Paper Mache Bowls

Well, the bowls turned out surprisingly well.  Too bad I have to take half of the credit for them.  Let's just say that if I had a 2 hour class, the students would have done 100% of the work.  But, don't you find that sometimes it's just better to help them reach the final product than have a load of unfinished projects?  Maybe if I would have saved this project for 6th graders, instead of 4th graders, I wouldn't have had to help them finish.  The 4th graders spent a good 10 minutes getting over the oooey-gooey Art Paste instead of getting right to work. 

I think that these bowls can be the foundation to add more cool and interesting things, like magazine paper, paint, Mod Podge, and the list goes on!  I am thinking about spray painting mine silver :)

What was I thinking?

Sometimes I have these crazy ideas to utilize materials in new and different ways.  For one, I have a collection of this Art Paste in the Art Room that has been here for the last decade, and since I'm one for using what I have rather than buying new...I introduce you to our latest Art Club endeavour.

It all started with a box of Art Paste:

 

...and some shredded paper...

...and some balloons...

And the result?  A very messy Art Room, some soggy/half-covered balloons, and LOADS of fun...

I will add that I am spending my planning/lunch time today finishing up the balloons.  Our 45 minute Art Club was not nearly enough time to cover the whole balloons with 2-3 layers of paper.  I am actually only covering half of their balloons so that when they dry, they will be paper bowls.  Look for more photos to come :)

And the winners are...

I am pleased to announce that two of my four entries got accepted into the Picture The Music art competition.  The awards ceremony is two weeks from today and I am curious to see what awards my students receive.  Out of 13,000 participants, 100 works of art were selected.  At the ceremony, there will be three types of awards, Blue Ribbon awards given to 90 students, 7 awards to the best entry in each grade level, two Maestro awards for the best artwork in K-3 and 4- 6, and one St. Louis Symphony Award to the single work of art that best represents the musical selection.

Sounds of Russia by Aubree M. - 6th grade

   


















Musical Explosion by Alan S. - 1st grade

Dave The Potter

 

This is a great book to read and base a pottery lesson during Black History Month.  When students can relate what they are doing in Art to people of another time and place, it has much more meaning.  

Self-Portraits

I like this book for it's beautiful illustrations and for the message encouraging diversity.  I read the book to my students, encouraging them to notice the illustrations and the gilded frame around each page.  Next, students went to work on creating self-portraits, trying to match their hair and skin color, and all of the important details that make them unique.  They were also encouraged to draw a background that would either represent where they live or what they like to do.  Lastly, students selected a larger piece of colored construction paper to serve as their "frame".  They used metallic crayons to make their frames special and 'fancy' like the frames in the book.