Egyptian Tree of Life

The Egyptian Tree of Life

While studying ancient Egyptian art during fourth quarter, seventh grade students learned that the earliest reference to the concept of the Tree of Life is found in the philosophy of the ancient Egyptians.  The Tree of Life is a Universal symbol found in many spiritual traditions around the world.  It symbolizes life itself, with its branches reaching for the Heavens "Father Sky" and its buried roots, linking to "Mother Earth”.  Students drew their own version of the tree of life using oil pastels on black construction paper.  Then they wrote an artist's statement about their work.

"My tree represents my family because my family is amazing." ~ Gavin

"The tree of life is an international symbol that symbolizes life, peace, love and joy!" ~ Blane



"My tree of life symbolizes... calmness, mainly.  Calmness, perseverance, integrity, elegance, peacefulness, grace, righteousness, and justice." ~ Annemarie



"My tree of life represents peace.  That all the war in the world would stop." ~ Samuel

"To me, my tree represents how life everywhere grows into something that shades, protects and cares for... Something to love and cherish." ~ Demara

"This tree symbolizes that anything can happen if you just dream.  Dreams make fireworks.  Night skies, the stars shining so bright.  Make anything your imagination!" ~ Rodnique

"This tree is a symbol to me... of life and passion.  The passion is shown by the vibrant colors I have used." ~ Ashanti

"My tree of life represents love and life.  You have to live life to the fullest and don't be afraid to take a chance in life." ~ Cameron

"My tree symbolizes a family tree.  The leaves on the tree represent kids and the other leaves represent parents and elders." ~ Countess

"My tree of life reminds me of how the world is so colorful and how life is beautiful." ~ Chris

"My tree of life symbolizes different things like life, earth, and flowers." ~ Khyre

"My tree represents me more than anybody.  It means that different colors can be moods.  Sometimes I could be mad at the world for no reason whatsoever.  And that even if I am one way on the outside I feel different on the inside." ~ Josiah

"My tree of life represents every color that makes me happy and art is a part of me... The moon means I like to stay up late.  The flowers mean happiness.  The stars mean never be afraid to shine and be yourself."~ Taylor

"...this tree is for power, braveness, and kindess." ~ Philesiyana

"The tree of life means to me that if someone is hurt they can see the tree of life and it will heal them." ~ Lindsay

"My tree represents life in fantasy, that nothing is ever too crazy to think of or imagine.  This represents how you can dream anything.  Finally, it represents that there is no wrong way to show your creativity." ~ Amber

Australian Aboriginal Dot Paintings

At the beginning of fourth quarter, sixth grade students learned that Australian Aborigines, the oldest known continuous culture in the world, are famous for their dot paintings.  Many dot paintings feature a "totem," an animal that serves as the artist's good luck symbol.  Sixth graders chose an animal for their "totem" and used oil pastels to create an Aboriginal dot painting.  Then they wrote an artist's statement to explain why they chose the animal for their "totem."

"I drew a dolphin because they make me feel safe.  They are always happy and very playful around people.  They make me feel safe because they are very protective of their children.  My mom and I love going to the dock and watching the dolphins play and jump.  That is why I chose a dolphin for my animal for dot painting." ~ Reaganne

"This very powerful werewolf suits me because almost everything I do it does, too." ~ Tally

"I painted this butterfly because my birthday is in April when Spring is here.  The butterflies bring me luck during the CRCT, too.  I used these colors in the painting because it is like a rainbow." ~ Amberleigh 

"The reason I chose the wolf as my totem was because the wolf is sleek and evasive, sort of like me.  The wolf is cunning and quick, also like me.  It also represents my culture which is Native American." ~ Noah

"I drew this guinea pig because I used to have six guinea pigs and I like them.  But my mom said their poo-poo was getting all over the floor and just complaining.  One of my guinea pigs had 18 babies.  That's when she told me that she was going to get rid of them.  So, this is why I drew this guinea pig." ~ Shasanay

"I drew a horse because I think it symbolizes freedom to believe in yourself.  The horse is my totem because they have a strong mind and a soft heart and I feel this relates to me.  I love how they run free and enjoy life.  I have enjoyed horses ever since I first rode one and I thought that it would make a great totem.  That is why I chose to draw a horse as my totem and good luck charm." ~ Kerstin

I chose the dolphin as my favorite animal because it's the most social, spiritful, joyful and adorable animal that I can think of." ~ Briana

"I chose to draw a turtle because it's my favorite animal out of three.  Plus it was the easiest to draw and it shows who I am because it also has my favorite colors in the picture (which are green, blue, purple)." ~ Shania

"I have created my dot painting as a bird because it has a resemblance in my life.  As a child, I would love to act like a bird.  Also as of today, like birds, I like to soar the world, or at least I can "soar" in my neighborhood." ~ Kenya

"I chose to draw a butterfly because of the colors.  Every time I see a butterfly they make me smile.  Also, it is my favorite animal.  Each one is inspirational.  True Beauty." ~ Ashlynn

"I did the butterfly because butterflies are free spirited..." ~ Ayla

"The reason I drew a butterfly was because a butterfly feels free when he or she is flying so I wanted to feel free drawing it... I made a lot of colors... and I hope you like it." ~ Krista

The Science of Pointillism

A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jette, George Seurat, 1884

During the 1880s, artist George Seurat invented pointillism, a method of painting entirely with dots or points of paint.  Around the same time in history, scientists discovered cells while looking at plant and animal tissue under a microscope.  ¡Their discovery led to the Cell Theory which states that a cell is the smallest unit of a living organism;  cells are the building blocks of life;  and plants and animals are made of cells.  ¡Just as pointillism consists of thousands of dots of paint, plants and animals consist of thousands of cells. 
Based on this knowledge, seventh grade students:

• Selected a photograph of a plant or animal and its corresponding cell. 
• ¡Drew and labeled the cell as if looking at it under a microscope.
• Used the science of pointillism to recreate the picture of the plant or animal by painting dots of color closely together.
• Filled the entire page with “cells” of color.

Self Portraits Inspired by Mona Lisa

The Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci

The Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci is one of the most famous paintings in the world.  You can see how da Vinci used perspective to create the illusion of depth by adding a landscape in the background.  With this in mind, eighth grade students were asked to draw their self portraits and include a background that showed perspective.