The Year Ends

They say all good things must come to an end...and our school year at Grove did as well. It was a great year in the art studio. The students worked hard, learned a lot, and had fun. Creating a blog was a great way to share our work with others, and it gave me another perspective on the time and effort that went into my teaching and the students' learning.

If you are a student--thank you for putting your head, hands, and heart into great art this year. If you are a parent or guardian of one of our Grove artists--thank you for sharing your students with me this year. If you are an interested observer--I hope you have enjoyed learning about our work in the studio at Grove Elementary.

Stay tuned for future posts...

One Last Work of Art...

I think some of the students would have stayed in the art studio all summer if they could have...here are a few last minute creations.

Freddy's "Chinese Circus" construction


Group Effort on a Block City

Courtney's Dragon

More Textiles

We wrapped up the year with a flurry of textile works--weaving on cardboard looms, fingerweaving, and sewing. The students made pillows, bags, puppets, dolls, and wallets from their weavings and from cloth and various materials. These stations were a smash hit--I will definitely get these going earlier in the year in the future.

Youth Arts Exhibition 2007

I have created a slide show of work from the Youth Arts exhibition. Every effort was made to include each piece from the show; I apologize in advance if I missed anything. The images are organized by technique and media. Artist name and statement will be added soon as captions. The slides change automatically after a few seconds; if you want to be able to pause and play, just click on the picture and a control bar will appear at the bottom of the image. Enjoy!

Youth Arts Big Picture

The districtwide Youth Arts visual arts exhibition was held at the end of April in the UMAC. Art work from every school in the district was displayed. Our Grove artists were well-represented in a variety of disciplines, including drawing, painting, collage, printmaking, construction, and clay. Posts to follow will have photos and statement for individual works.

The Weaving Wave

Many of the 4th and 5th graders have been concentrating on weaving for a couple of weeks now--some of them take their looms with them to use during free time, or come back at the end of the day to weave a little longer in the art studio. It is a really big hit--I only wish I had introduced it sooner in the year so we could have had more time to explore and practice this ancient artform.



Weaving is a simple concept which transformed civilization--before people figured out how to make string and then weave, knot, or knit it, they were completely dependent on materials like animals skins and really big leaves (!) for clothing and containers. Thank goodness for ancient technological advances that we still utilize today.

Charcoal Still Life Drawing

A few weeks ago I set up still life materials several days running, and provided charcoal for those 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students who were daring enough to get a little messy (which included most of the students!). The results were very impressive. These particular images are by three 5th graders.

Relief sculpture installation

A number of the 1st and 2nd grade students were inspired by a fascinating collection of materials--small wooden shapes, pasta, jigsaw puzzle pieces, beads, marker caps, you name it--plus shoe boxes and lids. They created their compositions with the various items, and the during their next studio visit they painted the entire form in red, black, or a mixture of the two. I displayed all of these boxes together as one large sculpture. It is an installation in the sense that it is in this particular location and form temporarily (soon the students will each take home their own part), and because it creates an interaction between the viewer, space, and object. Installation art is a major genre in contemporary art. This work has received a very strong response in our school.

Foil Relief Sculptures

These foil relief sculptures were made by third grade students. This process involved gluing a variety of wooden forms onto a backing board, covering the entire surface with foil, and then applying india ink with brushes and cotton balls. The surface is quite unique--both futuristic and archaic at the same time. The kids said they were going to tell their parents they dug them up out of the ground...like archaeological artifacts. Hmmm, that could generate some good stories...

Hooray--camera back in action!

My camera has finally been repaired and I am trying to catch up on documenting all the wonderful work the students have been doing. We only have about 4 weeks left in the school year, but a lot is still going on in the art studio.
Some of our kindergarteners recently worked on mixed media portraits--fun!

Reflections During Spring Break

I am still missing my camera--they couldn't get the part so Fuji Film is going to replace it...hopefully soon.

Spring Break always seems to come at the perfect time. The students and teachers are all ready for a little time off, and everyone benefits from a change of pace for a few days. It is the perfect time to set goals and make plans for the rest of the school year (about 9 weeks left). It is also a time for reflection of everything we've done so far.

I have been so proud of the students this year as they learn to take responsibility for their time and efforts in the art studio. Most seem to be very excited to come to art and get to work. I have observed that the vast majority of the students seem to have a real sense of purpose as they come in the door--it is their place, their art, their ideas.

Most are eager to learn new things, and the ones who tend to be more hesitant often "warm up" on their own after watching other students try something first. I am always invigorated by their unique perspectives, areas of interest, questions, and experiments. The Friday before the break was perhaps the best day of the year thus far--and that was something of a surprise, considering that the day before a break is usually too exciting for them to get focused on school.

Wow, it really was magical. Every single class was calm, focused, and had the most pleasant energy. To have one or two classes like this in a day is something special, but to have six is like having all the planets align. I found myself standing back throughout the day and just watching, for a moment or two, the "buzz" of the room--students absolutely absorbed in their work or engaged with each other in quiet conversation about their work.

Plans for the next few weeks:

• Continue working on logs and journals (3rd-5th); I will be checking these again next week.
• Continue working on portfolios (3rd-5th); these will be checked at the end of April.
• Gather work and artist statements for the Youth Arts student art exhibition in late April.
• Bisque fire finished clay, then glaze, and glaze fire all clay work (3rd-5th).
• Air dry clay and modeling clay experiences for the younger students (K-2nd).
• Basic drawing lessons (gesture, contour, organizational line) for 4th and 5th grades.
• A variety of fiber arts (weaving, sewing, batik) for all grades.
• Outside art experiences--action painting, landscape drawing, sidewalk chalk drawing...
• A special guest presentation and workshop...more info to come.

3,4,5: Clay Ongoing, Printmaking Underway

My camera is in the shop--I miss being able to photograph and document the students as they work in the studio. Hopefully it will be back to me within the next few days. So much is going on that I want to share. A picture is worth a thousand words, as they say...but for now, I guess a thousand words will have to do.

The 3rd graders had an introduction to clay last month (most have finished the entire process by now) and the 4th and 5th graders are back at work on their 2nd, 3rd, 4th (!) pieces.

I wanted those who are interested to have the opportunity to really immerse themselves in clay (and some of them have done this in more ways than one--it's amazing where that stuff can get...) so that they would have lots of practice with the medium.

It's just like any worthwhile endeavor--the more you do it, the better you get, the more ideas you come up with, the more you fall in love with the process...Many of our students will end the year with a lot of confidence in themselves as clay artists. I hope that all the friends and family members who are getting to see this work (and perhaps are receiving it as gifts, if they are so fortunate) are aware of the skill, creativity, and dedication that goes into these pieces.

Other goings-on in the studio include printmaking--all 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students have had the opportunity to make relief prints using foam plates. (There must be something about 3rd graders and printmaking--I think every student chose to do this technique!) The students were required to submit two sketches before they received the plate, then they created the plate using the strongest design. Once it was finished, they pulled an edition of 3 prints from this plate. It was a very exciting process for the students and everyone was very successful in their endeavors. The halls are now full of prints and statements from all of the students, and we have received a lot of positive feedback from these efforts.

In addition, the 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders are working on portfolios which will be submitted in late April. These will include 5 finished works of their choice (in 5 different media/technique categories) along with artist statements for each. Many of the students are well on their way to creating outstanding work for their portfolios.

3-D work from the ESC exhibition

The ESC exhibition (previous entry) included many fine three-dimensional works.

Maddi's A Little House (top)
“I was trying to show a small house with a pool. I liked to work on this piece because I like to do construction.”

John's pirate ship, entitled Arrg! (below)
“It is painting, construction, and collage. The reason I called it “Arrg!” is because it is a pirate ship. I made it for my sister to put her Jack Sparrow figure on. I loved working on it. It shows that you can make anything you want.”



Brooks, Chaz, and Alex
Colts (above)
“We like to work together. We did one thing at a time by using construction and paint. We worked on it for about 5 weeks. We all love the Colts.”

Grant's Helmet (above)
“I was thinking about medieval times. I liked working on it. I thought for a day, and finished in a week. After this I made another one, and now I’m working on a third.”

Tyler and Caleb created Fenway Park. “We were trying to show how Fenway Park looks. We liked working on this construction because we both love baseball and we liked working together.”

Freddy's Invisible Sky Rider (below)
“At first I thought about a boat, but then I saw I had all the materials to make a ship. A person could use it to go to the mountains or to go see all the fifty states. Victoria Petit-Homme helped me with the paper mache. I enjoyed all the steps—construction, paper mache, and painting.”

Harley and Aaron
The Disappearing Ship and Submarine

“A ship mysteriously disappears one day...The submarine is held by grabbing claws in the ship. We liked working on this piece, especially the teamwork.”


Jennifer and Carmen worked together to create The Twirl Park, (bottom) made of paper, tape, and other materials. “It is a circus made with strips of paper. It twirls and has a garden of flowers. We loved doing it.”

Student Show at the Education Service Center

The Grove artists had a wonderful exhibition opportunity in November (yes, I'm a little late getting these posted on the blog!) at the district's Education Service Center. The work stayed up for almost a month, and was on view during the November board meeting and other functions. Art work in a multitude of mediums representing students in all grades kindergarten-5th was displayed, along with individual artist statements by each student artist. Posted here is a selection of two-dimensional works.

Series of Colors by Shelkayla, 5th grade
“I made a series of seven paintings. I thought that mixing my own colors would be more creative. My pictures were made on the basis of how you can feel—like sad, happy, joyful, colorful, heartbroken, and friendly. I also thought about day and night.”

Dotted Painting by Miguel, 4th grade
“I made circles with an object, and then I made crosses in them, then I made dots on the black side. I divided it so that I could make two different paintings in one.”

The Fall Splash
by Courtney, 5th grade “I was thinking of my neighborhood trees. They are gold, yellow, orange, and red. It was enjoyable to have a mixture of color.”




Apples in a Bowl
Kayla, 2nd grade
“Green apples are kind of sour! I like them. I drew the apples in a bowl because I saw it in a painting in our art studio. The worm is crawling out because somebody is about to eat an apple!”
The Gumball
Shawn, 5th grade
“After I started it looked like a gumball to me. Some gumballs have spots on them and they are pink. I used paint, sponges, and much much more. I liked working on this piece because it gave me a chance to show my artistic ability and for me to get kind of messy.”



Race Car by Michael, 4th grade (bottom)
who said this was the best car he ever drew!

Visiting Potter

The day before winter break we had a visiting potter in the art studio. David Langston, parent of two of our 5th grade students, demonstrated wheel throwing techniques and discussed processes related to pottery. It was a terrific opportunity for the students--you could see the wheels turning. I hope to bring in more artists during the spring semester so that the students can learn from other professionals about the various disciplines of art.

More Clay...

Glazed Clay Pieces--

Fatima's pinch pot (top) and a selection of 4th grade work (bottom)






Shae's Delicious Food and Robert's Funny Giraffe














Painted bisqueware (pinch pot and baseball player)

Firing and Glazing Underway

Glazed work loaded in the kiln before firing (top) and after (bottom)

Clay is a decided favorite in the art studio at Grove. The 4th and 5th graders have been working with clay for several weeks now, and we've fired the kiln three or four times for both bisque and glaze firings. The 3rd graders started working with clay recently--their work is drying now and will be ready to bisque fire in another week or so.

Working with clay is a multi-step process:

1. Create the art work. Several concerns must be kept in mind: thickness of the piece, strength of the piece and any joins, and surface appearance. Until the work is finished it is kept wrapped in plastic to avoid drying.
   
2. Let it air dry--this takes about 1-2 weeks and is the hardest part of the whole process--waiting! When it's totally dry it's called 'bone dry'.
   
3. When enough work is ready, we do a bisque firing. Work is loaded in the kiln and heated to a temperature of nearly 2000 degrees! The firing takes about 8 hours, and then the kiln must be allowed to cool down. At this point it is called 'bisqueware'. Then the work is unloaded and ready for the next step, which is...


4. Glazing (or painting). Students who choose to can paint their work with acrylic paints--that is the final step in that case. Most of the students, however, choose to glaze their work. Glazes look like paint--liquid and colorful--but they contain little particles of glass which create amazing effects when fired again.


5. The glazed work returns to the kiln (this time more carefully in that the pieces cannot touch each other, and no glaze can touch the kiln) and is fired a second time. The kiln goes up to about 1800 degrees and fires for about 5 or 6 hours. The glaze is activated by the heat--the glass in the glaze melts, and then solidifies, giving a beautiful sheen to the finished piece. On top of that change--from matte to shiny--the colors often transform as well. Opening the kiln at the end of the glaze firing is like opening a big present full of magic!

Idea Books

At the beginning of the year the 3rd, 4th and 5th graders created "Idea Books". These are a combination of sketchbook, journal, and station log. We use the sketchbook section for directed assignments such as idea generation, drawing from observation, and making lists, and the students are encouraged to use it for their own purposes at any time. In one pocket of the "Idea Book" is a journal page--each time they come to the art studio the students write something about what they did: what they are working on, who they worked with, challenges that they overcame, ideas for next time. In the other pocket is a station log--this is a form that has headings for each of the stations available, and a space for them to keep track of which stations they visited during each class period.

The journal and station log help me to assess how the students are spending their time, what their special interests are, and any neglected areas that I need to encourage them to consider--the students also use it for self-assessment purposes. It is good for them, over a period of time, to have a record of how they spend their time, what stations they gravitate toward, and the experiences they have during art.

Last semester I checked each student's log and journal, giving feedback to assist them as they continue with this practice. Now that everyone is up and running, I will try to check them all again two times during the spring semester.