Beginning Ceramics: Week 11

Phew, we all survived last week.  Sadly, Ms. Wager was absent from school all week due to a close relative passing away.  The students and I chugged away and kept busy with the coil projects.

The students have been very productive and creative with their coil bowls.  I love it how they are pushing the limit in terms of originality (each student is trying to competitively out- do each other by creating new coil ideas). As a teacher, I LOVE THIS because the students continuously produce awesome work!

Below are some examples of student examples that are in their bisque phase. Next up: staining and glazing!

                

                 

Beginning Ceramics: Week 10

This past week the Beginning Ceramic students have been very busy with making coil bowls (my lesson plan!).  The students use bowls as their molds to create their coil projects.  Later, the students will be incorporating a color scheme into their projects with their selected glazes (I will be presenting an PowerPoint presentation about color schemes next week).The students have been creating a variety of coils (braids, twists, weaves, balls, etc.) and continue to inform me how much they enjoy the project!

The project's introduction went very well and I am pleased with how well the students understood my expectations. I demonstrated how to assemble their bowls correctly to prevent the clay from sticking to the plastic surface.  The students were great listeners and have been very self efficient and productive with this project.

Below are a few examples of intricate (new vocab word I taught the students) student examples that are in progress.

Sculpture: Week 9

Alright! This past week the students in my Sculpture class have been more than amazing! First of all, the students have been so creative with their cardboard sculptures (their sculptures put my teacher's example to shame!).  It has been a thrill to watch the students finely execute and create their original sculptures.  Ms. Wager and I have been enjoying watching the students' sculptures come to life.

Initially, the students needed a lot of attention and help with the beginning stages of their projects.  Once the students figured out how to create the skeletons and bases of their sculptures it was as if I no longer existed because they didn't need me help whatsoever! For the past couple of classes I have had to luxury of observing my students confidently create their cardboard sculptures from a distance.  I continuously walk around the room and assist the students by conversing ideas, feedback and personal assessment with them.

It is such a great feeling to watch the students run into the art room with bursting excitement  Many of the students have approached me outside of our class sessions to discuss their ideas and what they would like to work on next.  Due to the students excitement and motivation I've allowed the students to take home certain parts of their projects so they can continue to progress with their creations.

So, as you can see, no complaints here...just all smiles.  I'm loving the sculpture class and watching the sculptures evolve and depict the students' individual styles and personalities.  Below are student examples in progress (notice the variety of sculptures and different textures created by manipulating the masking tape).