Finished Scenes and Goodbye

On Thursday we finished our scene project as well as made some air dry frames. The scenes turned out really great! Attached are some pictures from the scene project.

On another note, the kilns at Kent Gardens malfunctioned at the beginning of the week, and the kiln doctor could not come fix them until Thursday. I tried to work extra and fire them at Lemon Road School, but their kiln was also not working properly. So, the pieces were bisque fired and will be glazed fired on Friday if all goes well. The students will obviously not be able to bring home their pieces the last day of camp, but if you would like to come by the school office Friday 8/26 or any time during school ours the following week, the pieces will be in the office. There should also be a letter coming home about this too.

It has been fun doing ceramics with this class of students. Thank you for all of your hard work and patience!

Scenes!

Using the ideas from the videos we watched from Art21 as springboards, the class split up into groups and began creating scenes. It was great to see some of the class pull together and combine ideas to begin creating some cool works.

The brainstorming was fun, and creating scenes using some clay element as well as found objects and nature was a new process for all.

Coil Pots

On Friday and Monday we created coil pots. The technique of slipping and scoring was very important to master for this art, especially because if the coils are not connected well, the pots will have holes!

We also watched some short clips about some current artists created by PBS Art21 series. The two artists we watched were Fred Wilson and Gabriel Orozco. I would recommend Art21. They are all about different artists and always have very interesting themes. Here is the link to Art21: http://www.pbs.org/art21/?gclid=CMqsk8mu_qkCFct95QodzRHo0Q

Fun Animal Sculptures

The creativity of this class is awesome! On Friday, we finished up our animal sculptures. There were so many interesting animals in the class - even some made up ones! The students did a fabulous job making them interesting, artistic, AND well-made.

Cups and Animals

For the past two days, we have been working on ceramic cups as well as animals. To make the cups, we started off creating pinch pots. After learning about the techniques of slipping and scoring, as well as coil, slab and pinching, we added a variety of handles to the cups. They are now drying and will be ready for the kiln soon.

Yesterday we started making animals that we will finish up today. As the skill of making pinch pots had already been practiced, the students made two pinch pots and attached them to make a hollow body, and then began to add heads, legs, feet, etc. depending on the shape of their chosen animal. I think they are turning out great!

Welcome to Ceramics Express Session 3!

This session is going to be a lot of fun. On our first day, we introduced ourselves, made name tags, and went over the use of ceramic tools. We then created stamps to identify ourselves on our future work, and started the beginnings of pinch pots that will eventually turn into cups. I also introduced myself to the class, and I thought I would do a bit here as well.

I am in my senior year of college at Brigham Young University studying Art Education. So, in one year, I will hopefully be a full-time art teacher! I grew up in McLean, and started my ceramics career at McLean High School. I have done quite a bit of ceramics in college, and love working with clay. Below are a couple of my past pieces.

End of Session 2!

I am so glad that we had so much fun this session. I hope everyone enjoys their ceramic pieces and has a great rest of the summer!

Scenes and Jeopardy

Today we finished our scenes and then played ceramics jeopardy! At the beginning of the day, the class looked at the scenes from both groups and we had a little critique. We talked about what we liked about each scene and gave some suggestions to both groups about what they could improve. Then, each group put finishing touches on their scenes and we took final photographs of the scenes. The AM pictures are above and the PM pictures are below.

We also played ceramics jeopardy. There were questions involving different artists we had learned about, different skills that we had acquired, and other questions. I think the class had a fun time today and the students are looking forward to bringing their pieces home tomorrow!

Making Scenes

Today we got to make scenes using modeling clay, as well as found objects outside and in the classroom. First, we watched some art21 clips about artists who work with ceramics and found objects, and then take photographs of those scenes for their art. These are current artists are Gabriel Orozco, Cai Guo-Quiang, and Fred Wilson.

After getting some inspiration from other artists, the class broke off into groups and brainstormed ideas of what they wanted to do, as well as made a plan for materials.

We then gathered materials around the grounds of the school, and then began making our scenes. I was impressed with the teamwork and cooperation that I saw throughout the day. We will finish up our scenes tomorrow and then take pictures of the final product for our art.

Glazing and Coil Pots

For the past two days we have been finishing our coil pots, as well as glazing our pieces. The coil pots are now drying and will hopefully be able to make it into the kiln soon. We glazed our cups yesterday, and we glazed our animals and frames today.

We have a lot of different glaze colors, so I am excited to see how things turn out. These glazed pieces are being fired tomorrow.

Coil Pots

Happy Friday! Today we learned about and started creating coil pots. First, we learned how to make coils and to attach them onto a base. After practicing coil-making, we began to make our own coil pots. Making coil pots is an ancient art, and after creating the coils, they are joined together to form an air-tight vessel. We will be finishing up these pots on Monday and then we will begin to glaze our works.

Animal Sculptures

Yesterday and today we worked on animal sculptures. Using the skills that we learned during our first project, the students started off making two small pinch pots. They then combined them using scoring and slipping to make a hollow body, and make holes in those to attach arms, legs, heads, etc. Each student was encouraged to make their animal personalized.

I think that the students were able to be creative during this process, but have enough direction to push them in the right direction. The animals turned out really cool, and hopefully we will be able to fire and glaze them soon!

Finishing our "Pinch" Cups

Everyone was able to finish their cups today! We started off the class brainstorming ideas of what kinds of handles and designs we could use to embellish our cups. We then discussed different methods of how to create handles and designs. Some included slab techniques, coiling, more pinching, as well as slipping and scoring.

After going over techniques, the students were able to make their own artistic choices on how they wanted to create their cups. Despite the difficulties that come up when working with clay each was able to make their own cup, and hopefully they will all dry and fire successfully!

Welcome to Ceramics Express!

Today we had our first introduction to the ceramics medium, and each other! After doing introductions, we made stamps out of clay, which we will use later to sign our other works of art. Instead of signing their name on their pieces, some professional potters use individualized stamps to put on their works, so that is what we are going to do.

We also started on a pinch-pot cup project that we will hopefully get to finish tomorrow. Today, we learned about working with the clay and made our pinch pots. Tomorrow we will make them into cups and then decorate them.

During the introduction part of the day, I told the students a little bit about me and my artwork, and I thought that I might share some here as well. I am in my last year studying to be an art teacher (and hopefully getting a job next year) at Brigham Young University, and have had quite a lot of experience in the Ceramics field. Below are pictures some of my ceramics pieces that I have done in the past.

I am so excited for this session of camp and am looking forward to the many pieces that we will get to create during our time together.

Installation Nature Art

Today was our final day at camp! Our culminating activity was something a little more modern than painting or sketching...we did installation nature art!

Our inspiration was Andy Goldsworthy - the most famous artist that does art in nature, and after watching a clip and looking at some images of his works, we braved the heat and went outside to create our own artworks. I think that they turned out really cool!

Yesterday, we painted using watercolors. After exploring the medium and discussing / practicing different ways of moving paint, we created some watercolor paintings in our sketchbooks. Watercolor is definitely a difficult medium to work with, but very rewarding once you get the hang of it!

I have had so much fun with all of the students this session of camp. I hope that the camp was equally as rewarding for the students!

Animal Sculptures

Yesterday and today were devoted to making animal sculptures out of supplies we found through walks that we took in the surrounding area of Kent Gardens. Each student was supposed to choose an animal that described them, make a plan in order to make the sculpture, find the necessary supplies, and then create it. After hot gluing all of the parts together, the students had the opportunity to paint their sculpture if they wished.

I think, overall, the project turned out harder for the students than they originally expected. There were lots of construction problems, and it was hard to find the exact supplies they were hoping for to create their creature. However, after problem-solving and recollecting some supplies, we were successful in creating some wonderful animals.