint - will not stick to glossy surface; colors do not show up well on colored surface; water causes cardboard to warp or disintegrate.

Kids Scissors - do not work well on thick cardboard (like that of a moving box); using these to cut thick cardboard can cause the scissors to become dull and loose.

Glue sticks - generally, glue sticks do not work well with heavier, thicker materials like cardboard.

Masking Tape and Scotch tape - both either do not have strong enough adhesive to hold onto cardboard

HOW CAN WE USE THIS MATERIAL?

Here are just some of the ideas and processes we implemented in the art room last year:

Classroom Tools:

Storage - this one's pretty obvious, but cardboard can be really helpful for art teachers on a tight budget looking for ways to store supplies!

Recycling Bins - We use the boxes that reams of paper come in to hold recycled paper scraps leftover from art units. The box can then be taken directly to the recycling bin outside!

Protective Work Surface - Flatten large cardboard boxes and lay them on the table or floor to protect from messy materials such as paints and permanent markers or to protect from sharp materials like exacto knives and carving tools.

Drawing Boards - When I run out of clipboards I like to use firm, thick, flat cardboard cut into rectangles. Sometimes my students prefer them, since they allow for bigger sheets of paper. And when you're done with them, you can use them as bases for collages or sculptures.

Art Supplies:

Cardboard can pretty much be used in any art assignment that would normally involve paper, such as drawing, collage and painting. It is also strong enough to be used as part of a 3D form. The possibilities are endless, but here are some ways you can use cardboard for art:

As a Canvas - You can create a clean slate capable for use with any material - permanent markers, acrylic paints, oil pastels, etc. To get the "canvas" ready, there are a few options:

With little prep: Use the plain, brown side of a cardboard box. Use an exacto knife, paper cutter or scissors to cut the box into the desired rectangular shape, or let the students cut their own unique shape for their "canvas."

With more prep: After trimming the cardboard into the desired shape, coat it one or more times with gesso. This helps to cover any print on the box, can add extra tooth to the surface, and give the students a white surface to create on. Certain materials will show up way better on a gessoed surface. Gesso keeps paint from absorbing into the cardboard, which mean you can use less paint to get a greater opacity. Materials like colored pencils and charcoal will show up and hold better on a gessoed surface.

To find out more about our murals created on large cardboard boxes, click here.

As a Collage Element - We used thin cardboard A LOT for collage last year. We sorted it into colors and cut & glued pieces to create free form collages of animals which were later added to our large cardboard mural paintings. In other units, we ripped apart corrugated cardboard as an element to add texture to our collages. We cut and glued shapes out of thin cardboard and glued them to paper along with other recycled materials. So many possibilities!

As a Relief Sculpture - You can cut shapes out of semi-thick cardboard using scissors or exacto knives, glue them together with Elmer's glue or hot glue, then cover the surface with any variety of materials such as acrylic paint, oil pastels, or spray paint. Two years ago, we gathered all the cardboard boxes in our school and cut them up to make relief sculptures in the style of Frank Stella. The students created sculptures that described a sport or hobby that they liked to do. We used children's scissors, Elmer's glue, and oil pastels. Here's where we got our inspiration for that unit.

- You can also use thick or thin cardboard as a base for a mixed-media relief sculpture. Keep in mind, the heavier a material is, the more likely it will need a stronger glue in order to stay intact. Last year, my kinders cut cloud shapes out of thin cardboard and used Elmer's glue to attach lots of found materials such as bottle caps. The final sculptures were painted with tempera paint. While I would recommend acrylic paint for overall quality, thick tempera worked well for this grade level. To learn more about our cloud unit, click here.

As a Printing Plate - Create calligraph printing plates using thick cardboard squares as bases. Details can be added to the plate using thinly cut cardboard, string, soda tabs, bubble wrap or other items with a similar thickness. All items can be attached using elmer's glue. In order to print from the plate multiple times, coat the plate with a thick layer of gloss medium. This will allow you to clean the plate with a wet sponge and reuse it a few more times. I will be posting our calligraph plates and prints soon on the BG Art Page. When I do, I will post a link here.

As a Stamp - This is really just a modification of the Printing Plate. Cut shapes from cardboard and simply glue a bottle cap to the back to use as a handle. Then use as stamps!

As a Sculptural Element - Cardboard can be cut, ripped, stacked, layered, and joined. It can be used alone, or combined with other 3D materials. Almost all glues work when constructing with cardboard. Duct tape and packing tape are the only tapes that really hold well over time. Masking tape and clear scotch tape generally peel off or are not strong enough to stay put on cardboard. We used all types of cardboard last year as part of our bird sculptures and eco-friendly machines.

WHAT ELSE CAN WE DO WITH CARDBOARD?

I WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!!!

I would love to see some of the units other green art enthusiasts have created using cardboard! Please tell me about what you have done with your students, post a link to your lesson, or point me in the direction of an artist who uses cardboard! Part 2 of my Cardboard Spotlight will include some of those resources!

ARTIST INSPIRATION - Stuart Haygarth

2010-09-29T07:42:00.001-07:00

FEATURED ARTIST: Stuart Haygarth, born 1966, UK

ABOUT THE ARTIST: "Starting in 2004 I have been working on design projects which revolve around the collections of objects. The objects are normally collected in large quantities, categorized, and assembled in a way that transforms their meaning. My work is about giving banal and overlooked objects a new significance. The finished piece of work takes various forms such as chandeliers, installations, functional and sculptural objects."

Find out more: www.stuarthaygarth.com

ECO-FRIENDLY BECAUSE: Haygarth uses found materials that would otherwise become trash.

(green) MATERIALS USED: A variety of found objects, including: colored glassware, used party poppers, tail light covers, prescription eye glasses, and all sorts of plastic. (Visit Haygarth's PRODUCTS page to see what he has created with these various materials.)

SELECTED WORKS:

Above: Tail Light, 2007. Haygarth created light fixtures by reusing tail light covers, mainly from trucks, tractors and trailers. Haygarth sees the covers as "beautiful and complex", and feels that the finished sculptures are "reminiscent of stained glass".

Above: Tide, 2004 The Tide chandelier is made of mostly clear and translucent plastic objects - "man-made debris" - that Haygarth found on a specific part of the Kent coastline. Haygarth describes the shape of the chandelier as "an analogy for the moon, which effects the tides, which in turn wash up the debris."

POSSIBLE UNIT IDEAS:

NOTE: These ideas are not necessarily appropriate for all students and should be thought of as mere starting points for art unit idea development. As every teacher knows, lessons should be based on unique classroom and student needs, goals and abilities, grade level, and safety, availability and appropriateness of materials! If you have other ideas for art units based on Stuart Haygarth's artwork, or want to share other artists who work within a similar theme, please leave a comment below!

a) Students collect plastic objects from home that are no longer in use or are going to be thrown away and use them to create an individual or collaborative chandelier, mobile, installation or sculpture.

b) Students collect discarded objects (AKA litter!) from the playground, a nearby park, or other nearby location for a certain period of time (one day, two weeks, one semester, etc.) Students wash, sort, and categorize items, then work together to create sculptures out of each group of objects. Be sure to establish clear ground rules before collecting - i.e. wear gloves, no sharp objects, don't put anything in your mouth, etc.

c) Students and teacher discuss how the form of the Tide chandelier creates a relationship between the objects and where they were collected from. Students each gather a collection of discarded materials found in a particular location, then assemble them to create a form that relates to the environment in which the items were found. (For example: create a tree-shaped form out of objects found in the forest.)

d) Students create a functional light fixture out of found objects.

Hello Green Art Lovers!

2010-09-28T14:20:00.001-07:00

I haven't updated this blog in quite some time, and it's been eating away at me for a while! Last school year, we got so busy creating art with recycled materials that I rarely found the time to blog about it! Oh, what an amazing year. I am proud to say that I managed to work recycled materials into EVERY SINGLE UNIT for EVERY SINGLE GRADE LEVEL K-5 for THE WHOLE YEAR!!! What a success!!!

Over the course of the year, our school really grew to know and care a lot about reusing, reducing and recycling. Ms. Abair (now Mrs. Plaia!), our wonderful new science teacher, headed up a major recycling program that students from all grade levels (even kindergarten!) participated in. Every Friday, our students collected, sorted and took out plastic bottles, paper, and cardboard from all over the school.

And in the art room, we were overflowing with daily donations of materials to reuse and repurpose for art-making, ranging from bottle caps to cereal boxes to containers of all shapes and sizes, even old toys and jewelry! Every class explored different ways we could turn potential trash into something worthwhile and meaningful. The community at Briargrove really got behind our Green initiatives, and the students became deeply committed to the cause - a healthier, more beautiful planet. And I KNOW our school made a difference in the world last year!

If you haven't already noticed on my classroom blog, I am not at Briargrove right now. Yes, I am still the art teacher!!! I'm just on leave - MATERNITY LEAVE! My husband and I were blessed with our first little girl, who came into the world two days after school started this year. So, while I am at home, I have been brainstorming what I want to do with this blog. And I think I have figured it out!

While I'm here on leave (when I can find the time), I am going to focus on gathering some resources for all the Green Art enthusiasts out there - and especially all the art instructors out there who are interested in teaching our students how to be more resourceful and environmentally aware as they create.

I will be adding regular, recurring features to the blog, and I hope they are interesting and useful to you all! As always, be sure to check out the Briargrove student art page to see some of the amazing Green Art from last year! We will be adding to it once I return to work!

Have a great school year everyone!

Mrs. Gonzalez

Donations Needed!

2010-03-04T14:12:00.000-08:00

We’re still going strong with our recycled material art units. Right now fifth grade is in need of some items and we just don’t seem to be getting enough. I KNOW these are things we can find around the house, and any little donation will do. Plus, it’s a chance to purge – spring cleaning! If anyone from the Briargrove community has any of these items and you’re willing to part with them, please drop them off anytime at the front office. The students would be so grateful! (Items in bold are especially needed.)

Buttons
Beads of any size, shape, color, in any amount
Thread Spools
Small random pieces of plastic, Styrofoam, metal, wooden, etc.
Styrofoam egg cartons
Marker, pen and glue caps
Large bottle caps (like those from detergent and shampoo bottles)
Leftover raw noodles, especially bow tie, wagon wheel and penne type shapes
Bubble Wrap
Corks
Soda Tabs
Any kind of netting (from bags of fruit, cheese, wine bottles, etc.)
Interesting containers no larger than a square foot cube (like coffee tins, unique plastic bottles, fruit and veggie baskets, single serve Pringles packages, etc. etc.)

Of, course, just like I tell the students, don’t buy or donate anything new or still needed at home. And please make sure everything donated has been rinsed of any food or detergent particles. Any little donation will do – small amounts accumulate! Thanks so much for your help!!!

ARTIST INSPIRATION - Recreating Nature

2010-01-29T11:24:00.000-08:00

Looking for more examples of professional artwork using recycled materials to create art that promotes an appreciation for nature. Here are just a couple examples:

Above is an amazing forest made from old rulers by Lizzie Thomas. Inspiring!

This butterfly is one of many beautifully constructed by Michelle Stitzlein, who uses found objects in her work. Michelle is also the artist who gave us the idea for the amazing bottlecap mural we are getting ready to begin!

Do you know of other artists who use recycled materials and focus on nature as a major theme in their work? Please share them with us!

Recently (or almost!) Finished Art Units using Recycled Materials!

2010-01-14T14:21:00.000-08:00

Find out more about these recent GREEN works of art made by the talented students at Briargrove. Check them out here on the Briargrove Art Blog!

4th Grade - Birds made from recycled materials!!! (images of finished birds soon to come!)

5th Grade - Animals made out of cardboard food boxes!!!

2nd Grade - Toilet Paper Roll Garden!!!

Kindergarten - Clouds made from cardboard and other recycled materials!!! (Finished clouds coming soon!)

3rd Grade - Plants made from paper scraps!!! (Will post finished plants this week!)

Great work! The students are loving it and really making an impact on their environment!

Building and Designing with Recycled Materials - Outside!

2009-11-05T07:44:00.002-08:00

On a beautiful, sunny, fall day, we decided to take our collected recycled materials outside to build BUGS! This was one of a few activities I offered to my first grade students on their first day of a new unit which will involve studying bugs. Find out more about the outdoor activity on the Briargrove Art Blog!

Yet another fun way the recycled materials can be incorporated into everyday learning experiences!

Building and Designing with Recycled Materials

2009-10-21T09:48:00.000-07:00

I often let my students build with pattern tiles if they finish their work early. This year, after having collected lots and lots of cool marker caps, glue caps, and tape spools, the students and I decided that building structures and creating designs with these colorful and diverse caps would be a fun GREEN option!

The students thoroughly enjoy doing this when they get the time. If you don't have it in your budget to purchase pattern tiles, start saving marker and glue caps! I think this green option is even better than the original!

Soda Tab Bracelets!

2009-10-14T08:58:00.000-07:00

Fourth grade student, Milena, wowed me with a really cool way to reuse soda tabs for jewelry!

Her cousin taught her this cool technique in which ribbons are weaved through soda tabs to connect them into a beautiful bracelet.

You can see the detailed weaving in this shot.

Here is another work-in-progress. Milena is planning on wearing this one for Halloween!

Here's the artist modeling her work! So beautiful and intricate! And fashionable as well! This is a great reminder that jewelry is an art form, too. What other recycled materials could you use to make unique jewelry? Please share your ideas with us in a comment, or bring your work to show me in the art room!
Thanks for sharing Milena!

A Recycled-Robot!

2009-10-14T06:19:00.000-07:00

Raka in the fifth grade brought in this awesome sculpture that he made at home with recycled materials. Not only does his robot look super cool, it looks super friendly, too!

He used an egg carton for a body, water bottles for legs,

a Sprite box for the arms, hands, and feet,

and a Styrofoam to-go box and bottle caps for the head! He used clear packing tape to securely join his robot together.

Thanks for sharing your work with us Raka!!!

The GREEN Thumb!

2009-10-08T11:37:00.000-07:00

Every time we do someting good for the environment in the art room, I want my students to feel GREAT! We're reducing the waste of paper and water, reusing and recyling all kinds of materials, and generally trying to stay conscious of the way we treat our environment. I'm so proud of how my students have taken this mission to heart!

I wanted the students to be able to take something with them to show everyone their great GREEN efforts during the class period. I decided it would be fun to let everyone stamp their thumb GREEN at the end of class if they did a good job being eco-friendly that day. That way, when someone sees a student's green thumb, they can ask about it, and the student can share what they did that day to help the earth stay healthy while making art!

I thought a green thumb would be a good analogy for our green efforts. Plus, it;s a thumbs up, which is always a good thing! The term "green thumb" usually refers to a person who is good with plants. Well, when we take care of our environment we're helping plants to continue growing and helping animals to live healthy lives. So giving the students a green thumb seems to make sense!

Here is the ink pad we are using. It's washable and non-toxic. I keep a paper towel handy for allowing student to blot the extra ink off their thumb. Otherwise, green would be everywhere!

When you see a BG student with a green thumb, ask them to share with you what they did that day to keep the art room Green!

Items to Collect for Art Supplies!

2009-10-04T13:52:00.001-07:00

Do you have any of these items at home that you don't want anymore? Bring them (CLEAN!) to the Art Room so we can make some eco-friendly art out of them! The pictures below give examples, but not limits. If you think you have something cool we could use, send me an email or bring it on in! Happy collecting!!!

String, Yarn, Ribbon, Thread, even clean Shoelaces! Bring in the Spools from thread, yarn and string, too!

Straws, Stirrers, Coffee Filters, etc.!

Fruit and Vegetable Netting

Used Tape Spools

Metal Caps, Lids and Tabs (please do not bring these in if they come from an alcoholic beverage and have the brand name stated on the cap)

Egg Cartons - especially the Styrofoam and plastic kind

Glue Nozzles (please don't detach the orange part from the white part if it has not already come apart)

All Kinds of Marker and Pen Caps!

Toilet Paper and Paper Towel Rolls

Plain and Textured Scrap Paper and Cardstock (like leftovers from crafting or scrap-booking)

Magazines with Pictures of Food, Animals, Homes; Children and Family Magazines (use discretion - please only bring in child-appropriate material)

Cool Postcards, Fliers, Patterned Paper

Old Cards and Envelopes (look at these cool metallic envelopes we can use for collage!)

Flattened Thin Cardboard Boxes (from things like cereal, breakfast bars, frozen foods, crackers, cookies, etc.)

Abstract Composition using Bottle Caps

2009-10-03T18:20:00.000-07:00

For the past two weeks in the art room, all grade levels have been working on these beautiful abstract compositions.

This is our first unit of the year using recycled materials, and in this case we were using them as tools. We traced a variety of our collected bottle caps to create the circles in the compositions. We have been collecting the caps for other projects later in the year, but this was a fun way to make art with them in the meantime. To keep the bottle caps clean (so we can use them later), each table shared a Kleenex to wipe the marker off after each tracing. To be green, each table shared ONE Kleenex, and often the same Kleenex was used for multiple classes, until it was so warn out we had to dispose of it. (We made sure everyone knew not to use it for blowing noses or anything like that!)

At clean-up many students had marker on their hands, and many of them wanted to wash it off. To keep from wasting the water and paper towels, I told the students we would not be washing hands. Marker is messy, but not dirty - a distinction the students could understand. Your hands might not look pristine, but they don't really need to be washed (unless you are about to eat.) The students did, however, get a squirt of hand-sanitizer as they left to help get rid of any germs since they were sharing so many materials and handling the bottle caps.

Visit the Briargrove Elementary Art Page to see more examples of the artwork and to learn more about the art concepts incorporated into the unit!

A GREEN Art Car!

2009-09-30T07:34:00.000-07:00

This awesome car was made at home by kindergartner Zack Barrera, with some help from his father! He used bottle caps, straws, toothpicks, and a paper towel roll to construct this moving vehicle (and it rolls smoothly, too!) The fiery red paint makes it look extra fast!

I love that my students are going home and using the ideas we talked about in class to come up with their own unique creations! There are SO many possibilities when using found and recycled materials, I'm so glad you are exploring them outside the limits of the classroom.

Please continue to share ideas and show us what you've made! Great job, Zack!

More Kinds of Bottle Caps to Collect!

2009-09-22T14:36:00.000-07:00

So bright and colorful...

Play-Doh Lids!!

Prize Canisters! (Bring the whole thing in - the clear part is cool, too.)

Lids from cans like whipped cream (the awesome swirly one), shaving cream, and spray paint! Make sure they are clean!

Recycled Paper Art!!!!

2009-09-17T12:55:00.000-07:00

Two of my very talented and dedicated first grade students Carter and Eleanor started working on this awesome collage during their free time in my art room last week. Carter started it, then they worked on it together, and then Eleanor took it home and finished it! There is ribbon and wrapping paper on it too. It's about as tall as a first grader!

How cool to see my students taking what they do in here and expanding on it at home! Thanks for sharing your work with me!

Materials Needed for Upcoming Art Units!

2009-09-08T09:12:00.001-07:00

Dear Parents, Students and Teachers,

We need your donations of recycled and reclaimed materials for our artwork this year. If you have any of the following items to contribute, please bring them in! Any amount would be appreciated! Please make sure the materials are clean and kid-appropriate.

-Newspaper, phone books

-National Geographic and other children's magazines

-Plain or Patterned paper

-Old calenders and greeting cards with pictures

-Cardboard packaging materials and boxes (like cracker and cereal boxes, shoe boxes, etc.)

-Cardboard tubes from paper towel and toilet paper rolls

-Styrofoam packaging materials

-Tape roll spools, thread spools

-Fabric scraps, fabric sample books

-Towels and rags for cleaning

-Yarn, string, ribbon, shoe laces

-Beads and buttons

-Small wood scraps

-Matte board

-3D letters or numbers

-Vegetable or fruit bag netting

-Coffee stirrers, filters, toothpicks

-Glue and marker caps

-Egg cartons

-Bottle caps

-Large clear plastic containers (like milk and juice jugs - clean please!)

For inquiries about other items you think may be helpful for our recycled material art units this year, please send me an email at kweymout@houstonisd.org.

Thanks so much for helping us make art and take care of the environment!

Types of Caps to Collect

2009-09-02T15:57:00.000-07:00

We are collecting all varieties of bottle caps for our upcoming art units. Please remember, all caps need to be well-rinsed before you turn them in! Here are some types of caps you can collect:

Tops from juices and sports drinks

Milk and juice caps

Lids from butter, jelly, pickles, yogurt, etc.
(Don't forget the instructions for cleaning lids related to peanut products - see post below.)

Detergent tops

Soda and water bottle lids

Flip-top caps from shampoo blottles, creamers, spices, etc.

Spouts, marker caps, glue caps, and any other caps you can find!
I've been so impressed with all the caps we've gotten so far! So fun to see the diversity of the caps we collect!

An Artistic and Eco-Friendly Gift

2009-09-01T22:31:00.000-07:00

I am so excited that my students are already so creative and enthusiastic when it comes to being green. Just a day after I taught her class, one of my students went home and made this. She reused cardboard from a food box, cut it open, folded, and hot-glued it to make a really cool hanging pencil cup. She also attached some safety pins so I could hang something from it. Isn't that creative? And useful!

Great idea Caroline!

Reduce, Reduce, Reduce!

2009-09-01T19:44:00.000-07:00

Two things seem to be wasted MOST in the art room - paper towels and water! We have got to get into better habits if we are really going to go green.

I put one of these signs at every paper towel dispenser to help us remember what to do. I will also keep out a bin of sponges for table-wiping, and put out rags and old towels on days when we are painting (to clean up possible spills.)

The rule for sponges is to get them wet a little, not a lot. Here's a bad habit we are all guilty of sometimes: bringing sopping wet sponges to the tables to clean with, then wiping up the water with loads of paper towels! That habit is wasteful! If there is too much water on a sponge, squeeze it out!

Don't forget, it's okay if our hands get a little messy in the art room. We only need to wash them if they are germy, sticky, painty, or really dirty.

Did you know you can get Elmer's glue off of your hands by simply rubbing your fingers together really hard? The friction causes the glue to dry and then it just crumbles right off of your skin! Pretty cool - and we won't have to use any paper towels or water getting clean!

Reuse, Reuse, Reuse!!!

2009-08-31T09:03:00.000-07:00

For our first lesson in the art room this year, all students talked about what it means to "Go Green." Each class came up with ways we can use the 3 r's - reduce, reuse and recycle - in the art room. 5th, 4th and 3rd grade students worked as groups at their tables to come up with ideas for how to reuse a variety of items in the art room. Here are some of the materials they had to use and the ideas they came up with!

These extra sponges from the hospital can be used to wipe tables, make stamps, or paint with; some even come on sticks like paintbrushes! The blue plastic bin they came in has different compartments that we can use to sort art materials. The old shirt can be ripped into rags to clean with, or cut into pieces to make a quilt!

We can reuse old marker and glue caps to replace lost or broken caps. We can also reuse them to build or add details to a sculpture! They can also be dipped into paint to make stamps! We are collecting caps like this and the kind from plastic bottles for a great art unit this year! (see the post below.)

Styrofoam trays can be used as paint pallets, printmaking plates, or supply trays. Styrofoam packing blocks can be used for building or can be carved away to make a sculpture! Some students thought they would make good texture stamps, too! Styrofoam cups can be used for paint water, or they can be used as a strong support inside a sculpture!

Cardboard from packaging material or boxes of food can be broken down and used as a surface for painting, or assembled to make a sculpture. Cardboard tubes from tape rolls could make funky jewelry, or they can be stacked together to make a pencil cup!

Paper plates can make great masks or paint pallets, as well as sturdy parts of a paper sculpture. Old packaging baggies can be used to store parts for a project - like small paper for a collage! Do you know how to paint by blowing through a straw? Straws can also be used for parts of sculptures - like legs for bugs! Aluminum tins could be a great place to put paper scraps at each table!

There were so many great ideas. I can tell already that these students are ready to get going on the road to Going Green!

What other materials do you think we could REUSE in the art room? Do you have any other thoughts about these materials? Share them with us in a comment!

Bottle Cap Collecting Mania!!!

2009-08-27T16:15:00.000-07:00

Briargrove, you may have already heard... it's time to start collecting BOTTLE CAPS!

This summer, I discovered the artist Michelle Stitzlein through the awesome website, The Green Art Room. She had the brilliant idea to use bottle caps (which are difficult to recycle) as mosaic tiles to make murals and sculptures. Check out some of the work she did with students in Ohio by clicking here.

We will be coming up with our own versions of this wonderful Eco-friendly and beautiful art unit this year at Briargrove. So start collecting now!

A Couple Rules/ Guidelines for Collecting:

1. Start a collection bin in your home or classroom – reuse something like a coffee tin, pickle jar, etc. to hold them!
2. Make sure all caps are clean and rinsed free of juice, etc. as well as dirt!
3. A warning about FOOD ALLERGIES: If a student wants to bring in a Peanut Butter jar top or any other cap containing a nut product, instruct them to first have it scrubbed off and washed with dish washing detergent at home, and then to bring it in a separate sealed bag. I will not let any students handle them unless we are cleared that they have no nut allergies. This is something to take very seriously, and other food allergies should be considered as well!

Drop off your caps anytime and sort them by color in the bins by the door of the art room! Happy collecting!