May 13, 2008
Imagine! Someone ending up on this blog as a result of a google search of the above! For some reason, according to my blog stats and google search referrals, everyday there is at least one view of this blog by someone looking to test elementary age students in art. If you have read much of this blog at all you’ll understand why I think this is so hilarious!
Now they’ll end up on this post and wonder why. Maybe they’ll read a few posts and leave a comment.
Maybe they don’t teach in California public schools.
May 12, 2008
We got notice at the last minute that the kids are on a field trip today, so no art. Penny and I did get together over some delicious pho at Pho America and made some notes and lists about the set up of the upcoming art show. On to next week….
May 6, 2008
got through a few more sculptures today- 13 to be exact. next week we’ll finish them off and get them painted black so the kids can apply the metallic patinas. this week i let some of the kids mix their own plaster which they enjoyed. they were trying to understand the difference between “drying” and “setting up” and why the plaster heats up as it hardens ……
When mixed with water, calcium sulphate hemihydrate, CaSO4·21H2O, also known as Plaster of Paris, undergoes an exothermic hydration reaction :
CaSO4·21H2O + 23H2O → CaSO4·2H2O
So basically, the hydration process throws off energy in the form of heat.
I have spent many years mixing plaster in my mold shop when running my porcelain studio and it was fun to see the kids enjoy it so much- just look at the smile-
here they are getting ready to mix the next batch
a rinsing bucket so none of the plaster goes down the drain and clogs it up….ask me how i know.
sprinkle the plaster evenly over the surface of the water until little islands appear on top breaking the surface of the water.
they would have enjoyed just mixing plaster and nothing more!
overheard while working:
“i’ve never gotten dirty before!” (yikes!)
“oooh, i like the way it feels on my hands!”
“art is hard to talk about”
i swear, i’m gonna bring in a recorder soon and post some audio of what these kids say during art. it’s very revealing sometimes!
Technorati Tags: 4th grade, art education, sculpture, shiborigirl
May 1, 2008
no time to go into much detail so the photos will have to do most of the talking. feel free to ask questions though-
Out in the garden area (it was 95 degrees out on Monday) we found a little shade and the kids came out and applied paper towel strips dunked in plaster to their armatures. I grabbed the camera near the end to get a few photos. It was messy fun and the kids had a great time with the plaster. Some didn’t like getting their hands dirty but most overcame it quickly.
we got through 10 of the 30 kids in an hour and a half- 2 more classes and we’ll have all of them done with this part.
todays work-
Meanwhile, in the classroom the rest of the class was working on handbills for our upcoming show-
They incised foam and printed their images to some preprinted flyers.
Technorati Tags: 4th grade, art education, california, sculpture, shiborigirl
April 29, 2008
We’ve arrived at the last project of the year in the 4th grade classroom-sculpture. If you’ve been reading this blog since last year this will be familiar as it’s the same project we ended on then. I snapped a few quick pics last week in between helping the kids prepare their armatures for plastering.
wood base, wire coat hanger, and nylon stocking
2 holes were drilled in the wood base (part of my old fencing chopped up) and each end of a cut wire coat hanger were inserted into the holes. the students then could bend and design the wire in any way they liked and pull a nylon stocking over the entire thing.
wood-free/recycled, wire hangers- donated by the dry cleaners, nylon stockings purchased for $10,
pile of sculpture armatures waiting to be plastered……
planning for the art show now entitled: Practice Looking- a year of art in our 4th grade room
Technorati Tags: 4th grade, art education, california , education, sculpture
April 20, 2008
Here’s the link- Longfellow is mentioned along with it’s “Longfellow Legacy” . Don’t forget to read some of the comments. It’s leading the list of today’s most emailed articles.
public schools, private money
April 16, 2008
click on each image for a larger view-
April 15, 2008
Yesterday’s lesson was a continuation of shibori dyeing in which the kids dyes a hemmed silk handkerchief that they will be able to keep or perhaps give as a gift.
After last weeks lesson focusing on experimentation with the dyeing of 3 squares of silk, I wanted to introduce the idea of intention in regards to shibori. I handed out squares of white paper representing their silk hankies along with crayons and markers and asked them to create a design they could attempt to replicate with shibori techniques, using their knowledge and experience from last week to guide them. I suggested they could fold the paper like they had done on their itajime pieces to help them figure out the patterning if that was the style they were going to use. I find I have to be very careful with what I tell them as the power of suggestion is so strong that often they can focus on my suggestion to the exclusion of their own creativity. I’d rather nudge them along IF they get stuck than tell them exactly what to do. This isn’t failsafe but just a general practice. The designing stage was also necessary to keep 30 kids busy while letting them come to the back in 3’s & 4’s to dye their piece.
Of course many students created some wonderful designs on paper but discovered that they were impossible to recreate as shibori using the materials and methods at hand. This too, was part of the lesson- that even though we have intent in artmaking we sometimes have to adjust along the way to accommodate the process’ limitations. Sometimes we abandon it altogether, sometimes we adjust. We learn and add to our experience for another day.
A few of the designs were successfully recreated on the silk. Many were adjusted. Many AHA moments occurred as they learned what they could and couldn’t do. Everyone wanted to do more. But alas, the lunch bell rang and time was up. We’re going to do it once more next week and offer the results for sale at our gallery show. I’ll edit this post a little later and add a few photos……
April 13, 2008
I just had to post a link to this article which appeared in the LA Times today regarding the education funding crisis we are facing. How do we fit into this picture? Are we part of the solution or part of the problem?
April 11, 2008
This past Monday in the 4th grade classroom we gave a lesson on shibori. After a weekend of demonstrating shibori at the Cherry Blossom Festival in Little Tokyo we were well trained!
Here’s Bryce (who’s in the 4th grade class) at the festival with his “hanabi” or fireworks origami. He learned from the master (& inventor) of this design who was demonstrating his origami skills at the festival. Bryce says he’ll teach me to fold this design.
I still had all the supplies in the car and ready to go! We set up the colorhue dyes in the back of the room and had the kids prepare their resists on the silk squares at their desks before coming up to dye. Once they had done one, they were given another square of silk along with another set of resists to prepare before coming back to the table again. Each student was allowed 3 pieces and we rotated all 30 through the dye table 3 times in that hour. Phew!
We’ll be doing textiles all month and will be making handkerchiefs next week. We usually do these and suggest they save theirs to give as a Mother’s Day gift. But some just can’t wait ’till May! We’re also going to make some to sell at our “gallery show” coming up in May.
Speaking of the gallery show, we’ve secured the meeting room at our local library branch (Dana Library). Our show will open on May 29 and run through June 7, 2008. We will have a reception for the artists, friends and families on Thursday May 29, 5:30 - 8:00PM.
Our show will be available for viewing during regular library hours only. Notices will be handed out in class.
ALSO….last night was Open House at the elementary school. We went over and displayed some of the artwork that has been collected so far this year. The kids attended with their parents and it was great fun listening to them describe the process of making some of the projects. The kids really enjoyed telling their parents how the Gyotaku printing was done. The parents were very supportive of what we are doing and we even met another dad who is an artist and wants to volunteer as well.
For anyone who would like to volunteer in the LBUSD schools, it is necessary to become a VIP first.
Technorati Tags: 4th grade, art education, california, colorhue, dyeing, education, gyotaku, printmaking, shiborigirl
