Art I Artist Masks

Art I students chose a traditional artist or a culture to study.  Then, they researched this artist or culture and created a design that reflects the artist or culture of their choice. This lesson was a lot of fun to teach! I am very proud of my students and their artwork. Here are a few examples of finished masks~ 

Art II Artist Inspired Ceramic Plates

Art II researched a contemporary artist of their choice. They traced a plate that they would like to make and then drew and colored a design that reflects the style of the artist they chose. This design does not copy the artist, but is instead a re-creation (in student's own way) of this artist's work.  Once they planned their design, students made their plates by using a real plate as a mold. 

Step 1: 
Roll clay out with a rolling pin on top of newspaper or a plastic bag (plastic bag works better because clay tends to stick to newspaper). Roll clay between two pieces of wood that are the same thickness so that you flatten clay to desired thickness and it is even on all sides. Make sure there are no air bubbles!!

Step 2:
Cover plate with plastic bag, then lift clay and place over the plate. 

Step 3: 
Use pin tool to trim off edges of the plate. Put the extra clay in a pile. 

Step 4: 
Use water and sponge to smooth plate. Pay close attention to the edges and make sure that they are smooth! 

Step 5: 
Let dry over night. Place bag over the plate just a little bit so that it can start to dry but not too quickly. The next day, you can lift the plate and use the sponge to smooth out the bottom  **very important**

Step 6: 
Once plate is smoothed on both top and bottom, let dry out completely so that it can be fired! 

Step 7: 
Once plate is fired, students can sand paper their plate to smooth out any edges that were not completely smooth or that were uneven.

Step 8: 

Once plate is sand papered to desired smoothness, students can begin to draw their design onto their plate. Remember, prior to making their mold, students were to trace the plate they are using onto a piece of paper and draw/color a design that reflects the style of an artist of their choice. Once their plate is ready, they then draw this same design onto their plate! 

A few finished plates (under-glazed and clear glazed)

Art II Abstract Paintings

Art II studied contemporary artist Wes Sherman and his abstract paintings. Using an app on their iPads, ibisPaintx, students were able to color block a photo of their choice and transform it into an abstract painting. Then, students drew and painted their designs onto  canvas board. This project was a lot of fun to teach and the results were awesome! The iPad  was a useful tool to help transform a realistic photo into an abstract work of art! 

Here are some finished student paintings~ 

Art Club Makes Tie-Dye Shirts

Art Club made tie-dye t-shirts that we will soon design for the 2014 school year. So proud of everything we have accomplished so far this year!! 

**String of Strength Event donating bracelets to children with cancer 

**Making paper beads to donate to help bring clean water to Tanzanian citizens

**Collecting over 100 art supplies to donate to St. Peter's Children's Hospital 

**Starting to make bones to help raise awareness to our school community about on-going genocide 

**Starting a mural in our school 

Looking forward to the rest of the school year and all of the fun community art projects we will continue to work on! :)