Coil Pots

Third Grade students learned how to roll a slab of clay to create the bottom of the pot. They learned to score(scratch) and slip (add a tiny bit of water to the clay) to attach the coils to their pot.

Kinder Snowmen

Kindergarteners discussed how things look different from different points of view. We looked at photographs of people, cars and trees from a worm's eye view and bird's eye view. Then we discussed how the direction objects are facing can also change the way we see things. Students created these snowmen looking up at the sky with cut paper and white paint.

 

Klimt inspired trees

First graders were introduced to the artwork of Austrian painter Gustav Klimt. They discovered that he loved to paint beautiful things with beautiful colors, including gold. He even sometimes used gold leaf which is gold that has been hammered into thin sheets. First graders were inspired by one of his most famous artworks, "The Tree of Life." They created these trees with metallic oil pastels and added leaves with gold paint.

 

 

Clay Birdbaths

4th graders demonstrated their knowledge of creating pinch pots and using the score and slip method of attaching clay to create these clay birdbaths. They glazed them and added a glass bead to their pot which melted in the kiln and now looks like water in the birdbath.

 

The Shape of My Heart

Kindergarten students read "The Shape Of My Heart" by Mark Sperring. They drew a heart and filled it with drawings of things they like. Then they created a watercolor resist by painting their heart with watercolor paints.

 

Kandinsky study

First Grade students looked at artwork by Wassily Kandinsky and discussed how the artwork made them feel or what the artwork made them think about. They discovered that Kandinsky loved to paint while listening to music. They read, "The Magic Paint Box"  by Barb Rosenstock to learn about how Kandinsky came to paint this way. They learned that he was one of the first artists to create abstract art.  They also looked at his famous artwork "concentric circles" and printing their own concentric circles on their music inspired painting.

Organic Relief Sculptures

Fourth Grade students created these relief sculptures while listening to Shostokovich: Symphony No. 5, which they have been studying in music class. They will also hear the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra play this piece when they visit the symphony. Students drew and colored a complex organic shape and then stapled it to a background after popping out parts of their paper to create a relief sculpture. 

 

Clay Owls

First graders learned that clay comes from the ground and that people have been using clay to make art for a long time. They learned to roll a slab, and then folded their rolled slab into the shape of an owl. They used clay tools to create textural details to their owl. They learned their dried clay gets put into a kiln and fired. Then they colored their fired clay owls with oil pastels and dipped them into watered down tempera paint.

 

 

Alphabet Art

Kindergarteners learned about the art of Jasper Johns who is an American contemporary artist who often uses numbers and letters in his artwork.Students used their prior knowledge of letters and numbers to paint the appropriate number or letter when it was called out.Then, students used watercolor paint to color the rest of their paper. Finally, they used markers to add details to their letters and numbers. They were also able to pick a few of their favorite letters or numbers to glue on glitter.

 

Clay Birds

Second Grade students used hand building techniques to create clay birds. They considered the features that are unique to each bird, such as beak shape and size. Students used realistic colors to glaze their bird. Finally, tail feathers were glued on to their bird.