Sound.  Visualize it in your mind's eye.  It's not easy is it?  Well, that's what my art 1 students were tasked with.  They were asked to take something that is not concrete and turn it into something that is.  And, they did just that.  They picked images that remind you of certain sounds...tires screeching, wind chimes in the wind, the quietness of peace, speakers booming, the vibration of bass, the crack of a baseball bat or thunder.  I am so pleased with their solutions.  There is so much thought put into these works.  Check out their artist statements telling of their intent and processes.  

Intermediate and Advanced ceramic students finished their masks.  I am quite proud of the boys.  They worked so hard and they all did amazing work.  While they are still in the greenware stage, I wanted to show them off now, just in case.  I will show them again after they are fired and glazed.

Right before winter break, intermediate and advanced ceramic students filled some stockings with rice.  For weeks, until I finally moved the crate into the storage room, kids would play with them and ask what on earth were they for.  

This is what they were for.  Intermediate and advanced ceramicists rolled out slabs, laid them over the stocking (which they could arrange how they wanted and served as a mold), and became creating masks.  Here are some in-progress pics.

I have this wonderful student Natalie.  She is a sophomore this year. Every day she is working on something.  Seriously, even after she finishes her artwork for the current unit, she jumps right into something else. She tries new techniques and new mediums without hesitation. It is wonderful .

If you look to the right, you will see a new addition to the blog.  There is a running slideshow of the living painting.  The living painting is a large canvas that students are allowed to.  If they have some paint on their palette they no longer need and are just going to throw away, they can use that to add to the artwork.  If they are finished with their artwork and want to add to it, that is also an option.  They have been told that their work may get worked over, just as they are allowed to go over other things there.  


I am very excited about this experiment.  I think the kids are too.  They jumped right in today before clean-up...a few even used their fingers and hands.  

Tuesday was the start of a new semester at school.  I thought we needed to start off with a great activity–one that would shake off the slumber of winter break and ring in creativity and imagination for a new year.  And what better way to do so than have a day-long TASK party.

What is a TASK party you ask?

I pulled out a bunch of supplies I had in my storage room:  yarn, egg cartons, craft items, fabric, 12″ dowels, wooden hearts and starts, buttons.  I plugged in all the hot glue guns we had.  I grabbed the large rolls of colored paper from the faculty lounge.  And, I started with a container full of tasks.

This party was to last all day.  I have 7 classes.  Once I started the party, I only broke for lunch, which consisted of writing more tasks.  This was the only place the students faltered…well, and when it came to blindly picking a task.  (Many wanted to pick and choose their task.  It was hard to stop them.)

It really was a fun day.  A few kids fought it at first, but ended up having a good time.  I think they need that time to learn while they play.  High school kids don’t often get that anymore.  And bonus, no one was on their computer today. I wish I knew how many tasks were completed today…or at least attempted.   It would be fun to figure it out.  Perhaps next time.

By the end of the day, my feet were killing me and I was tired. But, I had a counter full of artifacts.  I had a hopscotch board and had 2 body outlines on my floor.  I had a roll full of photos of the students making and laughing and creating and smiling.  I had a heart full of memories. And, I think it set the tone that creativity is welcome here–and encouraged.

One of my smallest classes is my intermediate and advanced ceramics class.  It is a class of all boys.  I really enjoy this class.  Don't ask me why I do. You would think it would be too much testosterone, but I find it oddly refreshing.  These boys work on ceramic projects that take a little more time than beginning projects.  They were tasked with the following 2 themes during the 2nd half of the 1st semester:  "animals morphing" and "interaction".

In animals morphing they had to morph one animal into another animal or thing.  Or vice versa.  The results are some interesting animal combinations. I have one student still working on his.  He is getting close...he finally started working on the head.  You can read about his animal here.

With the interaction theme, students were to create a minimum of 2 pieces that somehow interacted with each other.  The pieces weren't supposed to be able to stand on their own and should "need" the other piece to feel complete.

Currently these boys are working on slab masks using reusable soft molds. Look for a post on their progress in the coming days.  The boys are excited and working hard on them.