3-D Problem solving at its BEST!

Often, when I think of doing Three Dimensional projects with my students, it usually ends up being clay. Clay is not bad.....it is just not all that there is with which to work. This year, we are breaking away from so many clay projects and we are moving toward using different materials. Below are some cardboard sculptures done by students with only a few instructions. That means, they had to tinker with the materials, experiment to see what worked, come up with some personal solutions and make some decisions. I did allow them to use hot glue guns, with parental permission, to make the process move more quickly, but otherwise, they came up with the final pieces themselves. Two of the pictures below are abstract sculptural pieces and one is a cardboard tube tree, with the "leaves" made from different found objects.

I have to admit, the students really liked this as they were fairly free to go where they wanted with the media at hand. Expect to see more pictures as they finish these :-)!

Worhal Pop Art Prints

What is popular right now?????? Definitly cupcakes, coke, cellphones, water plus many more objects that we see around us all the time. We decided is was time to look at POP ART and imitate the master, Andy Worhal. The students chose a "popular" image and carved it into Soft-Kut linoleum. This was a two ink process, focusing on complementary color combinations. When completed, they glued them on to one sheet of paper, forming the repeating pattern recognized in Worhals work.




As stated in an earlier post, this requires some backwards thinking.

Planning Day Workshop..Sculptural Success!!!!

This past Planning Day, I was asked to give a workshop entitled "Sculpting with things at hand". Art Teachers, many times, are limited to what they can use to create three dimentional pieces in the classrooms, due to budgets and space. In this workshop, we experimented with what could be sculpted with cardboard (which can be found in abundance) and found objects. Participants were give two hours to come up with unlimited ideas, and they really did come up with some great ones. I brought back some new ideas to try in my classroom.

Fun seemed to be had by all AND we contributed to the Green movement by recycling cardboard and all kinds of interesting donated treasures.

6th grade students coming back to glaze

We have been welcoming home our old 5th grade students, who have gone on to experience the world of middle school, to paint their "high 5" tiles for our upcoming Formal Five event. I must admit, it has been fun to see them again and its been a blast watching them react when they see each other. The conversation has been priceless! The interesting part is how the parents have commented how much they miss Chets Creek. I guess we do kinda have that effect on people!

5th Grade Watercolor Seascapes

Studying DEPTH and various watercolor techniques, produced exceptional work by these 5th grade students. We talked about wet and dry brush techniques, then how to detail with detail brushes and marker.

Do they make you want to go there???

Our After School art students are producing some beautiful work. Below you can see some of the landscapes that they painted on textured paper. They first glued on various textures onto their paper and then painted on top, adding interest and variety to the final piece.