Monsters, Mayhem...and Me!

Overnight, pumpkin spice has invaded, and big spiders are making huge webs that I walk into regularly. It must be fall…But I’m still using sunscreen each day and wearing shorts and we have not returned yet to Standard Time. So, who knows. What I do know is that school is in! 

My energetic students surged into the Mayhem Room (oh—I meant the art room) for the first time a month ago, and I’m still recovering. Those kids have energy.

I was happy to see them and to meet new students, and we kicked off the school year with some colorful projects.

Kindergarten and first grade started a project I am calling “Friendly Monsters.” I’m calling them friendly because the kids are little and I don’t want them to be scared. (Side note: some of them asked if they could make theirs scary, so apparently, we have a mix of shy and fearless kiddos…) They have a three-dimensional aspect because we used pom-poms (somewhat inspired by the Sesame Street monsters).

Here are Kindergarten’s creations:

These are the cheerful monsters First Grade made:

My second and third grade students made colorful lion faces from paper plates. Second grade learned how to accordion fold paper to make the manes, and third grade created curly manes by twirling paper around pencils. We have a pride of lions here, and I think they look terrific. Each one is unique.

Second grade's lions:

Third grade lions say, "Roaaaar!:

Fourth grade is working on something that I will show next month.

Fifth grade began topiary drawings. I told them that topiary involves the cutting or training of trees to resemble shapes, animals or people, and that we were going to do drawings of topiary shapes. This was a difficult assignment, but I tried to make it fun and low pressure.

There is a topiary garden here in San Diego that the public can view. It is Harpers Topiary Garden in Mission Hills. It belongs to a couple who have hand-cut more than fifty sculptures in their front yard. You cannot walk among the sculptures because it’s private property and on a steep hill, but you can see the sculptures from below. It is worth a stop if you are in the area. What a delightful gift to share with their community.

Eighth grade also did topiary drawings, and some of them are incredible! I can’t believe how talented some of these teens are. I encouraged them to use lots of shades of green to give each shape a three-dimensional look. We used photos for reference, as we often do, and I love what the kids made.

My sixth-grade students did sky and clouds paintings, with the clouds looking like animals or shapes. This idea came to me when we had dramatic clouds here last month, and I saw shapes in them. The art turned out great, but painting with eleven-year-olds is mayhem. How did I forget? Paint everywhere—on the tables, on the chairs, on the walls. A lake instead of a floor. So, we will stick to drawing for a while.

Seventh grade made colorful trees from pipe cleaners. I didn’t intend this as a pre-Halloween project but some of these trees do have a Halloween feel, so let’s call them seasonal decorations!

Before I go, here are a few of my recent paintings. The first is a view south from Torrey Pines Glider Port. Next, we have 1960s Lambretta and Vespa scooters. Finally, the 1957 Isetta, one of my favorite cars.

Thanks for reading about our adventures in the art room, and I’ll see you again soon with more colorful, messy, surprising, imaginative art…