My favorite, Fish Sticks!

 

 

Oh, love the Fish Sticks.  The girls get the pun! 

Here are some pictures of some of the ceramic fish that are currently out along the path around the pond. 

 

This year they used watercolor and painted light colors all over the fish, and then painted over that with dark colors.  Then the girls used a sponge to wipe off the dark color, leaving dark in the textures and scratches in the clay.  Some did not use this method, they had a choice.  Either way, fun!

 



 



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.

Under the sea, in Prekindergarten

 

 

This is a wonderful multi-media project that the Prekindergarten girls enjoy.  We are lucky to have a huge aquarium near our library, which the girls and I visited when we started this project.  We noted how different each fish was, how they swam up, down, toward and away from us, and the other items in the aquarium. 

The girls drew, decorated and cut out a paper fish which was used to trace onto a slab of clay.  They added textures to the clay fish, which was then fired.  Mat board was painted with cool colors for the water.  The fired fish were painted.  All the fish as well as "rocks" (hole punch outs) and seaweed (they tore green construction paper) were assembled to make the aquarium. 

No need to feed the fish or change the water!

 

I got this idea at a Texas Art Education Conference several years ago.

 

The paper fish as it was traced onto the clay, and the clay fish, before adding details.

 



 

Some finished examples:

They usually glue the seaweed just to the bottom of the board.  I loved the way she made a gentle arch and used that to base the seaweed.

 



 

I loved the placement of the fish.  It was her idea to put the clay fish in the seaweed!

 

 

I love how different both of her fish are decorated, and the face on the paper fish cracks me up!

 

 



Some 8th Grade work....vessels.

Here are some pictures of vases made by my current 8th grade students.  They are made with white low fire clay slabs around rolled up newspapers.  The students added to the surface and included textures.  The vases were glazed with Amaco gloss glazes to make them waterproof. 

The girls created some wonderful pieces.

  

The textures on the fish came out well on the above right vase.  The orange glaze was beautiful on the one on the left.

The vase to the right, the big flower, gave the artist a lot of trouble during construction and glazing.  However, she persevered and ended up with a wonderful vase.  The other vase has a variety of textures on the coils. 

This one carries the jacket theme quite well. 



 

The vases above turned out so well.  The one of the right kind of fell into an organic shape, and the student continued with it.  She added some wonderful textures on the "leaves".  The blue one has a speckled glaze.  To coat the inside of the vessel, she put masking tape all around the outside of the vase and then poured the glaze in.  What great problem solving!



 

 

The two above are marvelous, with contrast between textues and colors.  

Whooo, Whooo....

The Kindergarten and Primer students are finishing up their last projects before they select one for the exhibit in December.  These owls will all be in the exhibit, they are fabulous!! They used a slab of clay, folded over an end, piniched a beak and used a variety of items to add texture.  After the owls were fired in the kiln (not kennel like a PreK said the other day!), they girls colored the owls with oil pastel and then painted them with black tempera, which we rinsed off.  They are amazing!  The idea for the oil pastel and tempera came from www.tartteaching.blogspot.com. 

 

I like the fact that the girls were not afraid to try different colors.  When the black paint was rinsing off, the girls were so excited to see the owl kind of appear!  Makes teaching art a joy......

Clay Animals in Kindergarten

For several years, I have used the X method to help students create clay animals.  They would roll a thick coil, pinch out the neck, and I would create an X on the body from which the 4 feet would be pinched.  The animals could stand up on the 4 legs or sit on its bottom.  Here is one example:

 

 

The animals end up pretty heavy.

 

 

 

As I was browsing through some old Texas Art Ed Conference papers the other day. I found a lesson on making clay animals using long slabs and paper towel or toilet paper rolls. So, thought I would try this method with one class.....

 

 

 

 

These animals seem to have more energy than the "old" way, and the students had more time to add details.  They also learned "scratch and wet" to attach heads, necks, etc.  I think I like this way more... any opinions?



Fish Sticks by Primer and KIndergarten

Can art be funny? I hope so! In the Primer and Kindergarten classes, we talk a little about humor in art. They love making these fish sticks, partly because they get to use clay, and partly because the get the "fish sticks" pun. What kid has never had fish sticks? They love to tell their parents that they made fish sticks in art! They painted the fish with watercolors and I sprayed a clear varnish over them since they are outside and exposed to the elements.
The girls did a great job adding texture to the clay as they were creating their fish, and using patterns when painting the fish.

Does the fish above have a mohawk for a fin!

The fish would go out by the pond we have at school, but we are having a big Fine Art Festival this weekend and they are out in front to help advertise the event.

Primer and Kindergarten Queens and Princesses

Primer and kindergarten girls LOVE royalty. The idea of a queen or a princess, and even fairies, ignite their imaginations! While browsing on the Internet, I saw some pictures of princesses that a class had made from clay. Unfortunately, I forgot to bookmark it! The girls made their own versions out of clay. After the royal ladies were fired, the girls painted them with regular watercolors as well as some glittery watercolor. Ohhh, did they love the shiny colors! They finished their creations with some sparkly additions. These are quite stunning!

The princess below makes me smile! What a joyous leap!
The crown on the princess on the left sticks out from the surface, and the other shows a wonderful use of textures.

Knee Bowls by PreKindergarten

My young students love making these! I can not remember where I got this idea from, but they love it. They rolled clay into a ball, flattened it, and then cupped the clay around their knees. After the bowls were fired, the girls glazed them.

8th grade monsters and animals

During our hand building with clay, using a pinch pot for the body, one 8th grade class made monsters and the other class created animals. They painted their creations with acrylic. The koala above really showed the texture of the fur, but it does not quite come through in my photograph.

Two monsters....love the attitude of the bunny ears, and the other one has wire eyelashes!

This cow turned out quite well.

More monsters! Did we skeer ya!!!