Empty Bowls Workshop

For the last several years I have been part of a workshop to create pottery pieces for the silent auction at the Lutheran Social Services Empty Bowls Luncheon.  This year I was able to get through three pieces.  It is always fun but a great lesson in giving away for those less fortunate.

Empty Bowls are ready for delivery!

The After School Art students have molded and glazed our 48 bowls for the Empty Bowls Luncheon.  Now they are being packed up for delivery. What a wonderful way to teach about service and contribution to our community!

4th grade Jewelers

This was a fun project to do with my 4th grade students, and it was certainly popular with both the boys and the girls! Several comments were made about this being "the best project" and "my favorite project." It is always music to my ears, when I hear students excited about what they have created. The neat thing about this project was that every necklace was beautiful! Not a bad one in the bunch.

HOW IT'S MADE.......
The students made just about every part of the necklace, with exception of a few small plastic beads used for spacing and extentions. They made the paper beads, using magazine paper cut in long, thin, triangles, then rolling them around a wooden stylist (beginning with the thicker end and ending with the thinner end, gluing the 2nd half to seal the bead). Then clay beads were made into different forms, with various patterns and textures etched in to the surface. Lastly, students used some rectangular sample chips (that someone gave me thousands of - literally), created a design in relief using shirtboard, covered in foil, and aged with india ink, to create the center medallion. After painting the clay beads with metallic paints, the students strung their necklaces thinking about how to "balance" the beads on either side. Some students chose to go a little asymetrical with their designs which made for some very interesting pieces.

Clay Crabs and Slabhouse

I just found some pictures I had taken of the last two clay projects I did with the 4th graders that were really fun. One project was the slab clay house project which was a two day project. Students were to focus on scoring and slipping parts of the house on such as chimneys, shutters, doors. The students could also carve in brick work or work on the rough shingles. The students houses turned out great, a lot of them came up with some different and creative ideas like adding porches or snowman. I also liked all of the students projects looked very different and the students really enjoyed making the house.



And, finally, true to form as a Marylander who adores crabs, I had another fourth grade class make crabs. We used the hollow egg technique and scored and slipped on the shell, eight legs, and two claws. This was a three day clay project and several of the crabs turned out great, it was a difficult project and I think with another day the whole class would of had more successful crabs.

The Sea Creatures

The 5th graders have been painting a lot of their clay projects which were sea creatures. Some classes are still waiting to paint theirs or need to finish up, but heres a sneak peak at some of the sea turtles and orcas. I am sure once the projects are complete Mrs. Snead will take a bunch more photos and post them because they are all turning out so well!