Symmetrical Butterflies, 1st Grade

 This is a very cute simple art lesson.  I started by having my students fold their paper in half, "hot dog style."  Then, students drew half of a butterfly with oil pastel.  Next, students folded their paper so their design was now on the inside, like a sandwich.  Students then rubbed their paper until the design was copied onto the opposite side of their paper.  Once the butterfly was drawn, students used watercolors to paint. 

These are very pretty. 

Summer Clay Lessons

This summer I am teaching clay lessons at the local community center.  I have a mix of ages in this class.  They are anywhere from five to ten years old.  Here are just a few of their creations.  

 I just love my student's creativity.  These are just wonderful! 

Random Clay Creations, Summer Art

Over the summer, I taught a clay class at my local community center. The kids ranged from 5 to 11 years old. Everyday I had a specific lesson for them, but at the end of class, I gave them free time. The photos here, were created during this time. It's always fun to see what the kids come up with.



I just love the end of the summer because my students have been in my clay class for weeks, and truly understand basic clay techniques. This is when they create their best art. I just LOVE all of these!

Clay Dragons, Summer Art

As I have mentioned in a previous post, I am teaching summer clay classes at the local community center. Recently, my students made these really cool clay dragons.
These are very simple to make. Basically, we made the body of the dragon by rolling a long coil. One end is bent upwards to use as the neck and head. Legs and other details were added by scoring and slipping. Unfortunately, we did not have time to glaze these, so we finished by using tempera paint. A few of my students chose to add glitter as well.
This is a very simple project, and is perfect for students who are inexperienced with clay. Also, kids LOVE dragons, so they were really excited to add details to make it their own.

Clay Wizards and Witches, Summer Art

This summer I have been teaching clay classes at the local community center. Here are some photos of the clay wizards/witches we created. With the new Harry Potter movie out, this project was a big hit with the kids.
I found the idea for this lesson on Deep Space Sparkle. There is a really nice tutorial on her site, so just click on the link for detailed directions. This last person decided she didn't want to make a wizard, so she turned it into an angel. I love it when my students think outside of the box.

Clay Bowls, Summer Art

My summer clay class has been lots of fun, and my students have created a lot of cool things. Yesterday was the last day of the summer session, and unfortunately, we ran out of time to glaze a few things. Even though these are only bisque fired, I just had to post a few pictures, because I just think they are awesome!.

The greatest thing about these bowls is that they are super simple. I started by giving each child a plastic bowl. The plastic bowls become our molds. We flattened a piece of clay until it is fairly thin. Then we slowly drape the clay into the bowls. Slowly push the clay until it fits inside the bowl completely. Students then cut off any extra clay around the bowl. After this is done, students are free to decorate their bowls. You could have them use stamps or texture tools to create cool designs. They could also draw designs with a toothpick. Some of my students decided to use cookie cutters to cut out hearts, flowers, stars, etc to add to their bowls. (If they do decide to add shapes to their bowls, they need to remember to score and slip, or it may fall apart later). Let these bowls dry for a few days before taking them out of the molds. Clay shrinks as it dries, so once it is bone dry, it will come right out of the mold with no effort at all.
I absolutely LOVE these! I just wish they would have had time to glaze. Next time I teach a clay class, I will do this project earlier in the session, so we can completely finish them.

Clay Wizards, Summer Art

Last week, I had my students create these clay wizards. I found this really awesome clay project on Deep Space Sparkle. I think this was my student's favorite clay lesson this summer. They were extremely excited and proud of these when they finally came out of the kiln. Basically, these were made with slabs of clay. The body was a long rectangle, which we rolled to look like the robe. For the arms, we used triangles, which were also rolled. The head is just a ball of clay that we poked a big hole through to keep from exploding. The hat is just a rolled up triangle. Lastly, we added a cape to the back, which not only looked nice, but also helped keep the head more stable. There are more detailed instructions on Deep Space Sparkle, so check it out for more details.
These wizards remind me of Harry Potter! I just love them.

Random Clay Creations, Summer Art

This summer, during my clay class, I have given students quite a bit of free time with the clay. I always remind students that things made with clay need to be either hollow or flat. Really thick clay pieces will blow up in the kiln. I tell students that their clay creation has to pass my inspection before going into the kiln. My students have come up with some great creations, and I just thought I would share some of them with you.
I really like how my students have taken the skills I have taught them and applied it to their own clay creations.

Clay Rattles, Summer Art

Last week, I had my summer clay students create clay rattles. We began by making two small pinch pots. Then students made about 8 tiny balls of clay. Each ball of clay gets a small piece of newspaper wrapped around it. (This will keep the clay balls from sticking together when firing). These tiny balls with newspaper were put inside one of the pinch pots. The second pinch pot was put on top and attached. After this was assembled, students were free to decorate their rattles. Some students made their rattles look like animals. Before firing, put a small hole in the rattle. This will keep it from blowing up in the kiln.
When these came out of the kiln, students were extremely excited to shake their rattles. They were fascinated to find out that each rattle had a different sound depending on the size of the balls inside.

Clay Shoes, Summer Art

Last week, I had my summer art students make these really cool clay shoes. We made these shoes using slabs of clay. Since my students are still very young, I gave my students stencils of the bottom, sides, and tongue of the shoe. The stencils were used to cut each slab to the right shape and size. (If you teach older kids, you could have them actually draw each side of the shoe, and make their own stencils.)
Then, I had the students assemble their shoe. First we attached the sides of the shoe. Remind students to score and slip. Then we put the tongue of the shoe in. Make sure they put the tongue in low enough, so there is room for shoe laces. Lastly, have them poke holes for shoe laces and decorate the shoes.
After the shoes had been bisque fired, I had the students use glazes to add color. When it had been fired a second time, I let students use yarn to lace the shoes with. I just love the results of this project!

Lighthouse Painting, Summer Art

I found this awesome lesson on Deep Space Sparkle and thought it would be perfect for my summer art students. This lesson was inspired by the art of Maude Lewis, an artist who painted scenes of Nova Scotia. My summer art class has a huge age gap. The youngest is five and the oldest a seventh grader. I did end up having to help the five year old quite a bit, since this lesson was more on the complicated side
We began this lesson by drawing in the horizon and the island. Students painted the sky with light blue tempera paint. The water was painted with a darker blue and the grass was painted green. While this was drying, I had students use construction paper to cut out houses, lighthouses, boats, whales, etc. When the painting was dry, we glued these things to our artwork. Lastly, we used white paint to add waves into the ocean.
These turned out wonderful.

Polymer Clay workshop

The other day I taught a polymer clay workshop for a girl scout troop. This was a two hour workshop with girls around 11-12 years old. When working with polymer clay, it is important to work small. We began by making clay food. I was amazed at their creativity. This little food would be perfect for their dolls. Some students made monsters and animals. Many of them used small pieces of wire for arms, legs, necks, etc.

I think the overall favorite was creating beads. They loved making and stringing their own bead creations. This workshop was so much fun. I think I had as much fun as the students.

Face Mugs, Summer Art

My summer ceramic kids made these cool face mugs. Some people also call these "Ugly Jugs." We started by making a coil pot. Only we smoothed the coils out so it was smooth. Then students used coils to make eyes, nose and mouth. Make sure students connect everything really well. You don't want the coils falling apart in the kiln.
The students loved making these! and I thought it was fun too.

Clay Fish, Summer Art

My summer ceramics class made these really awesome clay fish. We started off with two oval slabs of clay. One slab is the bottom of the fish. We put a ball of newspaper on one slab. Then we put the other slab on top and connect the clay on the sides. (The newspaper helps keep the clay from sinking.) Fins and eyes were then added to our fish.
It is really important that everything is connected well. If it's not, it may fall apart. Make sure students score and slip when they connect pieces of clay.
After it has been fired once, we then glaze our fish and fire again. These are just so so COOL!

Coil Pots, Summer Art

I had my students make coil pots last week. They had to make three coil pots that were at least five inches tall. These pots could be a typical coil pot, or more interesting with spirals and designs.
The hardest thing about the coil pots is making sure they connect the coils well. Some students get lazy and don't score or slip the pots. When they do this, sometimes the pot will fall apart before even making it to the kiln. I try to encourage them to take their time and create a piece that will last. I just love the way the pots look after being glazed.

Mexican Suns, Summer Ceramics

This summer, I am teaching a kid's ceramic class. The kids in the class range from age 6 to 11. For this project, I had students create Mexican suns.We began with a slab of clay. Students then cut out their sun shape. After this, they added details by adding eyes, nose, mouth, or any other decorations they desired. These could be done by either adding small amounts of clay or cutting into the clay with a toothpick. Some students even added texture by stamping things into the clay.

These were fired once. Then we added glazes and fired again. I just love seeing the students' faces when they see their piece after the glaze has been fired. They are always so surprised and happy with the final product.