Monday, December 16, 2013

Pointillism-to a degree. Painting with dashes

Each student chose a classmate to model. The condition was the model had to show some sort of movement and cropping was encouraged. Most student could probably use a lesson or two in picture taking as many photos weren't initially framed well. I would change that aspect of the assignment next time, maybe a short lesson on photography. After some practice they were starting to get it. The next step was to make a drawing form they photo they took. The final part was to apply paint. The students were not allowed to mix paints and only could apply colors side-by-side, think the Pointillist Movement and color theorist Gerorge Seurat. This was to test the theory that eyes will naturally blend colors together. Below is my student work.
















Monday, December 2, 2013

Clay vases middle school

After looking at the clay projects this quarter, I realized that more variety in glaze color is needed. This isn't my or the school's fault. We have a container sitting in customs with several bottles of glaze. This post shows a glimpse into the process and the final outcome in hand building techniques.











Grade 6 Clay Fish

I try to sneak in the clay fish project ever couple of years or so, it tends to be popular with the kids. Most struggle making even pinch pots. Their favorite part is adding features and textures to the body. Below are examples of my student's work.  




Middle School clay funny faces.

This projects has been around forever, I remember doing it when I was in middle school, though in my 18 years of teaching, this is my second attempt at teaching it. The kids loved it, and it is a great projects to teach important handbuiding skills. This has place at the top for a candle...yes, there was a power outage theme this quarter.







Grade 8 brick vase candle holder

Drop a lit candle in it and turn off the lights for an interesting effect on walls. I figured that since power outages are a common occurrence in the community, a utilitarian project such as a candle holder would be appropriate. The initial idea come from buildings across the street from my former school in Egypt. The original attempt at this project was done with 9th and 10th grade students. To check out the cool lighting effect chick here.




Thursday, November 28, 2013

Color Pencil self-portraits for Middle School.

New quarter, new set of self-portraits. The idea was to mix warm and cool colors. We made a color wheel prior and learned about color theory.