Art Fundies: Betty White!

Students are learning about basic color theory and how to achieve the illusion of form with acrylic paints.

We worked on "test strips:" blending paints to make a seamless transition.  We painted a value (monochromatic) scale, a warm-to-cool scale, and a complementary scale.

We are using these test strips to "paint" a portrait of Betty White! I found an image of Betty White (wearing bunny ears, of course!) and projected it onto the wall and traced her outline onto a large piece of paper.

I color coded the shadows of her face so it would make applying the cut up test strips easier.  Stay tuned for updates!

Beg. Ceramics & 5th Graders: Coil Vessels

The Beginning Ceramics students are working on a collaborative project with the fifth graders.  My students are creating large (at least 12") coil pots (helpful tutorial on how to make coil pots).  The fifth graders are drawing Japanese story books.  We will be receiving their illustrations and interpreting them into the sides of the clay vessels.

Technical questions to consider:

5th Grader Painting

• What should the profile of my vessel look like?
• How do I achieve my desired profile?
• How do I work with coils?
• How fast can I work with coils?
• What happens if I feel my vessel start to slump?
• How do I store my vessel from day to day while still constructing?
• How do I smooth out the clay?
• How can I use a wooden paddle to finish my vessel?

Design questions to consider:

Hannah's coil pot

• What part of the fifth grader's drawing do I want to incorporate into my vessel?
• How large do I want the drawings on my vessel?
• Do I want to copy the drawing style or make it more sophisticated?
• How do I lay out the drawings (2D object) on to my vessel (3D object)?
• What parts do I want additive/subtractive?
• Do I want to use colored slip or underglaze? How?
• Do I want to incorporate slip trailing or sgraffito? How?