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Tuesday, September 10, 2019

Blue Dog Inspired Drawings

Do you know who George Rodrigue is?  Ask a third grader, they know!




George Rodrigue is an artist from southwest Louisiana, which is also known as "Cajun Country."  He lived from 1944-2013. George's paintings were primarily of his heritage - including it's land, people, traditions and mythology.  IT was a cajun legend, the loup-garou, that inspired his most famous series, The Blue Dog.



Third grade students created their own drawings in the style of George Rogdrigue.  Below are some of their drawings.









Wednesday, April 10, 2019

DCSD K-12 2019 Art Show



Below are the Artworks that represented Timber Trail Elementary at the annual DCSD K-12 Art Show! Congratulations to all of our fantastic artists!!

Kindergarten: Jace -  Clay Letter and  JB - Paper Flower
First Grade: Scarlett and R.J -  Collage Monsters
First Grade: Cooper, Julia and Quinn - Clay Self Portaits

Second grade: Kate - David Diaz inspired Portrait, Brooklyn - Baby Owl Painting and Charlotte - Zentangle 
Second Grade: Megan - Cardinal Sculpture, Barrett - Eagle Sculpture and Charlotte - Blue-jay Sculpture

Third Grade: Lia's Sugar Skull
Third Grade: Lillian's Sugar Skull

Fourth Grade Cakes: Evelyn, Tatum and Ally

Fourth Grade: Anna's Wire Fish, Logan's Optical Illusion, and Soap Carvings by Sophia, Evelyn and Anna

Fifth Grade Needle Felting: Lyric, Brielle, Landyn and Mallori

Fifth Grade Paper Molas: Lyric and Julia
Fifth Grade: Melted Wax Painting and Scratchboard by Victoria 




Monday, March 25, 2019

Wayne Thiebaud Desserts



Meet the artist Wayne Thiebaud!  Even if you don't recognize his name, I bet you have seen his paintings!


Wayne Thiebaud is an American Painter who was turned down by gallery after gallery up and down the Arts District in New York.  He did not gain success until one gallery finally decided to take a chance on his unusually yummy paintings.


Inspired by frosted cakes in a bakery, he decided to paint this delicious subject.  It is hard to tell by this photograph, but the paint is so thickly applied to his paintings it actually looks like real frosting on a cake.


With his non-traditional yet yummy subject matter, Wayne was considered one of the major contributors in the Pop Art movement. His success is a lesson in resiliency. He was turned down over and over, but he never gave up and finally made it big as an artist! In fact, one of the galleries that turned him down spent a small fortune to purchase one of the paintings from his first show!
This year our Wayne Thiebaud inspired artworks were created in sculpture form. Students started with a cardboard base which was covered with plaster casting strips.  Modeling paste was "frosted" onto the cakes which were then decorated with tempera and acrylic paints and model magic clay. Students were really creative with crayon shavings for "chocolate" flakes, soap shavings as "coconut, and straw as candles, just to name a few. 



Below are a few of our finished products.  Please visit the TTE Library to see all of our fantastically yummy creations! 












Monday, March 11, 2019

Kuna Indian Molas




Do you know what a Kuna Mola is? Ask a 5th grader, they know!  

I spent my high school years in the Republic of Panama.  While there I was introduced to the very rich culture of the Kuna people.  Kuna People live in the San Blas Islands of the Republic of Panama and are one of the last known matriarchal societies.  Molas are hand-made textile art created by Kuna women.  They are usually several layers thick.  The designs are created by cutting away parts of each layer to reveal different colored layers below.  The process is known as reverse applique. As part of our cultural study this year, 5th grade students created their own molas after studying this unique art of the Kuna people.  Instead of fabric, fifth graders created paper molas and used x-acto knives to cut though to reveal layers underneath.  

Below you will find photos of a few students creating their molas,  followed by some of their finished molas.