What we're up to

So much has been going on in the past few weeks, just returned from Houston where my students participated (and medaled) in VASE. I am always truly amazed by the quality of the work that students create.

My Adv. Art kids are busily working on their end of year books. I know I havn't shared much info on these, but I promise to do so once they are a little farther along.

My Art 2 kids are working on clay. They have already done coil pots and are now working on newspaper filled containers which is what you are seeing in the photos. I am loving the results and the kids are always amazed at how easy it is to create a container using newspaper as the base. Once these are done I will post pictures showing the steps to create them. I think I am going to have time to do one more project after working with clay, although a short little project. Hmmm, time to put my thinking cap on.

Finally

Here are a few more images of some of the papier-mache insects my Art 2 students made. My camera was acting up and so I had not been able to photograph them. These bugs were made with no wire armature and were required to lift the body off the table. My kids are finally able to take them home and I must now say "good-bye" to all of the bugs that were adorning my desk.

We are now working with clay, doing your typical coil pots.

My Adv. class is creating books. My favorite project is the one my seniors are working on. More on that later. I hope you have a good weekend.

Back to school

Spring break came and went rather quickly, didn't it? I got lots done at home, had my master bathroom tiled, hard wood stairs put in and time to catch up on my own art and jewelry. Still behind, though on trying to complete jewelry orders. I was counting the weeks till summer and it seems we have about 11 weeks left of school.

With only 11 weeks left I need to carefully plan my next projects with my Adv. kids. They are now working on jewelry out of found objects, I think they will be done in about a week. I'm thinking of doing clay next, then some print making. Hopefully that will cover the last two months of school.

The following pics are a few of the papier mache projects. I'm waiting on a few more to be done, once they are done I will photograph them and post.

Collage Paintings

I love collage paintings. What are they? Well, the first step is to get students to create a collage on a small sheet of paper, either 5x7 or 8x10. I put out magazines and have them create an interesting composition. This is a great project to teach composition, by the way.
Then the collage is gridded and transferred to a larger sheet of paper. I have them make some changes to color making sure that they use their color wheels to make good color choices. They also add a few things of their own, like pattern and textures. I always do this project with my Adv. kids and have very good results. A good moral booster for kids that don't feel very capable. I am thinking of doing this project with my Art 1 right after spirng break. What? Spring Break is a week away? Yipee!

Feeling Blaah!

I don't know about you but towards this time of the year I start feeling blaah. I start doubting myself as an art educator, minor things get to me more, I can't focus on lessons and I long to be in my art studio creating. I feel every moment at work just takes me away from my own art. Is it just me?
What really upsets me sometimes is the feeling that my art class is a dumping ground for kids that no one knows what to do with. How am I ever going to build up a good program when I have students (mostly male) complaining about having to draw or paint. Duh, this is an art class, what did you think we were going to do? I very rarely use text books but I'm thinking that next year I will include some book work in my Art 1 class and not try so hard to please all of my students. I shouldn't worry if not everyone cares to learn how to paint. I hate thinking this but should I only concentrate on the kids that have an interest in art? I wish I could give a more intensive art curriculum but no one around here believes in homework and God forbid we fail any one. OK, I'm done venting, sorry about that.

Well on a lighter note, we made it to state in the VASE competition this past weekend. It was such a long day on Sat. made worse by my swollen foot (I have a foot injury). We're off to Houston in April.

Pictured on top is a self-portrait piece made in the style of an artist.

VASE

It's VASE time, the craziest time of the year. I haven't had a chance to photograph any new work, or respond to some e-mails. As soon as this week is over I will be able to photograph and post some of the pieces, including the papier-mache pieces.

Sculpture

My Art 2 students have been working on papier-mache insects for the past two weeks. The first thing they had to do was to look up images of different insects, at least four. They then had to create several different sketches combining the insects. They chose their favorite combination and created a more detailed sketch.
I gave them a quick demo on how to construct papier-mache without wire. They were not allowed to use any wire for this project. Contrary to popular belief it is not necessary to use wire for papier-mache sculpture, at least not with art paste
I do allow my Art 3 & 4 students to use wire but it should be part of the design and not part of the building.

Hopefully these pieces will come out good, the kids tend to go a bit hay wire when it comes to painting them. The pictures feature work from Art 2 and Adv.