Sixth Grade & Sixth Age Buddies

Last month my Advisory girls mentioned that they would love to do something with "little kids" at Calvert, so I emailed the 6th Age team to see if anyone was interested in partnering up to do an activity together. Mrs. Clark eagerly agreed and we arranged for her class to come over during our Advisory period today to make a Thanksgiving craft and share some sweets.

After getting matched with a new friend or two, the "big kids" helped the "little kids" write down things that they are thankful for on small foam leaf shapes with permanent markers. They then hot glued the leaves to tree branches to create "Trees of Thanks" that they can use for a Thanksgiving centerpiece next week! Both classes really enjoyed getting to know one another and we look forward to doing a winter activity together in January!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Faculty Art Class!

Do you remember the faculty drawing class that I offered last year? It was so fun and rewarding for me to do that I decided to offer another one this winter! Every Tuesday from last week until winter break (so six weeks),  I am teaching a group of eleven Calvert faculty members, but this time it is ceramics! I happen to have all women this time around and it has already proven to be a fabulous experience after only two weeks. It's super casual and relaxing as we all chit chat and make pottery together. I taught the "class" about the kind of stoneware clay that we are using and about some basic properties of clay and glazes, and then showed them how to create coiled vessels, which is what they are all working on now. Here is a photo from yesterday, and I will be sure to share some finished products with you as they develop!

Birds of a Feather

This afternoon I attended a "Birds of a Feather" meeting with other area independent Middle School Art Teachers at Gilman School. Nine teachers were present and it was a great opportunity for us to network, ask each other for advice or tips about issues that arise in our own art rooms, and to share successful lesson plans. I shared my two recent 7th grade lessons, Multimedia Still Life and Andy Goldsworthy Earth Art, which of course impressed everybody :)

 

 

 

"Tip Me Over & Pour Me Out!"

In the sixth grade, students create clay projects that emphasize the "pinch" method of clay handbuilding. This year, they are making themed teapots! The processes used to create each piece differ depending on the specific design, but all teapots are hollow forms (most started with two big pinch pots to create an egg-like hollow shape) and have all the parts needed to be a working teapot- handle, hollow spout and lid! I think the themes are so unique and creative:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Earth Art after Andy Goldsworthy

Andy Goldsworthy (born July 26,1956) is a British sculptor, photographer and environmentalist living in Scotland who produces site-specific sculpture and land art situated in natural and urban settings. His art involves the use of natural and found objects to create both temporary and permanent sculptures which draw out the character of their environment. He explores and experiments with various natural material such as leaves, grasses, stones, wood, sand, clay, ice and snow. The seasons and weather determine the materials and the subject matter of his projects.With no preconceived ideas about what he will create, Goldsworthy relies on what nature will give him. Goldsworthy “feels” the energy from nature and transcends that energy into an art form.

Inspired by the work of Goldsworthy and the vivid colors seen around the Calvert campus with the change of the season, seventh grade artists also created temporary artworks using natural objects. Like Goldsworthy, we used photography as a form of documentation to capture the essence of the artworks.