Giraffes Can't Dance

I bought the book, 'Giraffes Can't Dance' by Giles Andreae, many years ago for my son and always loved the illustrations. This week I used it as inspiration for a project with my Year 3's. It is a great way to introduce how to create tonal gradients when painting with ink and their dancing giraffes were just gorgeous! The following photos show the step by step process of how we created our artworks. Student sample will be posted soon.

Hundertwasser Inspired

I am still amazed by how these turned out. The project was done with three different classes, ranging from Year 4 to Year 6. This was the first time that we have looked at Hundertwasser's work and I think the results are just stunning. After looking at samples his work and discussing his use of organic shapes, bright colours, black lines and his connection to the environment, the students set about creating their own pieces. We used inks and black wax crayons for the initial paintings. Students could then select materials such as buttons, wool, collage materials and glitter to add an extra layer of details. I have displayed many of the final creations and they have received much praise from our school community.

Angel

Annabel

Anna-Poppy

Jennifer

Kiran

Samiksha

Shreya

Taehwan

The Lorax

Along with Maurice Sendak and Shaun Tan, Dr Suess is one of my favourite children's author/illustrators, and his book 'The Lorax' would have to be at the top of my list. For this project I was working with Year 3's and 4's to create a Lorax inspired landscape. We read through the story and discussed the characteristics of Dr Suess' illustration style and how to go about drawing things like Truffula trees. The students were then left to work independently on their creations, with the only 'rule' being that the Lorax must appear somewhere in their picture. We love the results and we hope you do too!

Epiphanie - Year 3/4

Lizzie - Year 3/4

Lucie - Year 3/4

Clay Pinch Pots with Melted Marbles

I was very nervous about trying this project, as I was worried about melting glass in my kiln. I had seen several sites online that talked about melting marbles onto clay but they didn't give very detailed info on how the whole process worked. But, we gave it a go....and it worked and has become one of my favourite projects this year! I worked with two Junior ESL classes and we made simple pinch pots. After they had dried, the kids 'drew' designs on with a toothpick and glazed them (including a clear glaze over the top. They then chose three marbles (make sure you use the proper glass ones) and put them into the bottom of their pot. Finally, we crossed our fingers as they went into the kiln!! I love all the results, but I especially like the ones where just the clear rather than the coloured marbles were used.

Clay Hands

This project was inspired by this pinterest post. I worked with a Year 4 class over three sessions to complete them. I currently have them in the kiln, so I will post some more pics soon so you can see more of their finished creations. We started by rolling out a slab of clay (don't let them make it too thin or the fingers will tend to break off!. Students traced around their hand onto the clay - using a toothpick or a sharp pencil - after using the pencil to 'cut' out the clay hand, the kids drew on a design (We first talked about how simple designs would probably be more effective. The hands were left to dry in plastic bowls for a week. I made sure that the 'fingers' were positioned on the side of the bowl so that they would dry in a curve. Finally the hands were glazed and put in the kiln :-) Therese - Year 4

Mini Mona Lisa's

This was originally just meant to be an end of term, finishing off kind of project. But, they turned out so well and I was so impressed with the kids designs, that we created a Mini Mona Lisa Art Gallery! Here are just some examples....

Abby - Year 7

Cheyenne - Year 7

Hannah.C - Year 7

Clay Patterned Jars

This project began by rolling out some white clay and then 'drawing' on it with rolled out lengths of terracotta clay. The finished design is then lightly rolled over to press it into the surface. The slab is then wrapped around a cardboard tube, a base is added and then the cardboard tube is removed.

More Pinch Pot Animals....

Today, instead of being in the classroom, I got to play with clay ALL day with a group of other art and classroom teachers!
We started of by revisiting simple pinch pot ideas and having a go a creating some animals. Here are some of the results.

This was the process for getting the frog started:

Glorious Holidays......

So, this isn't exactly an art post....but, I thought I would share some photographs (another big passion of mine), that I took at this year's Fairbridge Folk Festival. For anyone living in Western Australia, it's definitely worth checking out!! Fairbridge Festival Website

Nicky Bomba's Bustamento

John Butler

Clay Knee Masks - 'Freaky Faces'

After learning how to make these knee masks at a teachers workshop, I have finally had a chance to let a group of students have a go. Although we started off following the knee mask pattern, we ended up mainly working on a flat surface as it was easier to add details this way. Some students went with a more traditional face while others explored more of a Freak show/Circus theme. I love them all!

Amy Y - Year 7

Harry - Year 7

Alora - Year 7

Anna-Poppy - Year 6

Brandon - Year 6/7

Jodie - Year 7

Nel - Year 7

Pheung - Year 6/7

Taehwan - Year 6/7