We're Making a Mural!

I am so excited to share that my students are planning and creating a 17" x 4" mural at our school, the first of its kind. Art Club members voted on some different ideas and decided that the one they liked best was a quote that reads, "Education is the key that unlocks the door of freedom" by George Washington Carver. Art Club then planned a design that shows this quote coming out of a book. On the opposite side a door is opening with bright colors of the sunset shining through it. In addition, all different symbols of education (academics, clubs, sports, activities) are scattered throughout our mural. The center is a key that will have "BBHS" engraved into it. This mural is designed to represent the positive message of all the opportunities that an education will bring you. I couldn't be more proud of my students and I can't wait to see our mural finished! 

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! :) 

Art Club Donates Art Supplies

This year, I am so proud to announce that Art Club collected over 150 art supplies to donate to the Child Life Program at St. Peter's hospital in New Brunswick. The coordinator of this program informed me that the children love to make art, however supplies are scarce and they go quickly. I am so proud of my students who helped make this possible! On Friday, December 20th, a few of the Art Club members and I brought our donations to the hospital. 

"We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give." -Winston Churchill 

String of Strength Event

On Thursday, December 19, Art Club had our first String of Strength event. We made bracelets to donate to children suffering with cancer and other serious illnesses. This event was sponsored by Beads of Courage. Our bracelets have been sent to the Beads of Courage team, who will then deliver them to children in the hospital. 

The Beads of Courage program is a resilience-based intervention designed to support and strengthen children and families coping with serious illness. 

Through the program children tell their story using colorful beads as meaningful symbols of courage that commemorate milestones they have achieved along their unique treatment path.