Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Leonardo Da Vinci


Our April Artist of the month is Leonardo Da Vinci.

He was born on April 15, 1452 and died on May 2,1519 in a region of Florence, Italy. He was an Italian artist, scientist, engineer, mathematician, inventor, anatomist, painter, sculptor, architect, botanist, musician, and writer. Today he is considered an all-round genius whose paintings and inventions changed the world. Two of his works, the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper are his most famous, most reproduced, paintings of all time. Click on either to learn more about each. Click on 10 questions about The Last Supper to learn more about it.

Leonardo Da Vinci is described as a Renaissance Man. This term means a person who is well educated, or who excels, in a wide variety of subjects. The Renaissance was a rebirth or revival of cultural awareness and learning. It took place during the 14th and 15th centuries in Italy, Germany and other European countries. There was a renewed interest in ancient Greek and Roman art and design. The focus was on human beings, the environment, science, and philosophy.

If you want to try a timed two minute puzzle on the Mona Lisa click here. It took me a couple of times to get it completed on time. Try your skills.

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Scherenschnitte? What is it?



Let's explore a specific PA German folk art that has been passed down from generation to generation. Yes, after exploring you can create a Scherenschnitte folk art piece too. Just follow the directions and you can create a beautiful 'one of a kind' snowflake.

1. What is Scherenschnitte?
2. What do I need to make a Scherenschnitte snowflake?
3. Make sure you start with a square of paper. It doesn’t matter what size, as long as it is a square. I like to use copy paper.
4. How should I fold the paper so I can make a six sided snowflake?
5. What shall I draw on my paper?
6. Am I ready to cut my snowflake?
7. What does the snowflake look like?
8. Are you ready to practice making a snowflake? Let’s practice here first.
9. Need some ideas before you start?

Now I think you are ready to actually get your tools and materials together and make a paper snowflake. You can go back and follow each step as you create your Scherenschnitte snowflake. Have fun. If you have any questions along the way, you can email me, comment here, or go to the Linntown Art Place wiki.

10.If you want to see the entire process to make a six sided Scherenschnitte snowflake, just watch the video below.

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Pennsylvania German Folk Art



I would like to introduce you to Pennsylvania German folk art. Before we do any art work or projects, we need to know more about the Germans who settled in Pennsylvania in its early beginnings. The best way I know for you to learn about them and their art is to ask you to help me make a PA German Folk Art Museum either in school or a virtual one here on the web. I will assign you a partner in class and you will do a webquest and make a piece of art in the style of the PA Germans.

Check out the helpful links for April assignments here on the blog.
You can see the rubric for this assignment listed too.
Any time you have any questions, go to the Linntown Art Place Wiki and post them in the Discussion and Questions area. I already put some questions there for you for our three April assignments.

What is PA German Folk Art?

See some PA German Folk Art.

Assignment: Do PA German Folk Art Webquest

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Pennsylvania born Artists


I would like you to spend some time on Pennsylvania born artists and PA German folk art. As 4th graders you study all about Pennsylvania. You even visit Harrisburg, the capital and the museum there. We will be working in class on a project that will result in a PowerPoint presentation. We will use a webquest to study PA born artists and work together in groups of 4. Here is the rubric for the webquest. If you click on it, you will see a much larger version. If you want to work on the PA born artist webquest during your free time, here is the link. http://www.kn.att.com/wired/fil/pages/webpaartiska.html

You can also view the webquest in PowerPoint format.


Or you can click here to see it full screen.