Memory Project

This year, my Advanced Art class is participating in the Memory Project, an organization that matches art students in the U.S. with children in orphanages around the world.  The premise is that my art students will draw portraits of children from an orphanage in Cambodia, which are mailed to the orphanage.  A representative from the Memory Project videotapes the children receiving their portraits and photographs each child holding his or her portrait.  This footage is emailed back to me so I can show my art students!  We participated in the project last year when my students drew children from Rwanda and it was so meaningful.  This year, my students are drawing children from Cambodia.  In addition to the drawing project, which is gridded (to help with accuracy) and then shaded/colored using colored pencils, my students are researching different aspects of Cambodia and will share what they learn in interactive presentations. 

I love this organization and project.  It connects my students to children outside of their community and creates a meaningful, memorable art project that I hope they will recall for years to come.  We are only about a week into the projects and already my students are calling the child in their portraits by his or her first name and I bet some are wondering about his/her life in Cambodia.  They are also taking the project very seriously since they know it will be a cherished gift for a child. 

Photos to come!

Cupcake Wars

I visited the art teacher at San Carlos Middle School and was inspired by this idea.  I wanted students to create an elaborate clay cupcake that demonstrated a theme for the icing.  The theme would be sculpted in clay and painted.  This project was a hit!  Students' themes ranged from islands, the ocean, the beach, London, desserts, vegetables, and the old West.  I created a template for the bottom of the cupcake which was traced over a flat slab on clay.  This was attached using the scratch and vinegar technique.  Students then created a removable lid and built it up to create their themes.  These were fired and painted and then painted again with a gloss.

Paper Shoes by 8th Graders

This was one of the first assignments I gave my 3D Art class this trimester: use a large piece of paper and tape to create a shoe.  In the past, we have done this project with paper bags, but this year, students could individualize color by choosing different colored paper for the project.  With some beginning tips on how to fold and cut the paper to make certain shapes, the students were off and running.

Many students had to problem solve in order to create the type of shoe they desired.  They were also quite inventive once they got the hang of it.  This project forced them to think about balance, color, design, form, and used their critical thinking skills.  Almost no one had used paper to sculpt with, so the medium was different and new.

8th Grade Portraits with a Twist

Instead of doing a straight self-portrait, I had my 8th graders use mirrors to sketch themselves on 9" x 11" paper.  Then, students projected their smaller drawings onto larger paper (18" x 24").  I find that when they need to enlarge drawings, using the projector is the best way unless given a grid, at least at this stage in their development.

Students then had to incorporate at least 4 pieces of tissue paper into a collage on their portrait and were given free reign to add paint, texture through printmaking, collage with newspaper and construction paper, and whatever they did, they needed to ink over the original portrait so their line drawing would show through.  The results are impressive and really shows individual personalities.  Giving my students a variety of media to choose from enabled them to make their portraits more expressive and unique.

6th Grade Relief Faces

Last year, I created this successful ceramic sculpture project for my 6th graders, for their exploratory art course (6 weeks of art, every day).  In this course, students create ceramic mugs, which they all drink out of on the last day of class, and relief faces in addition to a mixed media project focused on sign language, and one or two painting assignments, one of which is inspired by typical Mexican sculptures from Oaxaca.

The relief faces work well because I demonstrate different sculpting techniques for creating eyes, noses, mouths, ears, and hair.  Before we start, the majority of students do not believe they can sculpt a face, but we go through the process step-by-step so that it becomes manageable.  With this said, I do not encourage students to sculpt exactly as I do, but to find their own way.  I want them to learn new techniques and skills, but also to problem solve for themselves.  6th graders love working with clay and are usually very proud of the faces they sculpt.  After they are fired, students paint them using watercolors, which show up very well on clay.  As you can see, they are all unique and beautiful. 6th graders gain a lot of confidence in their art skills from ceramic projects and are usually highly motivated, which makes the process lots of fun.

8th grade Toy Sculptures

This was a great project where everyone worked at their own ability and created something that they were interested in and felt proud of.  Isn't that every art teacher's dream?  I took a "toy design" class at a gallery in SF that is known for alternative art like graffiti and small sculptures of creepy looking characters.  I have the toy I made in the art room and students are always asking me about it.  With their interest piqued, I took the creepy characters concept and turned it into a project for my 8th graders.  The premise was the students needed to create a character, animal, creature that they could envision being a "toy."  Many students thought about their concept for a couple of days and did several sketches until they were sure of what they wanted to do.  Others dove right in after one iteration.  Students sculpted their characters with clay and had to incorporate details and texture into the clay, along with color.  Then, students painted an environment for their sculptures by painting 2 boards that were glued together.  To my surprise, they were really "into" painting the backgrounds and many of them incorporated details and scenes into the painting, although I left this part somewhat open ended.  The students were proud of their sculptures in the end and loved seeing each others' creations.

Chess Anyone?

I thought it would be fun to sculpt in the context of making a game, so I had my 7th grade students create chess pieces and boards as part of a sculpture unit.  Most students worked with a partner for this assignment as each game needed 2 kings, 2 queens, 4 rooks, 4 bishops, 3 knights, and 16 pawns.  We discussed how to play chess, which only a handful of students knew, as well as what typical chess pieces look like.  Each group had to have a theme for their chess pieces, some of which include: fruit, the beach, old technology vs. new technology, tennis, music, people, animals, candy/Halloween, Christmas, buildings, and Harry Potter.

The biggest challenge in this project was making the pieces large enough to be understood and small enough to fit on a board.  It was also challenging to make multiple sculptures of the same thing.  Some groups created an assembly line, while others sculpted each individual piece.  The boards required focus and care as well since there needed to be a color scheme and careful application of color.  We will all play chess the last day of art class and test out the pieces.