Middle School Prep students learned about artist Paul Klee and created their own versions of his famous artwork, "The Golden Fish." We colored in "layers" with crayon and finished it with a thick top layer of crayon in black, then used the back of a colored pencil to scratch the surface and reveal the colors underneath! We only used crayons and white paper to create these gorgeous scratch art pieces.

We explored the use of line, shape, pattern and repetition to create these wonderful paper collages. We discussed organic and geometric shapes and how to use line and pattern to create interesting designs in an artwork! These shape, line and pattern collages were made with colored construction paper, crayons and colored pencils.

We learned about the life and works of Japanese Artist Yayoi Kusama and used pattern and repetition to create these 3D paper sculptures. Students looked at Kusama's paintings as well as her pumpkin sculptures and installations, and learned about her love of dots and spots! We practiced a number of paper building techniques leading up to this project to better understand how to turn a 2D medium into a 3D artwork! We used colored construction paper and markers for this project.

Students created symmetrical designs using their names this year! Lower school students created symmetrical name monsters while Middle School Prep students created name designs using radial symmetry! Students employed the concepts of unity and emphasis in an artwork to "hide" the letters their names as well as Line, Space, Shape and Color to create clever compositions. They created their creatures and designs using the lines and forms of the letters in their names as the starting foundation. Can you spot the names hidden in these artworks?

During the holiday months, we created winter landscape drawings! Students learned about foreground, middle ground and background, then applied that knowledge to create landscape drawings which give the illusion of space and depth. Students used shading techniques and color value as well as composition to add depth and create the illusion of space in their drawings.

We learned about the life and works of African American Artist Alma Woodsey Thomas and used pattern and repetition to create these mosaic paper collages in her style! We explored her painting techniques and how she used pattern and repetition to create her paintings. We also learned about mosaics and how we could apply her use of pattern and mark making to create a mosaic style artwork in her style.

Students learned about Pixels and Image Resolution and how LCD Screens work. To understand how pixel quantities influence image resolution and how technology has advanced over the years, we compared the resolution and image quality of a 1998 Gameboy Color to a 2020 Nintendo Switch game consol! Students then used the concept of pixels to create a digital ""low resolution style"" compositions using the grid layout in Google Sheets.

We learned about the life and works of American painter Wayne Thiebaud and used perspective to create our own layered cake drawings. We explored a number of his works as well as his painting techniques and how loved to layer his oil paint like icing. We then used simple perspective drawing techniques to create our own layered cake drawings. Students got creative and added their own spin, drawing mermaid cakes, unicorn cakes, monster cakes, and all kinds of other clever themes!

Our Middle School Prep students used perspective to create the illusion of depth and space in our cityscape drawings. We learned about perspective drawing techniques including using vanishing points, horizon and orthogonal lines to help us achieve proper proportions and successfully create the illusion of distance and space. We also explored how Vincent Van Gogh used perspective in his painting "Bedroom in Arles," to create the illusion of depth and space in this painting.

Students this year were invited to participate in The 13th Annual Every Drop Counts Poster Contest, held by the Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department! We discussed the importance of water conservation and created fun posters with this theme in mind. Students had the option to take their artwork home and submit their posters to the Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department to participate in this contest. Many students entered and their posters were fantastic!

With summer break just on the horizon, Lower School students created their own giant hamburger relief collages! Students used 3D paper building techniques to create these fun, tasty looking snacks. Some students created loaded "veggie" burgers while others added mountains of "bacon" and "fried eggs" to their burger masterpieces.