Santa!

These are some of the Santa portraits my 8th graders finished back in December.  We've studied portraits previously, so this project was a great way to use those skills.  We used tempera paint and practiced shading in color to get the rich red hues. I love how they each have their own personality.  I have some seriously talented 8th graders!

This one is crazy realistic, he looks so distinguished!

 I love the shading in the hat on this one.  It's as if you could touch the soft velvet!  

This one's eyes are so striking!  I love how all of them turned out!

6th Nutcracker painting

'Tis the season!  For Nutcrackers!  Nutcracker dolls originated from late seventeenth century Germany.  One origin story attributes the creation of the first nutcracker doll to a craftsman from Seiffen. They were often given as gifts, and at some point they became associated with Christmas season.

 "In 1872 Wilhelm Fuchtner, known as the father of the nutcracker, made the first commercial production of nutcrackers using the lathe to create many of the same design.  The Leavenworth Nutcracker Museum shows an 1880 miner of Wilhelm Fuchtner along with a miner presently made in the Fuchtner family workshops." (http://www.nutcrackermuseum.com/history.htm)

We kept our Nutcracker drawings pretty traditional, as little wooden soldiers, but they chose different combinations of colors for the backgrounds and uniform.  I love how these turned out!