Coil Pots

I love the coil pots- or at least I have loved this lesson since learning to have the kiddos press their coils into the inner walls of a terra cotta flower pot.  It gives the students the safety net they need to practice a variety of coils, and building.  And, mostly, they all turn out.  Amazing how some are determined to make this much more difficult than it actually is.  All of that aside, it is a fun, colorful lesson just right for spring.  (I use Mayco Stroak N Coat glazes, they fire well, are true to color, and come in a variety of great colors.  Also, a little goes a long way.)

 

 

In other news, the 4th graders have been weaving.  Have you visited Cassie Stephen's blog?  Pop on over for a lesson on weaving pouches.  I'm a big meanie- I make the kids take their own weavings off- they've been weaving with me since 1st grade, so I feel as if this should be attainable for them.

Why Kindergarten is Awesome!

I love my kindergarten students. Yes, they have the attention span of a gnat, and it's kinda like herding cats or goldfish most days, but they are so easy to please.  Today, we "dunked" our clay textured heart pendants, and strung them on a rainbow shoelace. (I discovered years ago that a bucket or two of acrylic paint with a lot of water allows many to add color quickly.  With the older kids, we dip first, then add details later, but for this project, dipping adds the splash of color needed).  To add a little bling, we strung a few beads on either side of the heart.  I mentioned that they might want to create a pattern, but they were so stinkin' excited to get their little fingers on my beads, that they could not concentrate on a pattern.  And THAT is why Kindergarten is awesome.  A shoestring and a box of beads, and they were in heaven- they strung away, until I cut them off, so that we'd have time to tie the ends all up.  The "Meat" of the lesson was a focus on texture, and basic clay techniques.  We made small slabs, and experimented with a variety of objects to create texture.  I cut out a heart from each one's slab, and then they used some of their left over clay to roll a coil, and create their initial, which we attached to the heart.  I poked holes, and fired, and well, you know the rest! 

Angry Birds Finale

The Showcase- The video game background was a group activity as people finished.

Blue Bird on the left is NOT of the Angry Bird variety- she was very clear, it's just a bird.

Those with time and left over clay made "piggies". But, I told them they were responsible for marking their pigs, I was not putting names on all those PLUS the birds.

Today was finally the big day- the day my 1st graders got to paint their "Angry Birds".  They have been not so patiently waiting for this day.  And, hoping for a good paint day.  I have been doing my clay painting in the following manner; I don't know when I started this,  but it works well.  I dip.  Yep, just like Easter eggs, I mix up a few buckets of "base" colors.  Water+Acrylic paint.  Then, the kids line up in front of the color they want with their clay sculpture and a paper towel to put it on, and they dip, drip, and put on the towel to dry.  They carry it back to their seat, and wash their hands.  10 minutes, all done.  Now, with K, that's about all I do, but with 1st, after we cleared the buckets and everyone was back in their seats, I gave them tiny paintbrushes and small tubs of acrylic.  We discussed painting the parts rather than painting the "whole'. And, in one day, we have adorable sculptures, with good paint jobs.  It works very well for clay animals as well.  As the kids get older, we dip less and paint more, but this method gives everyone a small level of success, along with the ability to personalize with details. 

Angry Pinch Pots

Such Personality

Those finished, with spare time and clay made some little piggies.  Cannot WAIT to display this.

OK- maybe a little commercial, but sometimes, we gotta use what the kids are interested in, and I confess that even I like a good game of Angry Birds to unwind at the end of a long day.  After talking about facial expression, and how the look on your face conveys a feeling, we began our anual pinch pot project in 1st grade.  We are required to teach pinch pots, but how we approach it is our choice.  Last year, I made cupcakes.  This year, I taught the students how to turn their pinch pot into an Angry Bird (Thank you Pinterest).  (I did not force this- if I had students who did not want to use Angry Birds as their theme, they could make any bird, and they are learning about birds in their classroom).  Often, young artists work better when given a concrete goal, and I am pretty happy with our results so far. 

Tapestries and Coil Pots

Always be careful with student images-in this case, the one face you see is used with permission

A promising coil pot practice

I LOVE my new art room- I have a reading corner for the "littles" with an alphabet mat- sometimes, I spell things out, but mostly, it's just our meeting spot.  I am teaching the 4th graders to weave, and we are weaving tapestries.  I typically teach them how, give them some time to do it, and those who finish are taught to remove it from the loom, and sew it into purses, bags, wallets, etc.  Basically, little pouches.  It gives us a chance to discuss decorative and functional in a very hands on way.  Now, 4th graders can get restless, so I tell them that they can sit where they want, with whomever they choose, as long as they are weaving, and reasonable quiet.  Here are a bunch on the letters, weaving away.   I am also teaching my 2nd graders to make coil pots, and since a couple of classes were a bit ahead, we took the time to practice with modeling clay first- not something I always do, but hopefully, the results will be worth the practice time.  We will make press pots, inside terra-cotta flower pots.  Since I have some very bright students, one way that I plan to differentiate is to teach lids to those who are a bit faster to catch on to the coil pot process.

This Lesson keeps getting better...

Ever have one of those projects that you love to teach, but you keep re-vamping it every time?  For me, it is the Kindergarten Texture Plaques.  When I first began teaching 15 yrs ago (yikes) it was a lesson I taught to the Kindergarten as a way of exploring texture, and introducing clay and texture tools.  It was a big blob of clay, and we strung yarn through them, and wore them home.  Fun.  Then, I found a couple awesome packs of alphabet cookie cutters.  We began to cut out their first initial, out of the best section of their textured clay.  Even better.  This year, the lesson fell around Valentines day, so I first had them cut out a heart from their textured clay, and then we rolled coils and made their first letter to attach to the heart (including those language/writing skills).  I just so happened to have a huge donation of rainbow shoelaces (random) which we strung onto the hearts, and those finished with more time were allowed to use my beads to create a pattern on both sides.  The kids are delighted, and so excited to wear them home.  We used tempera cakes to paint them, and I had them put a coat of Acrylic Polymer Medium over the top to add a little shine.

Artin it up with the MNPS elementary art teachers

We had "The Clay Lady" come and demonstrate some clay techniques which she has streamlined to be quick and user friendly.   Fun projects, however, I would encourage my students to use the proper clay vocabulary.  But I do understand the reasons behind what she does. Anyway, we made fish by bending a slab around a crumpled newspaper, leaving the "mouth open, and pinching out a tail.  Extra clay was used to create details like fins and eyes.  It was fun to see the wide variety of fish from a very basic set of directions.

Dragons and Castles

I love this time of year.  Grading is just about done, and I get to spend the last few days of the year enjoying the kiddos.  We finish up the work we didn't quite complete and we get to try out some projects that aren't for a grade, just for fun.  I taught the 2nd graders how to make clay dragons.  I'm moving out of my room, and don't want to pack up 1/2 used boxes of clay.  They loved it.  We "dunked" the finished dragons in a very watery green acrylic paint, then used tiny brushes to add little details.  Of course, some understood little details better than others.  We had also made castle drawings while waiting for the dragons to be fired, so I showed the kids how to put triangles on the back of their paper to prop it up, and we used it as a backdrop for the dragons. By dunking and painting small details, I have learned that clay will most likely be dry quickly, and in time for the dragons to be taken home same day.  If not, they just set them aside, and came back the next day to pick them up. It also puts color all over quickly, so you don't get that scratchy, brushed on look that can so easily happen when young students try to paint clay.

Valentines Day Pendants

My Kindergarten students needed to learn some clay techniques, such as pinching and rolling.  By practicing our coils, and our spirals, students then shaped their spiral into a heart by pinching the bottom into a point, and shaping the top.  After adding some details with toothpicks, we set them aside for firing.  With a little watercolor paint used for embellishing, we are set for Valentines day.  Cute and full of Skills- that's a good project.

2nd Grade- Canopic Jars

Zebra
Scorpion
Not exactly sure- but it's cute!
Bunny Rabit
Tiger

I decided to change up one of my favorite 2nd grade spring projects. I love making coil pots. Typically, we glaze them in bright colors, and the classroom teachers plant flowers in them to take home. But this year, in order to go along with a Concealing/Revealing theme, we did some Egyptian artwork culminating in Canopic Jars. Gross enough to please the boys! I had never taught how to make lids before, but the students caught on quickly, and loved making their animals to be the "handle" on the top. The students had to pick an animal that represented their personality, which was fun.