4th grade - Tallest Tower Contest

My 4th grade students are very energetic, enthusiastic and competitive so they loved this sculpture contest.  I have a big tub of index cards that I save from year to year for it.  The rules are that they can work by themselves or with a partner.  They don't get glue, tape or staples; just the index cards and scissors if needed (but not to be used in the sculpture).  They have 20 minutes to build the tallest tower and it can't be leaning against anything.  At the end of the 20 minutes, I measure them all (i also won't measure any before time is up, it has to endure that long)!  It's entertaining to watch the towers that get immediately tall and then usually end up falling over before time is up.  It's a good time to talk about structure, balance and also "slow and steady wins the race."

4th Grade - Pop Art Food Sculptures

These paper mache sculptures were a huge hit this year!  Students learned about Claes Oldenburg and his pop art food sculptures.  They each came up with their own food sculpture ideas and made it happen with just newspaper, masking tape, aluminum foil and paper mache.  Some students also brought in some "props" from home to go with their sculptures. 

The sculptures looked great on display and I'll be sad to take them down!

4th Grade - Giacometti Figure Sculptures

Students learned about the artist, Alberto Giacometti.  We found various examples of his artwork on the internet, and talked about the elongated nature of the figures.  Students then made a person or animal out of pipe cleaners, then "bulked" it up with aluminum foil.  The last layer was plaster gauze strips.  They could then choose one color to paint their sculpture before sponge painting metallic gold or silver on top.  They loved it!

3rd Grade - Coil Pots

Here are the coil pots the 3rd grade students made this past winter.  They could start with any shape of their choice for the bottom slab, and then build up the sides with any number of coil techniques.  They are beautiful every year!

6th Grade - Plaster Relief Sculptures

My 6th graders really enjoy this lesson because it's something completely different than what they are used to.  We begin by looking at pictures of relief sculptures in Greek and Roman art/architecture.  I talk them through the brief version of the entire process so they can understand what they have ahead of them.  Next, I choose a theme, and this year it was animals, and they do a sketch of the animal, which will be the relief part of their sculpture.  The shape of their mold has to have some association with that animal (for example, a giraffe inside of a leaf shape, or a penguin inside of an iceberg shape).  Next, they begin building the mold out of plasticine clay (tip: we use a microwave to soften hard clay).  They start with forming the shape of their mold, and then carve out their animal.  Lastly, they form 2" tall walls around the bottom of their mold.

Working with the clay is definitely the hardest part.  After that, they love pouring the plaster into their molds.  We let those set until the next art class.

 

What's great about using plasticine clay for the entire mold, is that it peels off the plaster in one or two big pieces.  Then, they use a variety of carving tools to "clean-up" their sculpture.  They also can use sanding blocks to smooth their edges.

The whole process is a huge mess, but they love it.  I just make sure I give them extra time to clean their tables and sweep the floor!  The last step is optional, and that is to add color with watercolor paints.

5th Grade - Wood Sculptures

Here's some more pictures of the finished wood sculptures.  Students could choose to make their sculpture either realistic or abstract.  They used up to 9 pieces of scrap wood and glued them together with wood glue.  During this project, they found out just how important balance is to a piece of artwork!

 

]

]

Snow, snow, snow!

Today was our third snow day in a row, and sixth total in a month!
This is the snow drift by the front doors of the school...

Needless to say, we haven't gotten too much completed in the art room.  However, there's some great starts to some fun lessons!
One of my favorite lessons is underway - wood sculptures by the 5th graders.  I'm really lucky to have one of the paraprofessionals donate bags of wood scraps to me every year for this project.  Here's some pictures of the works-in-progress.  As you can see, some are close to finished, and some are barely started thanks to the snow days.  Keep posted for more information and pictures in the next week or so!

 

1st Grade - Clay Fish Sculptures

These colorful clay fish were created by first graders.  (They took them out of the room so fast this is the only picture I got!)  They practiced wedging their clay, flattening into a slab, drawing the fish with the needle tool, cutting it out and adding details.  They also added a fish texture by pressing seashells into the clay.  Once fired, they painted with watercolors and finished them off with a layer of acrylic glaze.

Kindergarten - Model Magic Sculptures

Kindergarten students learned about sculpture for the first time in this lesson.  Their challenge was to use a package of white model magic clay and colored wires to create a sculpture that showed good balance.  They got to add color on their model magic with markers when completed.