Staff Profile
My name is Bridget Houghton and I am thrilled to be your student’s visual arts teacher this year at
Westgate Community School. I am so excited to have the opportunity to be a part of your student’s creative experiences and Artistic Growth. This year will be my third year as part of the Westgate Community. I received my BA in Art Education from the University of Wyoming and I am currently pursuing an MA in both Art Therapy and Social Emotional Learning.
Throughout the year, I aim to expose students to a wide range of different artists, art styles, and art mediums such as charcoal drawing, printmaking, and kiln fire clay among others. Through instruction and encouragement, students will talk intellectually about art and discover the beauty in the world around them. They will learn how to use the elements of art and design principles within their own work and recognize them in others' work, including their peers. They will also learn about how art has evolved throughout history and explore multicultural art from around the world.
Classes
Posts
8/28-8/31
8/21-8/25
Welcome Back!
End of the Year Artwork Collection
Q4, Week 8
Good Morning,
I hope you all had a good weekend!
This is the final week for grades as they are due on Friday. Any missing assignments will be due on Wednesday, 5/17. After Wednesday, missing assignments will be changed to 1s in the grade book. Please look at Infinite Campus with your students and ensure all their work is turned in.
7/8 – Digital Photography – This week we will be going over the basics of digital photography and what makes a good photographic image. Students will have 6 photographs due by Friday that demonstrate the use of
1) the rule of 3rds
2) Off-center subject (vertically)
3) Off-center subject (horizontally)
4) Birds Eye View
5) Worms Eye View
6) Up Close
5/6 – Reverse Pop Art Portrait – Students will be studying the Pop Art Movement and in particular Roy Lichtenstein. Students will be using transparency paper to paint their self-portraits in reverse. Starting with the small details and working their way to their larger background colors.
3/4 – Clay Tic-Tac-Toe boards – This week students will be finalizing their tic-tac-toe boards out of clay. Students will also complete a written critique referencing their clay creations.
1/2 – Bebo Birds – This week students will be studying the folk artist Bebo and studying his unique and colorful style. Students will start by creating a colorful patterned background using quick stix tempera paint and then add their Bebo-style birds on top using black acrylic paint and a paintbrush.
Kinder – Camouflage Butterflies – This week students will create their own camouflage butterflies going along with the butterfly unit that they worked on with Ms. Charlie. Their work will be a collaborative install on one of the walls in the school and will be visible during the carnival on May 25th.
Absence
Q4, Week 7
Q4, Week 6
Good Morning,
I hope you all had a good weekend!
This week in art students will be focusing on:
K-8 – BMoCA visit – This week we will have Ms. Emily joining us from the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art Monday and Tuesday. On Monday, Ms. Emily is going to do a lecture and discussion about the current exhibit at the museum. On Tuesday she will be working with each grade to create a 1-day project inspired by the artists we studied on Monday.
7/8 – Destination Graphic Logos - Students will use Graphic Design Principles to design a Logo for different cities from around the world utilizing the important landmarks from within the city to create their work.
5/6 – Coat of Arms – this week students will be working on finishing their own Coat of Arms based on the Middle Ages times of Knights. Students will utilize new colored pencil techniques to fill their artwork with color, value, texture and depth.
3/4 – Keith Haring Gesture Painting - Students will be focusing on the work of Keith Haring, a leader in the pop art movement of the 1950s-70s. We will learn and review the ideas of gesture drawing, movement, and utilizing specific color schemes.
1/2 – Mary Blair Castles - This week students will be focusing on Shape and Form when creating their own Castles. Students will study and learn about Mary Blair, an influential artist that worked for Walt Disney for many years. Her artwork that we are going to pay special attention to is the “it’s a small world” ride at the Disney Parks. This ride showcases her unique color play and emphasis on utilizing basic shapes to create visual interest and appeal.
Kinder – Roller Coaster - This week students will be experimenting with creating three-dimensional lines using strips of paper to create our own rollercoaster/playground.
Q4, Week 5
Good Morning,
I hope you all had a good weekend! My apologies for the late post, I was out sick Monday and Tuesday.
This week in art students will be focusing on:
7/8 – Symmetrical Light Mandalas - Students will use Graphic Design Principles to design a Mandala using weavesilk.com interactive art creation website. Students will use this website to create a mandala using a color scheme to illustrate symmetry with multiple axes.
5/6 – Coat of Arms – this week students will be working on creating their own Coat of Arms based on the Middle Ages times of Knights. Students will utilize new colored pencil techniques to fill their artwork with color, value, texture and depth.
3/4 – Keith Haring Gesture Painting - Students will be focusing on the work of Keith Haring, a leader in the pop art movement of the 1950s-70s. We will learn and review the ideas of gesture drawing, movement, and utilizing specific color schemes.
1/2 – Mary Blair Castles - This week students will be focusing on Shape and Form when creating their own Castles. Students will study and learn about Mary Blair, an influential artist that worked for Walt Disney for many years. Her artwork that we are going to pay special attention to is the “it’s a small world” ride at the Disney Parks. This ride showcases her unique color play and emphasis on utilizing basic shapes to create visual interest and appeal.
Kinder – Abstract Hearts - This week students will be finishing our discussion of abstract art through the creation of their crayon resist abstract paintings.
Q4, Week 4
Good Morning,
I hope you all had a good weekend! CMAS is in the final stretch! Testing will again be on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week, so schedules will not be the same as they usually are. We are almost done, good luck to the 5th and 8th-grade students on their science test!
This week in art students will be focusing on:
7/8 – Atmospheric Perspective Landscape - Students will use Graphic Design Principles to design an example of an Atmospheric Perspective landscape using the Sketch.io online drawing program. They will create a monochromatic landscape within a defined shape to illustrate the concept of atmospheric perspective.
5/6 - Students have a shortened week with me due to CMAS schedules, but we are finalizing our Elements and Principles of Art Explosion books. This project will be a chance for students to illustrate their understanding of the elements and principles of design that we have been learning about/reviewing for the last few weeks. This project will be due Tuesday, April 18th.
3/4 - Still Life - Students will be focusing on the work of Paul Cezanne to understand and create their own Still Life drawings. A still life is an artwork made from inanimate objects arranged in an interesting composition that the artist creates. This week, students will create their final still-life drawings focusing on value, shape, and proportion.
1/2 – Self Portrait - This week students will focus on identity through art. We will be reading and looking into the artistic design of the “Little People, Big Dreams” children’s books written and illustrated by Eng Gee Fan. Students will create a self-portrait inspired by Eng Gee Fan. A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, which usually focuses on the person’s face or head.
Kinder – Abstract Hearts - This week students will be focusing on shape. Our project will be based on the work of Reginald Laurent. Students will create many shapes that come together to form a bright and colorful abstract painting. They will also learn a new painting technique called crayon resist painting where they will explore how oil and water mix, or don’t, as students use watercolor paint over crayon drawings.