Showing posts with label clay projects. Show all posts
Showing posts with label clay projects. Show all posts

Saturday, April 16, 2016

What the Art Teacher Wore #160

 Clay Week Monday, Here We Go!: Since we are studying the food-sculpture artist Peter Anton and making our own food sculptures, this Modcloth number seemed totes appropriate. sweater: Buffalo Exchange; dress: ModCloth; belt and crinoline: Amazon; tight: Target; shoes: Aldo

I shared with y'all earlier this week that it was Clay Week up in my art room. In preparation, I spent my weekend filming videos...which made for a less-than-relaxing weekend. But, in the end, it made for a much easier Clay Week experience! I'm so glad I did it. For each lesson, I shared an intro to Peter Anton, our artist inspiration for our food sculptures. Then I jumped into our clay lesson. For my 30 minute first and second grade classes, that meant I showed them the first phase of the sculpture. At the end of the 30 minutes, they bagged their project and completed it the following art classes. For my 60 minute classes with third and fourth grade, I would share with them the first half of my video, allow them time to work and then have them meet me again on the floor for the second half of the video. This allowed them to not become overwhelmed with directions. 
The best part about sharing the videos was that it allowed me a little time to breathe and prep. As y'all know, clay lessons can be taxing. This video freed me up to wedge clay (lil known secret: just put the leftover clay back in the back with some water and smack the back on the floor several times. Viola! Wedged!), cut clay and prep supplies. My master plan is to film many videos this summer to have ready for the new school year. Stay tuned!
 Clay Week = Comfy Week: When picking my clothing out in the mornings, I was all about the stretch jersey, y'all. AND washableness. Clay is so stinkin' dusty that I just knew I'd be covered. So wearing dry-clean-only/hand-wash-whateverness was not gonna happen. top: Buffalo Exchange, originally from Forever 21; dotted dress and tights: Target; shoes: Aldo
All week long I heard, "I love clay", "I want to be a clay creating person when I grow up...what's that a called again?", "Thank you for letting us work with clay!" It made me realize that I need to provide more than just one week of clay for these kids...so next year, I plan to do clay week in the fall and the spring!
 All the Emojis, All at Once: Not gonna lie, telling kids whom I normally allow to work on projects for extended periods of time that they have ONE DAY AND ONE DAY ONLY to complete their project is a lil stressful. Both for me and the artists. So I was feeling all the emojis, all the time. Happy! Rushed! Surprised! Annoyed (DID YOU REALLY JUST THROW THAT CLAY LIKE A BALL?!). You get the pitcher. top and jean jacket: Buffalo Exchange; skirt: Target; tights: Amazon
This is what our tables looked like on MONDAY. By Friday, those paper coverings were trashed. I spent my Friday throwing them away, cleaning all the clay tools and putting them up and just de-clay-ifying my entire art room. Whew! It felt so good to get all that dust outta there!
 Thursday, Don't Make Me Cut You: While I did love me some Clay Week, it truly was a looooong week. Holy Smokes! You don't even wanna know how many days this week I woke up thinking it was Friday. Only to discover...well, you know the rest. sweater: thrifted; top: Urban Outfitters; skirt: ModCloth; tights: Target; boots: Aldo
I'm sure y'all have your own methods for teaching clay. I learned everything I ever needed to know about teaching clay to children from Danielle McDaniel, aka The Clay Lady. If you aren't familiar, I strongly recommend you check out her books, supplies and videos. She is FABULOUS!
 I Ain't Too Proud, Friday: A coupla weeks ago, a sweet kindergarten student of mine wore this amazing jacket. I was all, "oh my word, where did you get that?!" To which she replied, "I dunno, my grannie got it for me". You better believe I checked the label of her coat. I immediately went home and looked up GapKids and found this jacket...in the biggest size I could get it. It's still pretty snug but I'm a lil on the small side up North with the chest of a 12 year old so it works for me! dress: altered by me. It was too short so I added the leopard print jersey; belt: Amazon; boots: Frye; jacket: Gap Kids; necklace: Anthropologie
I mean, right?! I had to have it! Granted, I coulda made it but...I currently don't have time to do squat diddly so I decided to treat myself. It's good to do that once in a while (and by "once in a while" I mean thrice daily). xo!
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Wednesday, April 13, 2016

In the Art Room: My Favorite Clay Lessons

Well, y'all, I gotta tell ya. It's been a long, exhausting but super fun and exhilarating week. Which can only mean one thing: Clay Week! I started doing a week of clay for the entire school a coupla years ago and now that we have it all down pat, we ain't never going back. The only thing I plan to change for next year: do two separate clay weeks, one in the fall and one in the spring. The kids love clay so stinkin' much that I want to give them more opportunities to explore! 

I spent this past weekend filming clay demo videos that I've been sharing with each of my classes. I did this for a couple of reasons: 1. it's so hard to demo clay and insure that each child can see. 2. I don't forget any of the details or get distracted by raised hands, talker-outers or whatever randomness that causes me to get off track and 3. the kids pay so much more attention to Television Stephens than Fur Realzies Stephens (which I take offense to but whateves). I've not added these videos to my YouTube channel yet because I'm too tired, y'all! Instead I thought I'd share with you my favorite clay lessons (with links to each lesson!) of all timez.

IN OTHER NEWS (by the way, if you know me even for a second, you know that "in other news" is my fave segue to totes off-topic-town), I've been keeping secrets from y'all. It's time I let the big ole cat outta the bag: I've been working with Quarry Books...and I'm writing a book! That's right! AND it's all about...clay! So...in case you noticed that the DIY's on this here blog have pretty much dried up to nothing that's because my weekends have been spent working on el book-o. I've been keeping it kinda on the down low because I didn't want to get too excited lest Quarry find out what a crazy I am and back outta the deal. But it would appear that they are in it to win it and so am I. I'll keep y'all posted...but I just had to share. 

AND NOW, back to my fave clay projects!
When it comes to Clay Week, I do love to have a theme. This helps with the teaching as I can reference the same visuals. It also helps when we put together the art show as there is a real cohesiveness to it all. The clay display is always in my art room. It looks so nice to see all of these thematic projects together! One of my favorite lessons for an Asian theme were these Painted Indian Elephants inspired by my art teacherin' buddy Debbie Flynt. Each one was so colorful and unique!
Another hit, especially with the kids, were these Chinese Dragons by my third grade students! So much creativity and imagination went into each and every one that this was def a kid fave. 
Pandas are so stinkin' cute. We've taken to watching Animal Planet's Panda Cam in my art room (along with puppy, kitten and otter cam...y'all, it's seriously the best thing ever). My fourth graders had a blast making these Pandas with Personality for our Asian theme. 
Because our art show is in the spring, I settled upon spring with an emphasis on Monet's Waterlilies one year! My fourth graders created these frogs with so much spunk and personality that they really were a true reflection of the young artist! 
Kindergarteners are a freakin' joy to do clay with as they absolutely love every minute of it! While we were working today, I heard so much laughter, happiness and discovery that it just made my day. We created these textured butterfly wallhangings to go along with our spring theme. 
Opening my kiln to these pretties, I remember letting out a squeal! They were so colorful and spring-like and the third grade had a blast making them. 
My favorite projects are the ones where the kids just go bananas with little details and creativity. That's what my second graders did with these cute and fun waterlilies.
One year, our theme was animals because we "sold" our creations back to our parents (for a donation) which we turned over to a no-kill humane society. This was a fun experience for the kids to see the power of being kind and art! My kindergarten and first graders created these sweet Pinch Pot Pets
My second graders used two pinch pots to create their own version of Pinch Pot(s) Pets! I love all the variety of ideas in this lesson. 
My fourth graders created these fun cat and dog sculptures. I love to encourage silliness and imagination in their works so that they really explore making a simple idea like a cat or dog their own. Again, this was a hit with kids and parents! 
Second grade created these tigers one year that double as a container. There's a pinch pot on the back of each tiger that was flipped upright to be used as a bowl! Our mascot is the tiger so this was a great tie-in with school pride as well as keeping with our animal-loving theme. 
And now for a batch of randoms. These fish were not tied to a theme but super cute. I love that clay can be a great vehicle in teaching texture. Such was really emphasized in this textured fish lesson for first grade!
Wall hangings can be a fun alternative to sculpture when working with clay. It's often difficult for the young kids like kindergarten town to create standing sculptures. So, with a focus on texture, my wee ones last year created these textured birds! This blog post has a how to video if you are interested.  
This is one of my tried and true favorite lessons that I used to do every year with second grade until I grew tired of it and moved on. I brought it back for an after school group last year and they loved their textured initial wall hanging!

What are some of your fave clay lessons? I am SO EXCITED about our clay theme this year and cannot wait to share it with you...it's gonna be the best one yet!
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Thursday, May 14, 2015

In the Art Room: Ceramic Flowers with Third Grade

Well, spring is here but I gotta tell ya, for me, it feels like my spring done sprung. I'm absolutely beat this time of year. Between putting together our school-wide art show (where I've not hung a single thing, thanks to all of my parent volunteers. I.LURVE.YOUS.) and trying to clean up after a year of bad put-stuff-away-after-you-use-it habits (I'm so bad, y'all. I've got more cabinet space then Ole Mother Hubbard and I still leave everything out all over my counters), I'm a walkin' talkin' zombie. Therefores, I have no DIY goodness to offer you this week, dears. Howeverness, I do have this super sweet ceramic flower project that my third graders just wrapped up!
 (Insert "awwww" emoji here.)
Like, that's a sculpted hummingbird created without instruction, y'all. (Insert "child prodigy" emoji here. Which I imagine looks like Doogie Howser. Or a childhood photo of me. Ahem.)
And a frog snagging his lunch. Let's face it, these sculptures are way cooler than any DIY of mine. Here's how these crafty kids created 'em. 
 We started out with some low-fire clay the size of a grapefruit. and a styro bowl. 
 We then created ping-pong ball sized spheres. 
And proceeded to squish 'em flat. We kept the thickness as thick as a cookie. Any thinner will become too fragile and too thick takes for-evah to dry. And we ain't got time for dat!
Once they were all squishied, we lined them all up and went to war with the one wee piece on the left. Actually I have no idea why I snapped this photo and then proceeded to share it here. I'm tellin' ya. The end-o-the-year has devoured that gray blob between my ears. 
Shape a couple of those flattened circles into leafy shapes if you wanna. 
 Use a pencil to draw veins. Again, if you wanna. 
 Start layering the leaves and flower petals into the bowl. For slipping and scoring, we use a toothbrush dipped in slip. We still use the terminology but this method is way easier than actually having the kids score with a pen tool. 
Why am I talking, these photos are pretty self-explanatory, right? You don't even need me, just the pics. I'm like IKEA directions but way easier and without the long hours of wrestling with particle board only to discover you've got a couple screws loose. Both figuratively and literally. 
 Oh, look! A flower donut!
 Fill it in,y'all. 
Just to make sure the center is secure and all flower petals are attached, some kids added a coil around the center of the flower.
 And viola! Finished! 
From there I went into my lil speech about how you can make anything in all of clay land if you know how to create a coil, slab and a sphere. Together we brainstormed some ideas on what we'd create and just how that could be accomplished with those three things. These ceramic pieces were created in one 60 minute class period. 
 Once they were bisque fired, we used Amaco's Teacher's Palette Glaze which I looooove. The colors were so bright and rich that I'm an instant fan. 
Today the kids were able to catch a glimpse of their projects while creating labels for the art show. They were thrilled with the transformation. Glazing with kids is truly magical.
Almost as magical as their imagination! Whutz your fave clay project? 
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Sunday, April 12, 2015

What the Art Teacher Wore #136

New Skirt Monday: Nuthin starts a week off better than some new duds, says moi. I got this lovely skirt as a birthday prezzie (thanks, Tamara!) and I was so stoked to wear it now that the weather is as sunny and colorful as it is. jean jacket: Buffalo Exchange; embroidered blouse and bracelets: yard sale; skirt: Flying Tomato; tights: Target; shoes: Anthro

Hello, party people! How are all y'all? After having so many short weeks due to snow, holidays and being in NOLA, this week was like a big fat dose of reality. On Tuesday I thought it was Thursday and by Wednesday, I swore it was Friday. Yeah, that's never a good sign. However, this week I'm totally ready. Our school is hosting chalk artist/street painter Lee Jones for a coupla days. I cannot wait to see what she and my super stoked second graders create. And on Tuesday evening I'll be chatting with Tim Bogatz and Andrew McCormick right here...
I'm so excited! Both of those dudes are incredible art teachers as well as AOE presenters and writers. I'm thrilled to have been asked to chat on AOE Live. It'll all go down on Tuesday, April 14th at 8pm Central and, added bonus, it's free. We'll be talking about finding your own art teacherin' style. For more info, just get yerself here.

So that's my upcoming week...here's a lil taste of what went down in the art room this past week! 
I needed a quick one week self-portrait lesson for my super star first grade artists. They only needed a week before their clay projects would be back to them so this self-portrait proved to be a great project. I'll give ya the complete lesson here soon on the blog. I've purchased those fancy frame papers to insert these bad boys in. I cannot wait to see the result!
I wish you could see this sweet lil girl to know just how accurate that awesome portrait is!
Flowerin' Tuesday: So everyone around here is putting stuff in the ground. But, having lived here for some time, I know that the weather in Tennessee can be 80 one day in the spring and than BAM! we get a hard freeze. And, being the total lazy slob that I am, I always forget to cover my plants and therefore kill 'em all. So I'll be wearing my flowers for a while...and planting them in about a week or two. How 'bout you? Stick anything in the ground lately? sweater and dress: Anthropologie, purchased at Buffalo Exchange; dotted booties: made by me, DIY here
Third grade land is in the midst of creating these chalked landscapes. What you see here is the final-ish stage as most kids are planning to add their desert animals. I love 'em with or without! We chatted about the artist Sushe Felix (you can see my prezies here and here). I'll give you the full details on how we created these lovelies soon.
Painterly Wednesday: So I found this dress in a resale shop in NOLA and I was all, OMG, that thar is an art teacherin dress if I ever saw one! I wore it complete with my paint brush crown, another NOLA score. I tell ya, the shopping there, to die for! dress: Buffalo Exchange; Necklace: The Paper Source
My fourth grade has been on a color-mixing adventure. I loved all of those One Hundred Days of School/Mix One Hundred Colors images I kept seeing pop up on pinterest. I thought my kids could really use that concept in their landscape paintings. So the rule was: you gotta mix all of your own colors. They absolutely loved it! We chatted about he artist Xavier Castellanos (prezi here) and worked on these for a couple of art classes. Again, lesson to come, kids! 
 Color Wheel Thursday: Mixing color means knowing your color wheel! Those fourth graders became champs at reading that wheel. Although it still would crack me up (and some of the other kids) when one kid would say, "I don't have any orange!" to which we'd all reply, "That's because you have to MAKE it!" sweater and tights: Target; dress: Modcloth; palette belt (I know, right?!): vintage, etsy; shoes: Fluevog
Oh, lookie! We're getting closer and closer still to completing our Johnson Elementary Has Heart mural! I couldn't be more excited. I'll be sure to keep y'all posted. 
Soupy Sneakers Friday: My super sweet aunt and uncle sent me these new kicks in the mail. I couldn't wait to wear 'em to school and chat with the kids about them. But guess what proved to be the focal point of my ensemble? That's right, THE PANTS. They just couldn't see past the thought of me in pants to focus on my shoes. Le sigh. sweater and jeans: old, Target: dotted blouse: thrifted; shoes: Converse
Is it just me or are these first grade fish not the biggest crack up? We used the same technique you might have seen in my kindergarten clay post. I cannot wait to share this simple clay lesson with y'all! Until then.
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