ART

Dividends for Life: Faith, Knowledge,

Discipline and Morals

7^th graders celebrated the many talents and skills of being a Catholic School Student!  What better way to show our love and appreciation of St. Elizabeth School than to combine our artistic gifts with our Catholic faith!

Students in 7^th grade used their artistic talents and knowledge of Saints, Holy figures and Catholic icons to create these beautiful “batik” works of art.  The students took inspiration from some of the great masters including Fra Angelico, Leonardo da Vinci and Raphael.  7th graders made these wonderful representations during art class at St. Elizabeth School to commemorate Catholic Schools Week! 

The 7th Grade completed their work using a "batik" process.  The traditional technique uses hot wax, cloth and dye, but in our process students used sharpie markers, crayons, water and ink.  They began their drawings with a pencil sketch and then outlined their sketch using the fine point markers.  Students applied crayons, using varying degrees of pressure, to add color.  They then put a clean water wash over their paper and crumpled up their artwork into a ball to create wrinkles throughout the paper.  After that students laid their artwork flat on the table and used a black ink and water mixture to cover the entire artwork.  Before drying, students used wipes to rid the paper of any excess ink on their work.  The wrinkles attracted the ink and created small lines, or striations, within the artwork.

The end result produced a very interesting antique look to the pieces.  These aesthetics bring to mind the longevity and deep, spiritual faith of Catholicism.  The imagery of the Holy Saints and people, in addition to the batik process, evokes powerful emotion in viewers. 

In addition to showcasing their extreme talent, this lesson demonstrates the faith, knowledge, discipline and morals that are integral to every Catholic School student!

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Collaborative School Masterpiece Grades K-8

"We are thankful for our city and community"

This is the 2^nd Annual Collaborative School Masterpiece at St. Elizabeth School and we’re hoping to make it a yearly tradition!  This year students in grades K through 8 each worked on a different aspect of this huge mural.  The theme for this year was, “We Are Thankful for Our City and Community.”  We focused on different aspects of our city and, specifically, the Washington Heights community that we are thankful for.  As students worked on the project we discussed ways in which we can help to make our city and community a better place to live.  Students also brain stormed about the different features of the city and Washington Heights that they appreciate most during this time of Thanksgiving.

Students in Kindergarten worked on making the clouds that you see in the city sky.  Students in K-1 and K-2 worked on the important developmental skills of cutting and gluing to complete the fluffy clouds.  Kindergarteners used cotton, paper, glue and scissors to create their clouds.

Students in classes 1-1 and 1-2 used their knowledge of line as an important Art Element to create colorful oil pastel and watercolor resist stars in the sky.  First graders made different lines using the oil pastels and then painted over their lines in bright watercolors to reveal the resist underneath.  The students used their creativity and knowledge of line to express emotion while they created their stars in the New York City sky.

Students in both second grade classes contributed all of the birds that you see within the mural.  Students in classes 2-1 and 2-2 were given a demonstration on how to use simple shapes to create more complex drawings.  Students relied on the important Art Elements of shape and line to create their birds, focusing first on shapes and then defining their drawings using contour lines. 

Students in both third grade classes came together to design the blue-sky background for the masterpiece.  Third graders used cool colored pastels to create the huge background.  Classes 3-1 and 3-2 crowded into the art room to have the experience of working together, or collaboratively, in a very large group.  Students used Vincent van Gogh’s “Starry Night” painting as inspiration for the sky.  The outcome was a beautifully crafted sky containing movement, color and creativity. 

Fourth graders created all of the figures, or people, you see within the mural.  Students were given specific dimensions for their figures and were asked to keep them to scale.  This required the use of rulers and math within the art class.  4^th graders were also asked to keep in mind proper body proportions while creating their people.  Once fourth graders added color to complete their people, they then cut them out so they could be added to the city scene.

The fifth grade’s contribution took the form of motor vehicles.  Students in the fifth grade made cars and busses and even one bike, all of which add to the hustle and bustle aspect of the city.  Students used several materials when creating their cars including markers, colored pencils and oil pastels.  Students were also asked to keep their cars to a certain size, again to keep the scale of all things in the mural consistent and representational.

The sixth graders’ role was to create several apartment buildings and storefronts.  Students worked in groups to design the different structures of the buildings.  The class focused on details such as how many stories the buildings would have, what store (if any) would be on the ground floor of their buildings and other minor details such as windows, doors, etc.  Positive collaboration was key to the success of these drawings.

The seventh grade had the task of creating some very important monuments within the city mural.  Students in this class also worked in groups to create the Statue of Liberty, St. Elizabeth Church, The George Washington Bridge and the Chrysler Building.  This class, very successfully, worked to create accurate dimensions for their landmarks and designated group members to perform certain tasks.  Seventh graders had to use mathematical equations when trying to determine proper dimensions for their landmarks.  Positive interactions and a good group dynamic contributed to the creative and successful completion of these monuments.  

The eighth grade also worked in groups to create several other monuments and different facets of the mural.  One group was responsible for creating the train, one group made The Empire State Building, another made trees, one created the Metropolitan Museum of Art, one group created apartment buildings, some students worked to create sidewalks for the mural and others created small details you see within the city (lampposts, traffic lights, fire hydrants, garbage cans, etc.).  Students in this class used many different media to complete their art, while focusing on the contour lines within their drawings.