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Nest & Chicks added to our Silhouette Mural

We made a few updates to our mural at school. We painted the original in 2015. This year, after some unfortunate defacing with Sharpie, we cleaned it up and realized some areas needed touching up. So my helpful middle school study hall kids decided to touch up and help me with some additions. They added the chicks and chicken at the front (every other year our Science department hatches chicks). And then we decided to add a tree branch with … Read more…

Fingerprint Plates for School Auction

We made 3 fingerprint plates for our school auction. The materials we used were Bisque fired dinner plates from Mayco. Underglaze in various colors Fine line writer bottle (filled with glaze) Clear Gloss Glaze The first was a Dr. Seuss themed “One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish” plate for the Kindergartners.  The fish are made from their fingerprints. The second was a bird plate for the 1st graders.  All of the birds were made from the kids’ fingerprints.  Their … Read more…

Class Project for Auction: Clay Mosaic Mirrors

Class Project for Auction:  Clay Mosaic Mirrors

Every year my students and I create artworks for our school’s auction.  If you look here, you can see some of the auction artworks from previous years.  This year, each student in grades K-8 made textured clay circle tiles.  We glued them on to several mirrors. The process to make the clay circle tiles is quite simple, yet it teaches the kids several important skills for working with clay. First, roll out a flat piece of clay (called a “slab”). … Read more…

Cube Mural Inspired by Street Artist Thank YouX

Earlier this year, my co-worker Jayne found the idea to make a collaborative school-wide paper mural based on the artwork of Thank YouX.  The idea for a student mural originally came from Jenell Novello and you can see the lesson plan write-up on Artsonia.  She also so generously provided the lesson plan and templates on Google docs. Thank You X got his name by accident.  In 2009 Andy Warhol’s spray painted portrait was spotted on a city street in L.A..  … Read more…

Train Track Mural Drawings

Train Track Mural Drawings

If you would like a fun activity for a group of young kids or even your own little train enthusiastic, try this railroad track mural art project!  My students worked in groups of 3 or more.  First, they assembled a train track with wooden tracks.  This took a lot of planning and collaboration.  They needed to work together as a team to get the tracks to fit on their piece of paper.   After the groups were satisfied with their … Read more…

Create a “Create” Banner

I’ve been busy this school year, but proud of myself that I feel like I’m keeping on top of things.  It is so easy to feel like you are drowning in artwork, messes and things on your to-do list.  Am I the only one sometimes that feels like I am swimming in a sea of student artwork trying to figure out what’s what, what’s finished and what still needs to be done? I wanted to share with you a fun … Read more…

All About Me Collaborative Puzzle Pieces

You are part of the puzzle!  Each student in my older grades (3-5) made a puzzle piece about themselves and their interests.  I should have written:  You are a PIECE of the puzzle.  Or, I could have said: We all fit together.  I know, it’s kind of corny, but the puzzle piece making was fun. I bought a set of wooden puzzle pieces (the package came with two pieces) and I traced them onto several pieces of tagboard to make … Read more…