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On Friday, February 17th four women judges from the Pennsylvania Horticulture Society came to judge the flower show at WIlson middle school. They were very impressed not only by the size of the show but the quality of work the students put forth. I quote "There are uniquely talented students at Wilson." Well I already knew that because I get to work with them everyday but it is always nice to hear it from others. While every student wins a ribbon in either 1st, 2nd or 3rd place in each class it was very difficult for the judges to choose the Best of Show due to all of the fabulous work. However a Best Of Show was chosen and will be displayed in the Philadelphia Flower Show at the Convention Center. CONGRATULATIONS To OHONA! Her botanical illustration of a magnolia flower won Best of Show and will represent Wilson Middle School at the Philadelphia Flower Show. Wilson will also have two other pieces in the Philadelphia Flower Show. Ivy has created two Pressed Plant paintings and they will be entered into the Pressed Plant Competition in the Flower Show. Anyone can choose to enter the flower show in any of the categories they choose. They also have a student entry for each category. The Pressed Plants Class must depict a scene created only using plants, flowers, and leaves that were pressed flat to create the image. A special Thank You goes out to a teacher in Norristown who so graciously shared her plants with us so that we could participate in this new project. I wish Ivy the best of luck in the competition! This was a new medium for her and she used her knowledge and talents well to create two designs, one depicting a windmill and one depicting a flower stand. They are equally beautiful!!
Yes we had a snow day today but in the marble entrance at the school spring is in full bloom! The second annual Junior Flower Show Exhibit is on display. Please take some time to view the wonderful work created by the students during parent conferences next week. The Junior Flower Show is a partnership with the Philadelphia Horticulture Society. They are the hosts of the Philadelphia Flower Show at the Convention Center every year. The Horticulture Society will judge our show and ribbons are awarded to students for 1st-3rd place in each of the classes represented. One work will be chosen as Best of Show and will be displayed at the Philadelphia Flower Show. Below is a sneak peek to what you will see on display at the school. I hope you enjoy the show.
, citiyscapes, With 19 different classes there is so much going on in the art room! I love it. Students learn in so many different ways and they need to express themselves in different ways. Each piece is as unique as they are. Grade 8 students are working on their "Where I'm From" poem projects. This class is participating in a service learning project and this project is about them and where they come from. Students are creating everything from 2-d to 3-d projects. Microscopes, boardwalks, canvas paintings, pop up books, cityscapes, floating lotus flowers it's all happening and it is amazing as you can see from the photos below! Flower show projects are still in the process of being completed. Students were given choices of what they could create and if they wanted to work individually or with a group. I was a bit scared of giving so many students a choice at one time and having so many different projects in progress at the same time. The students are taking ownership and have shown responsibility in working on these projects, changing them, discussing them to make improvements and sharing ideas from each other. Students are creating window boxes from recycled materials such as paper, water bottles, and cardboard. Others have designed Dutch Gardens and are creating them in 3-D. There is even a windmill made from recycled objects. We have used everything including the toner cartridges from the copy machines! Grade 6 students are creating clay in the style of delftware for the flower show. We have learned that delftware is created using only blue and white glaze. The subject matter is usually flowers, birds or windmills. The history of delftware was also discussed, we learned that it was the Dutch imitating Chinese ceramics in the 17th century. Trade routes were opened up and the people of the Netherlands liked the Chinese pottery but could not afford it. So they made their own version and now people collect that as well. Students learned basic clay techniques such as pinch pot, coil rolling and slab construction. They used these to create their own vessels.
We are back from a well rested vacation with so much to do to prepare for Wilson's Junior Flower Show in February. Students have chosen which projects they will complete and therefore which category or class they will compete in. Judges will arrive in February so the students have to be ready for the judging. Students in most classes have been busy working on Botanical Illustrations, Window Boxes from recycled materials, designing Dutch Gardens, and even making a scarecrow to represent VanGogh. It is very impressive to see all the students working independently and in groups to create these amazing projects. Pictures of works in progress are below. Section 901 is in the process of completing flower show projects, they have used seeds and beans to make grain art depicting things from Dutch culture. I have never done a project with these materials before but the results are amazing. The different grains give the images a sense of texture as you can see below.
Over winter break I was lucky enough to take a trip to the National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia. I was able to view the exhibit of our students work before it closes. On display on the second floor our work hangs with work from 5 other schools in Philadelphia. Elementary through High school participated in the exhibit.
Yes, you read that correctly. Today as a fun one day project section 702 made face sculptures using their coats. I saw this on the internet a few years ago and decided to give it a go. Students were told to bring their coats to class, considering having a hoodie or jacket in my room usually gets you a detention, the students were skeptical. However they arrived with coats and questions. I showed them a few examples and told them to create face sculptures. It wasn't as easy as it looked but the results were great and overall the project was fun. Students in grade 8 are working on a project about themselves based on a poem that they have written. Students are working in all media; sculpture, paper, canvas, and digital. I am excited to see the complted projects however watching the students learn to use new materials and create a unique project is very interesting. They are even using saws. I expect the projects to be completed in the new year. These past few weeks have been a whirlwind of work for several students that are applying to high schools for art. They have worked tirelessly everyday after school and all day on Thursdays taking over corners of the room to complete their portfolios. Needed were the ever hated self portrait, landscapes, still life, sculptures, work in color, work in pencil and the list went on. I enjoyed this time watching the students create some of the best work I have ever seen at this level. They are definitely ready for high school. Good luck to them on their interviews. Ivy's portfolio Brandon's portfolio Angel's portfolio Aja's portfolio
All grade 6 and 7 students began working on a project inspired by the Olympics. Students could choose any sport played at either the summer or winter olympics. They could also choose any team or country to depict, this was exciting as many of our students have moved here from other countries. This project is for a district wide contest. Winners will be chosen to be in the year end accounting book published by the school district. We have some great work and I forsee it being a tough decision as to which works will represent us. Students in section 901 created winter collages. They began by using tempera paint to create their own patterend paper and finished by cutting out pieces to form a winter scene. For added fun they used a paper punch that made snowflakes. The work is on display on the first floor outside room 102. |