8th grade ceramics...vessels, animals, pinchpots and masks.

These eighth graders are really working well with clay.  Here are some more examples of completed items.

 

 

 

The girls made several pinch pots to use for sgraffito, glaze combinations, or painting.

 

 

The hedgehog above has gold-tipped quills.  The swan, with many technical challenges, turned out well.  The turtle shell contained a variety of textures.

 

 On the first vase, her orange glaze ran off the star onto the body of the vase, but we all agreed that it turned out for the best!  The second vase turned out so well.  She glazed the inside with clear and purple, which streaked and added to the floral feel. 



 The masks.

"I Ain't Gonna Paint No More..

One of my favorite books for Preschool is "I Ain't Gonna Paint No More".  It does not seem like a book an art teacher would read, but it is pretty silly and has fun rhymes.  The little kid paints his entire self!  The kids enjoy guessing the rhymes and repeating the "Ain't gonna paint no more" theme. 

To create the art project, the students drew a self-portrait using Sharpie Markers.  They were encouraged to add patterns with the markers.  They used watercolor to paint themselves and the surrounding area.  The wilder, the better!

 

I love how she filled the page, and even painted her hair purple.

 

Maybe she painted a beard on herself?

 



From pulp to paper to project....

 

 

The kindergarten girls and I had a blast making paper!  We learned a little about China, including pictures from the trip Mrs. Jones and I made to China a few years ago.  Paper using pulp was first discovered in China! 

 

So, the girls picked paper in many colors, from magazines, scraps, etc., and tore up the pieces.  We took advantage of technology and used a blender to create our pulp.  I reminded them that this was not the original way!  One benefit of learning to make paper is that the girls will be ready to make margaritas at the next party their parents host.  Quite a Hockadaisy skill!

 

Here is a student mid-puree with her paper, now becoming pulp.

 

 



 

The mixture is poured into the mold, and the girls mix it a little with their hands.  The mold is then picked up and drained, then the girls spend a lot of time getting all the water out as well as compressing the paper fibers to make the paper!

 

A lot of squishing, but the love the outcome!  Below are just two examples of the finished product.  They practiced making several characters before selecting one to use on their handmade paper.  They are merely copying the strokes as they see them, not in any official Chinese way!

 



 

We discussed the use of a chop, so most used red to put their name or initials at the bottom of the paper.  That also helped me know which way was up!  They did an awesome job!  No fear of a new language when you are in kindergarten.