first grade spring cocoons

We have made insect mobiles before but I changed it up a little this year. This time the first grade artists added a real silk cocoon to the end of their mobiles! I bought the silk cocoons along with some silk squares from this etsy artist: WCMercantile.



The silk cocoons took the metallic watercolors beautifully. We used the cocoons with the tops cut open that make a little lid (sans worm)- perfect for inserting written wishes on little paper strips. We hope that when these wishes are ready to mature they will open up and come true. There were lots of good wishes for friends, family, and school and I saw more than one wish for the ability to fly!

I dreamed I was a butterfly...

I couldn't resist sharing more art from the first grade show! There was a large crowd of friends and family on opening day and a wonderful time was had by all. It was such a pleasure to see the first grade artists beaming with pride. Thank you to everyone who came out to support these young artists! This was such a success that we will continue to highlight a different grade each year in the Delano gallery. If you haven't had a chance to visit, the show will be up for another week so don't miss it!



Maria Sibylla Merian was a German artist and naturalist who studied plants and insects and made detailed paintings about them. She was particularly interested in metamorphosis and her art helped to dispel the common belief that insects were evil creatures. Maria worked in a scientific field during a time when options for women were very limited. She traveled all over the world to study insects in their natural environment. Her art has inspired the first graders to make their own carefully detailed drawings of insects- some are based on real insects and some imagined.





I dreamed I was a butterfly, flitting around in the sky; then I awoke. Now I wonder: Am I a man who dreamt of being a butterfly, or am I a butterfly dreaming that I am a man? Chuang Tzu

Symmetrical Name Bugs: The first grade artists know that symmetry is found in nature and an important feature in insects. Each bug design is made from the student’s name using mirror symmetry. Line, pattern, and color completed their typographical bug.