The leaves are changing, the air is crisp, and the smell of apple cider donuts fills the air, but October in the art room means black-light art! In fourth grade we learned about the ancient Inuit practice of building Inuksuks to mark trails and help navigate travelers to safe villages. We painted a watercolor background and added glowing Inuksuk stacks using VALUE to show the shadows and highlights. Pops of yellow highlighter created the stars for the background. 
In fifth grade we learned about the Mexican holiday Day of the Dead (Dia De Los Muertos) which is a holiday blending Catholic traditions brought over by the Spanish conquistadors with ancient Mayan and Aztec beliefs. We created Mexican folk-art inspired scenes with skeletons, marigolds and glowing papel picado (cut paper). Stay tuned for photos of the finished pieces! 

I am loving the unique-ness and colors of these Dream-Catcher designs! The students really took their time to add personal details and to utilize the watercolor pencils in various ways. Each student was also required to write a reflection describing their work and process, which was a great way to get more background on each person's personal goals and interests.