Grateful Artists

Our young artists in lower school took inspiration from the storybook Look and be Grateful, by Tomie DePaola. The story reminds us to appreciate the beauty of the natural world all around us. 

The kindergarteners studied the lifecycle of a pumpkin and took a field trip to Tanaka Farms this fall to pick a pumpkin. In art class, we studied the unique shapes and sizes of pumpkins and drew them with ink pens and paint sticks. We learned how to draw facial expressions that were collaged onto our pumpkins to give them a personal touch. Every kindergartener shared a quote about what they are grateful for in their life. These cute and mischievous pumpkins and their quotes are on display in our library.

Autumn leaves and owls let us know that fall is here. The first graders enjoyed learning about these fascinating birds of prey. Owl eyes have a captivating glow. We captured their intense glare with oil pastels by drawing and blending the subtle colors to produce an owl with big eyes surrounded by a collage of leaf rubbings. Their beautiful owl eyes are on display in the hallways of our school.

Our second grade artists created a playful collage with a list of people, places, and things that they are grateful for in their lives. They also cut an abundant amount of autumn leaves to collage with words from their list. These fun and fabulous works of art are on display in the lower school hallway and near the big room.

Science and art mingled together to create the inspiration for the third grade autumn landscapes. The third graders carefully studied leaves of different sizes, shapes, and colors. Then, they sketched the leaves in their sketchbook using color pencils to layer color and recreate the textures and patterns in the leaves. Next, we painted paper in autumn colors, cut simple shapes to form trees and used the patterns from our leaf sketches to create a whimsical autumn landscape. These magical works of art are on display in the school's hallway.

Birds of a feather flock together in the fourth grade art class this fall. We studied the French artist Henri Matisse and took inspiration from his colorful paper cut-out pictures. The fourth graders used watercolor paints to mix secondary and tertiary colors onto sheets of paper for collage. Then, they used the painted papers to cut-out feathers, beaks, and wings to make a colorful pheasant. A touch of a glitter gave their birds an iridescent sparkle and brought cheer and beauty to the hallways of Harbor Day School.

This Fall in the Middle School art classes, seventh grade students were introduced to graffiti art. As a collaboration with Mrs. Meyer’s Thanksgiving book selection, students learned how to create stencils (a popular form of graffiti art) by cutting letter patterns into actual real life leaves! They learned xacto knife safety, tricks and techniques for cutting individual letters that would collectively join together to quote lines from the book, Look and Be Grateful. The leaves are beautifully displayed with projects from the lower school students. Sixth graders explored how music influences lines. After analyzing specific lines as they relate to sound, the sixth graders were given the task of listening to four different genres of music, letting the tempo, instruments, and lyrics inspire their drawings. These drawings were then transferred onto actual leaves using acrylic paint markers. The final product created an amazing tree display full of movement and unique patterns and lines. 

The art department is so grateful for the students at Harbor Day School, and for a community that supports art education. Happy Holidays!

The Art Department is grateful for …