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.

Plein Air Painting

We got to paint outside today! It was beautiful weather (a little hot, but in the shade it was just wonderful), so we went down to the creek behind Kent Gardens and painted the nature around the path there.

But, before we got to painting, we talked about the Primary, Secondary, and Complimentary Colors and how to mix them, as well as what tints and shades are. We also had a competition to see how many different colors the students could make in their sketchbooks. Congratulations to Rachel and Adrian as the winners of the most colors created in 20 minutes!

We learned a lot today and were able to enjoy a different part of nature than we had previously experienced.

Nature Collages Cont'd

After spending a lot of time in the newly refurbished / planted courtyard for the past week, we got our art juices flowing this morning by drawing pictures of how we thought it would look like in 30 years. Most of the students were very optimistic and showed trees growing taller and the plantings becoming more full and beautiful.

We also finished our nature collages that we started yeste

rday. I think the hard work paid off - they look great! The collages were also a great learning experience since most of the students had never used painted paper like that before.

After finishing our collages, we talked about landscapes and watched a short clip of an art21 video about Maya Lin, a landscape architect. She was the artist who designed the Vietnam Memorial, but she works a lot with landscapes, especially using topography. It was cool to see a contemporary artist who worked with landscapes in a non-traditional way!

Nature Collages

We finally started using our paper that we painted on Monday!

First, we made drawings of our favorite places in nature. It was exciting to see the students use the skills that we have talked about in previous classes for this beginning assignment! We then made thumbnail sketches of different scenes and items that we found in the courtyard. The weather was perfect for drawing outdoors.

Using these sketches, we started making collages with our painted paper. I am looking forward to finishing them and seeing the final products tomorrow. So far they are looking great!

Sketches and Shading

Today we talked about making things realistic and practiced using shading and grounding the figures that we drew. We also talked about creating thumbnail sketches prior to creating a final work of art.

At first, we practiced drawing simple objects that we found throughout the classroom. Then, we went outside and drew the nature in the courtyard. After shading our drawings, we used colored chalk to add some interest to the compositions. Some are not finished, but so far they are looking really good!

Drawing with Sticks

Today we explored a new form of mark-making....we drew using ink and sticks! We started off the day discussing different kinds of marks that we could make using different art tools. Then, we chose our own personal sticks from the area around the school and started exploring this different art method.

Probably the best part of the day was being outside in the garden courtyard drawing the nature around us. Even though it was a pretty hot day, the shade and breeze were nice for the artists.

Welcome to Summer Camp!

On our first day, we painted on paper with tempera paint and tried to make as many colors in abstract as possible in order to use the paper later for collages. It was fun to be able to be messy and free with paint and colors, because composition and color scheme didn't really matter!

We also celebrated Daniel's birthday, and made covers for our sketchbooks that we will be using for the rest of the camp. The covers had to incorporate nature and also describe something(s) about the student.

I am so excited for the art that will come out of this class, especially as a result of the skill and artistic nature that I have seen in the students, just on the first day!