One of my favs...

Every year I have my 6th graders do "Capodimonte inspired flowers" because they are easy, successful and mom's have come to count on them.  This year we are running out of time so they are an optional, after school project.

check out these hardworking students

They are super simple to make...

thanks to many years of watching my mom make cakes.

start with a fist size chunk of clay

Roll out finger sized coils of clay

Pinch the top of the coil

Roll up the coil

This is the center of your flower.  Repeat to add more petals.

Ta-dah... a ROSE!

Build as many flowers as you want... but they have to hook together.

smash out some clay (in your hand) for a leaf

add leaf details

Make sure everything is slipped and scored and fastened together.  

They are gorgeous when they are all done. 

 (click here to link to artsonia)  

Hope everyone is "enjoying" these last crazy days of school.  It never fails to amaze me how much stuff there is to do at the end.

Refrigerator Art?

I just found this post in my drafts... I started it at the end of March but it still has me wondering. 

On my way to the hotel for National Art Convention another of the van passengers started talk to me.  She made the comment about her son being involved in a program that teaches students how to make "ART, not refrigerator art."  The next day I sat in on a few sessions in which students were creating this wonderful projects that would take f-o-r-e-v-e-r to finish.

It really got me thinking about what I do with my students.  Are we creating images that will last forever (if only in my students hearts and minds) or are we creating things that are quickly thrown away?

As a parent I am learning that you CAN NOT keep every wonderful thing your child creates (I keep a lot of Jarrett's inside my cupboard doors or I photograph them and add them a photo album).  BUT I would like to think that my students love their stuff enough to want to keep it... and yet I have students every quarter/semester who say "Do I have to take this home?" or "Can't I just throw it away?"

So my questions are...

• What if we did a lot of learning but only made 4-5 "Big" projects a year?  

• What if a student disliked the big projects?  Would art be a bust for them?

• What about art shows?  Only 4 projects doesn't give a teacher a lot of choices... but if each of the projects was individualized for each student wouldn't they look more unique?

• How do you get all the mediums covered if they are only doing a few projects?

• Do you throw in a few smaller projects?

YOUR THOUGHTS?

Printing

300 kids.... 3 prints each... whew I am tired!

I love doing a linoleum project with my 6th graders every year... and they love it also. This year we did architecture (from last year) again.  They start by drawing their image out on a 4x6 paper.  Then we transfer it to the safety-kut block and they then carve the images.  This year I gave them 3 "colored" examples to choose from.

Yellow was carving just on the pencil lines = pretty simple.  Orange was carving on the pencil lines plus removing the sky and adding grass details = not too hard.  Red was carving away everything BUT the pencil lines = challenging.

I will do this again as the kids were often talking about, "I'm doing yellow." or "I started with yellow but decided to do orange."  It was also easy for me to ask them, "are you yellow or red?

I have 2 printing stations set up and they each print 3 copies of their image.  They then let them dry on the "back table."

drying on the drying rack... think 100+ pieces every day.

taking them off the drying rack and stacking them.

I store the dried prints together by day...

The week after they print they have to trim and finish their images.  They must measure 1/4 of inch around the sides and top and 1/2 inch on the bottom.  On the bottom they put their title, edition number and signature.  They will turn in their 3 prints and I will grade the printing. They are graded on the quality and consistency of their printing.  They will then take 2 home (I can't keep 900 pieces of art).  I then go back and grade the one print I kept for how well they finished it and their overall design.

  Check out our artsonia site for more of the finished images...

Really....?

My planning calendar was set to expire on Friday so I updated it.

I swear it can't be right.  

Only 4 more weeks (starting next Monday it will be 3 1/2).

WOW!

I really don't know where the school year went.  

Wonder how they did it...

Teaching has to be way different today than a few years ago...  

Here is a picture of my desk today. 

I looked at my desk and was blown away with the technology I was running.  I have two iPads (borrowed from another teacher) uploading student created videos about Helen Frankenthaler to YouTube.  I have my Google reader open to share my daily goodies with me.  I have my smart board running in prep for the upcoming class that we will start with a few videos... and I took the picture on my digital camera before uploading it to my blog.  

I am still loving my coffee, keeping paper grades (before they go online to our computerized grade book and attendance program), using #2 pencils, turning in lesson plans and teaching about art.  

However, I can't help but feel that I do it a little different today than they did years ago... no overhead transparencies, mimeographed copies or outdated textbooks have been used in here for quite a while!  

One last thing before I go... I have been hosting our Celebrating creativity classes (just not posting about them as much).  A few weeks ago we did George Segal and his plaster sculptures.  We wore rubber gloves and covered our hand (loosely) with plaster strips.  Check out Megan's awesome hand! The world is air dry clay.  

She is definitely one student who I would love to see fail 6th grade... just so I can keep her one more year!

Portrait Project

For a while I have been writing that I was going to tell you more about this portrait project idea that I had... well here it is.

#1  I created 25 different "cards" with each one showcasing a different style of portrait.  It had a photo example, a title and a written definition.  I also listed the medium that would be used.

#2  The students "drew" a card to find out what their portrait style would be.  I allowed them to trade among themselves at their tables.

#3  The students spent 3 weeks working on designing and creating a self-portrait that reflected the style of their card.  They finished the lesson by writing an artist statement for their display.

Reflecting on the lesson, it was really neat to see everything happening at once BUT it was too much.  Every medium was out.  Every student was working on something different.  Everyone needed something.  However, I loved all the unique ways they solved the "problems."  If I do this lesson again, I will be drawing a single "card" for each class period.  

So gonna start my year with this...

Earlier this year I cleaned out our playroom at home; which included going through all my stuff from school and student teaching.  It seems that 12 years ago I printed a lesson from Kinderart.com ...and then it sat in a folder. Having taught for 11 years I have a better feel for things I would really use so I eliminated a lot of "stuff."  ( I shudder at the thought of how much I spent on plastic page protectors and 3 ring binders in college)  I kept this lesson and filed it into "fun sub plans."

Yesterday I was gone putting up the district art show (more on that later) and Mrs. Couch taught the lesson... she said the kids LOVED it so I thought I would give it a go today.  

I have decide that this is how I am going to start 5th grade art next year.  

1. Start the class by sharing that we are taking a test.  We are testing their listening and creativity.  
2. Give them the directions, one at a time.
3. Let them finish the drawings with crayons (or any medium)
4. Starting with 15-20 minutes left in class tell them they have to do the "written" part of the test, but that they can work together.  I made them answer 4 questions... 1) did everyone at your table follow the directions? 2) how are your images the same? 3) how are your images different? 4) how does this project relate to everything we do in art class?
5. With the last 6-7 minutes we share answers.  
6. I ended with a small discussion on "why are grades in art different from student to student if there is no wrong way to solve the problem?"  They told me that it was because of how hard people worked on their projects.  

The projects turned out nice but I am most impressed with their answers to #4.

• It is original... we each get to do drawing our own way.
• You have to listen to directions and use creativity.
• We get to be creative... there are no wrong answers
• We have to concentrate and listen.