What's Going on in the Classroom: Clay Stamp and Studio Portraits

Hey all, just a quick update on what's going on in the classrooms in which I teach! My foundations students recently completed clay signature stamps that they will use all throughout this year and on to other years if they continue with their ceramic endeavors. Check them out!

Also, my photo kiddos are working on their midterm which is a studio portrait. Take a look at them hard at work!

What's Going on in the Classroom: Felt and Clay Finally!

What ever happened to those last two projects in the art room?! I posted about the beginning of them, but never showed you all the end. I'll tell you what happened, summer did! But better late than never! So here are the finished wet felting and clay pieces that finished up our year in high school art!

With all the wet felted pieces finished up, they were ready to sew together to create one large wall hanging that will be displayed in our classroom for future classes to see. Students had to create a wet felted piece with a design sewn on it using three different stitches, including one that went around the border.

Now for the final glazed clay pieces. These were some amazing pieces and everyone got very creative, despite the limited glaze colors available to them. Enjoy our final creations!

What's Going on in the Classroom: Last Days in the Art Room

Ah! Only a couple more weeks and there is so much to do! So we finished out practice pieces for our clay unit and they are everywhere. First step to getting them out of the room, wax the bottoms!

Seriously, there were clay pieces on every surface in the room! After they wax the bottom, students used a dipping method to glaze their pieces.

See all the glazed pieces! They're ready for the kiln. We're waiting on putting the last batch through currently. While they were glazing, they were also working on their final, larger clay pieces. Here are a couple of examples, but I will post more when they're glazed and out of the kiln!

For the last project of the year, we are doing wet felting. This is a process where wool roving is combined with hot water and soap causing the to fibers shrink, creating a piece of felt! We did this whole process outside and it was a ton of fun, with the sun shining! Now we are learning three different stitches and embroidering a border and designs on our pieces. My hope is to sew them all together to make one large wall hanging! More pictures to come as we finish!

What's Going On in the Classroom: Clay!

Yay for clay! During 4th quarter, my room is completely transformed into a clay studio! Okay, that's only my wishful thinking. It's still the same old room, just with lots of clay dust and lots of enthusiasm for making things with clay! Students are starting out with a pinch pot and then one other small vessel either built with slabs or coils. Here is where we're at so far:

Clay Project- Gnomes!

I have to thank my art teacher friend Mike for this one! A clay project for elementary students that combines; slab-making, molds, slip and score, additive sculpture, and glazing. My fourth grade students are making clay gnomes, although some have decided to turn them into wizards, which is perfectly okay with me being a wizard fan myself.
During the first class, we discussed air pockets and the clay drying process. Then we wedged out the clay and threw it to make a slab. The students then wrapped that slab around a paper-towel covered cone and smudged the edges together. Then a small amount of water could be used to pull the top of the clay out so that it created a steep point that will eventually be the hat of the gnome/wizard.

During the next two classes, students were able to add whatever details they liked to their creations. We simply reviewed how to score and slip to attach pieces of clay together. Students also had to use facial features on their gnome/wizard to demonstrate a mood. We talked about that a little bit, and the kids got started creating some of the most interesting creatures!

On a more personal note, some of my art teacher friends came over to my house to paint wallets. Apparently, you can paint with acrylic paint on leather or faux-leather wallets. I purchased mine at the thrift store. I finished this one just yesterday, sadly I only have two pictures of it, not many in-progress. I hope to create another one as well. This one just needs to be sealed with a clear acrylic sealer.

Cupcake Containers- Kindergarten

In Kindergarten, our curriculum calls for teaching the students how pinch and roll clay to make a piece of artwork. We decided to make clay cupcake containers! The kinders were so excited!
First we had a day where we just got comfortable with the clay. Students smushed and smashed and made all sorts of things, but at the end of the day, they had to give the clay back.

During the next class, we talked about how air bubbles can form in the clay and how we need to get rid of those so our pieces don't explode in the kiln. We all wedged our clay and then rolled into a ball. Using thumbs and then pinching, students made a hole and then enlarged it. This created a small pinch pot. I showed everyone how to use their fingers to smooth the top edge. Then using a small wooden tool, students created a cupcake holder texture on the outside of their pinch pot by lightly etching vertical lines into the clay.

For our third class, students rolled out a looooong 'snake' of clay. A lot of students had trouble doing this at first, but after a kick start from the teacher, they got along just fine. Then the clay was laid on the edge of the cupcake bottom (which is by now dry so it's more sturdy!) and coiled around until it came to a point. I did a quick demo on how to lightly smudge the clay together so that the coiled 'snake' would stick. ( I also went back after the kids had left and made sure they were all secure, mostly on the inside of the coil so as not to ruin the frosting effect.) The kids then rolled out small balls of clay to attach to the top as cherries!

Out last class was painting/glazing the cupcakes. Since I have a limited amount of glaze, the students got to select a glaze for the icing and then we painted the cherries red. We're still waiting to do the last step, which is to paint the cupcake holder or the bottom of our cupcake container. We will be using tempera paint for this so that the kids have a wider variety of colors to choose from. They are so cute and charming. For the record, I borrowed the idea from a picture I saw on Artsonia, found here. I modified it a bit for kinders and I simply used this project to teach clay techniques, we didn't talk about Wayne T. It was so fun to do this project, the littles love clay!