Julie Anglim's student-artists are pictured here today creating surrealistic images in Photoshop Elements. After students received instruction on the concept of surrealism, they pulled random adjectives and nouns out of a jar which became the basis for their artwork. Using Photoshop Elements, students must follow a checklist for their artwork and note how they used certain tools within Photoshop to achieve particular aspects of the surrealistic style. In the video below, Wyoming Middle School student David describes the activity including the adjectives and nouns he has to work with for his image.

The National Gallery of Art's Art for the Nation - Collecting for a New Century offers online in-depth studies of works by Steichen, Verspronck, Fauves, Valentin de Boulogne, Harnett, Degas, Vernet, Calder, Cameron, Rembrandt, Johns, Bassano, and Vuillard. The paintings were originally on display from October of 2000 through Feburary 2001. Each study includes information on the artist, technique, and history behind each painting. Experience it at http://www.nga.gov/feature/artnation/splash.htm

Mentioned in Big Deal Book Newsletter (2010, March 15). [Electronic mailing list message]. Retrieved from http://www.bigdealbook.com/newsletter_archive.aspx

Calling all high school students! Design the dashboard of the future and win a trip to Motor City! DASH+ challenges high school teams to use their creativity, science, technology, engineering, and math skills to design, describe, and pitch the next generation of automotive dashboards.

As part of the Progressive Automotive X PRIZE Education Program, funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, the DASH+ contest rewards the winning team whose eco-dashboard concept best incorporates feedback mechanisms and supports behavior change to help drivers maximize fuel efficiency and reduce environmental impact. Contest rules and registration here.

Plus - find related K-12 STEM resources online at FuelOurFutureNow.com

From the BigDeal Newsletter - “Meet Me at Midnight” is an interactive online adventure that takes place in an animated Smithsonian American Art Museum. Intended for children aged 8 to 10, the site presents a perplexing scenario. An artwork—the dreaded Root Monster—comes alive and wreaks havoc in the galleries overnight. Visitors choose a friend—a character that has been separated from its artwork—to help aright the mixed-up museum and find its way back home. Every friend takes children on a vivid journey through the museum’s art collection, while imparting key concepts in American art.
Enter the museum! (http://americanart.si.edu/exhibitions/online/midnight)

From the Big Deal Newsletter: My Shot is your chance to have your own National Geographic Web page, where you can create and share albums, puzzles and games based on photos you upload. To get your own My Shot page, start by submitting your best photo to Your Shot. Two “Your Shot” photos are selected for publication each month in National Geographic magazine.

Click Here to Visit My Shot
Click Here to Visit Your Shot

FLOW is a motion painting machine for children of all ages. Visit the National Gallery of Art’s NGAkids ArtZone and create changing patterns and colors as you mix pictures on two overlapping layers. Choose designs from four sets of menu icons or add to the flow by clicking the pencil tool to create your own designs. An online movie shows how to make new icons and set your art in motion. http://www.nga.gov/kids/zone/flow.htm

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History is launching a national anthem singing contest on YouTube. The winner will receive a trip to Washington, D.C., and the opportunity to perform the national anthem on Flag Day (Sunday, June 14, 2009).

Sample videos are available for an idea of what the museum is looking for. Join the mailing list to be notified when the contest begins, along with instructions about how to upload your video and enter to win.

Click Here for More Information

From the BigDealBookNewsletter: Google recently launched the Prado layer in Google Earth, allowing you to explore highly detailed photographic images of 14 of the Prado Museum’s masterpieces. The Prado Museum in Madrid is one of Spain’s most visited destinations, and via the Google Earth layer, you can view and learn about the museum’s most famous paintings, such as The Maids of Honor (Las Meninas) or The Three Graces (Las Tres Gracias). Using Google Earth, you can zoom in on and explore the details of the artist’s brushwork. The Google Earth Prado layer also includes 3-D models, which allow you to fly around the Prado buildings to experience the museum as if you were actually there. Click Here to Visit Web Site

Welcome to Doodle 4 Google, a competition where K-12 students are invited to play around with our homepage logo and see what new designs they come up with. This year we're inviting U.S. kids to join in the doodling fun, around the intriguing theme 'What I Wish for the World.' These are exciting times and both our country and the world are on the brink of significant change. At Google we believe in thinking big, and dreaming big, and we can't think of anything more important than encouraging students to do the same.

Entries are due by 11:59:59 PM Pacific time on March 31, 2009. All 5 of our Wyoming City School buildings are registered and there can only be 6 entries per school based on the grade level groups. More information is availabe from Google here.