Houses for Haiti Sold Out!

This weekend I went to Red Tree to pick up the last check from the sale of the Houses for Haiti my students made. All together between the sales at Red Tree and Antique Exchange, we sold 72 houses and raised $360 to donate to the Art Creation Foundation for Children in Jacmel , Haiti. Thank you to the artists and those of you who went to buy one, or five!

Three-step Reduction Prints

Asante Cloth- or Kente, is a ceremonial cloth hand-woven on a loom in Ghana, Africa. Rich, colorful repeating patterns are woven into 4-inch strips and are sewn together into larger pieces of cloth. Cloths come in various colors, sizes and designs and are worn during very important social and religious occasions, but kente is more than just cloth. It is a visual representation of history, philosophy, ethics, oral literature, moral values, social code of conduct, religious beliefs, political thought and aesthetic principles.

In this project, LS Art Club members created their own patterned kente by using a 3-step reduction printing process. A pattern was first scratched into a rectangular piece of printing foam and this design was printed six times on colored paper with ink of their choice. Next, the plate was 'reduced' by cutting out areas to create new patterns. This reduced printing plate was printed on top of the first six prints. Plates were reduced one last time and were printed once more with a third color!

This Week in the Art Room...

We're rounding out the 3rd quarter this week and lots of projects are underway or wrapping up. Here's a recap of what's been going on in the art room this week...

5th graders are busy creating all of the colors on the color wheel by mixing only the primary colors, black and white. They are creating a color wheel accordion book including tints and shades of each color:
6th grade art students are drawing from observation. This quarter, students are drawing their hands spelling out their names in American Sign Language. We're using lamps as spotlights in order to create shadows and highlights:6th grade art historians are working in small groups on Windows Moviemaker movies about the Renaissance as their final project. They will present on their topics (architecture, sculpture or painting) tomorrow in class:7th graders are creating coil pots out of red low-fire clay inspired by the pottery of ancient Greece. They are going to be impressive!:8th graders have been painting the self portrait masks they casted from their faces the week before spring break. I don't have any in progress photos, but here are some from the plastering process:LS Art Club members completed their most recent project this past Tuesday (photos of the final products to come). They created a three-step reduction print inspired by African kente cloth. Here are some pics from Tuesday:Ceramics Club is on hiatus this week- the third session starts next Monday and there is still room if you want to participate. Sign up in the office with Mrs. Conkling!

Clay Clocks

I am so excited by the results of the latest Ceramics Club project! Members created unique themed wall clocks out of clay, and yes, they actually work!

Glass Flowers

Here is a very small sampling of the glass flowers that the 8th graders created during our March 3rd field trip to the glassblowing studio. The rest can be seen in the showcase outside of the MS office!

Empty Bowls "Souper Supper"!

On Saturday, March 20th, the Empty Bowls Souper Supper, sponsored by St. Vincent de Paul of Baltimore, is being held and all are invited. FIFTY bowls were created by Calvert students during the first three sessions of Outreach and were donated to the event, which raises money for the hungry and homeless population in Baltimore. For the $15 ticket price, you will get an all-you-can-eat soup and bread supper donated by many great local restaurants and you will take a hand-crafted bowl home with you as a reminder of those whose bowls remain empty. The event is from 3:00-7:00 (you can come anytime) and is located in Doyle Hall on the campus of the College of Notre Dame, right up Charles Street. Tickets may be purchased at the door. Hope to see you there!

Cookies and Coffee Cups!

Thank you to all of the 8th grade artists, parents and adminstrators who came out to view and celebrate the paintings at the Evergreen yesterday afternoon. About 12 of the 18 artists were there and we all enjoyed mingling and munching on Evergreen's famous giant cookies! You can continue to enjoy the work at Evergreen through March 26th!

Field Trip to Glassblowing Studio!

On March 3rd, the 8th grade art class took a field trip to Corradetti Glass Studio in Clipper Mill to make hot glass flowers. I posted about the process last year when we went on the same trip, so you can read more about it here. Here are photos of the artists in action!