Doodles can turn into art to be proud of!

4th graders are working on expressive lettering styles for their sketch book cover designs.

"COOL" colors!

5th graders are learning how to make 3-D block letters for their sketchbook journal cover designs. They have to add a horizon line and place the letters of their names in settings that are personal to them.

We made it through the first day of school!! It was a whirlwind gearing up and barreling through work week, but having the little artists back in class makes it all so worth it.

I'm off to the family cabin tomorrow, so daily sketchbook entries will be on hold for a week. Hopefully I'll come back with a sketchbook full of new ideas!

Not a sketchbook entry, but a needle-felted version of myself! She has a wire armature and I plan on using her to experiment with stop animation. For those in the Denver area: Fancy Tiger has the best wool roving and needle-felting supplies.

The buffalo is sure to be a recurring theme in my sketchbook...

For their SBJ cover designs, I am asking my students to use a lettering style (I call this one..."blobby!") and a symbol that represents them (thus the brush and palette).

Welcome to Ms. Saeger's Daily Sketchbook Journal!

This school year (10-11) the artists at Buffalo Trail Elementary will be using Sketchbook Journals like they never have before. In the past we have used the SBJ to take notes on new artists, to document project requirements, to sketch out project ideas and to practice and explore new art skills. This year the whole sketchbook experience will be more personally meaningful and artistically enriching for our young artists.
In addition to the familiar uses (note-taking, practicing and planning) this year we will:
- explore subject matter in-depth through drawings and collage
- reflect on art experiences using creative writing
- create on-going, thematic threads of visual imagery
- find new visual modes of self-expression
- produce a collected body of work reflective of the individual as an artist
In an effort to model how artists use sketchbooks I will be posting digital scans of my own sketchbook journal. My SBJ will also always be in my classroom for students to hold and peruse up-close. I hope this blog will be a resource and inspiration for my students and for other young artists and their teachers.