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