Funny Pinch Pot Characters

This project is courtesy of my art teacher friend Sarah.  

It's a simple but great step up from the typical pinch pot.  

Texture/Slab/Clay.... Candy Dish!

We rolled out clay slabs and sliced them into about 8 x 8" inch squares, 1/4-1/2" thick or so. 

Using various tools the students experimented with making different textures and patterns.  Some of the tools included forks, popsicle sticks, empty glue sticks, toothbrushes....

 Then each student cut four slices diagonally from the corners. 

 We discussed slip or scoring- or "scratching and attaching"- or as I like to call it "clay velcro".  I call it this because I explain how two edges need to have rough texture in order to adhere to each other strongly.  They always get it after that.  

We attached the corner slices together and turned the 2-D forms into 3-D forms.  

These were fired and glazed.  They make great candy dishes!

Dinner Table

Quite often before holiday breaks my schedule ends up suddenly switched around with classes having special events and activities.  This project is great for when I all of a sudden have a short class or are missing some of my students, etc....

I hand each student a folded paper, show them how to create a place setting for each family member and then how to draw only the top of a person since you cannot see the bottom of them under the table.  (No stick people allowed in my art class!)

Happy Thanksgiving!

I have to admit I was not psyched when a staff-member asked me and the other art teacher if we would create a large turkey with feathers of thanks from all the students in a matter of a few days, however I have to admit he did come out pretty good.  Additionally, I think it did bring a positive smile to many student and staff faces as they walked through the front hall...

Monet's Garden at Giverny

The second graders looked at a handful of Monet's paintings of the gardens, pond, and bridge at Giverny.
After going through the book "Linnea in Monet's Garden" by Cristina Bjork we watched the movie version.  The video is great and really engaging for second graders, exactly 30 minutes.

For this project the children created bridges out of masking tape on white paper.  They used rubbing crayons over texture tiles to create a texture across the page reminiscent of the impressionist paintings.  On top of the rubbings the students added oil pastel and watercolor to create the garden.  The students were very excited to add in the details of Monet's garden - the bench, the boat, the trees and many flowers.

This one is a first grade version of the project that I think is just darling!