Group Sculpture Contest!

Today in class, each table had the task of creating a group sculpture that was to be judged by 2nd year students. The students were required to use an entire bag of clay, work for one hour, and include every artist at the table. Certain tables were encouraged to plan it out first, some tables could only chit-chat while working (but no previous planning), and some tables weren't allowed to talk at all! After finishing, the groups debriefed. Table representatives described the piece, the process, and how it felt to work in a group setting. 2nd years walked around the room, viewing the finished products, and then huddled up to vote. The winners got candy, of course! It might surprise you to learn that one of the winners today was a table that was not allowed to communicate with each other while working! 

A slug/monster gathering.

A group tries to convince the 2nd years that they've got what it takes to win!

Portland meets Germany. (Our class was hosting 2 exchange students today.)

2nd years throw a raku piece on the wheel while the 1st years work on their sculptures.

A Warm Welcome to Students and Parents...

Welcome to the start of the 2011-12 school year! Please take time to peruse posts from last year and familiarize yourself with the blog. I am in the process of updating links to syllabi, rubrics, and other forms. A big thank you to everyone that has donated to the program ($25.00 - ceramics, $10.00 Paint-Print). It's going to be a great year. Please email me with any questions at kmcclell@pps.net.

KILNS!!

The kilns are in! Aren't they lovely? The electrical is currently in the works. Thank you to the Cleveland Alumni Group and the PTA for helping out with the cost. Other upgrades include venting, shelving to go inside the kilns, and stilts.

Scholastic Arts!

Cleveland received 3 Golds, 10 Silvers, and 4 Honorable Mentions in the Scholastic Art Awards. Not bad for the first year entering! Congrats to both Amalia and Jin Mei in my Art 3-4 class!

Cleaning House

 Annie, Nanni, Emily, and Casey help me churn the clay buckets before scooping it out onto the plaster table to dry. I convinced the students to give me a hand in the recycling process. And by "convince" I mean, I made it part of their semester final. :) Who said cleaning is a bore?

Oh, c'mon, they loved it!

Mixed Media Figure Draw

 The students recently finished a large mixed media assignment that included live figure drawing sessions. Here, Amalia is perfecting her contour lines.

 Amalia's finished piece. Love the simplicity!

 Kate has a knack for bold, graphic design that is just stunning.

Matt's piece is breathtaking and I might actually shed a tear when he takes it home. So energetic!

 Can't wait to see Lily's finished piece! I love seeing things from her perspective. Always a fresh take.

I found myself stalling at Jordan's table as I watched her create these amazing stylized figure drawings.