Art Club: Opening the kiln

It's coming to the end of term 3 and the children's ceramics work are fresh off the kiln! There is a lot of anticipation when it comes to ceramics class. In every step of the process, nothing is guaranteed. Things could happen during firing that resulted in failure of pieces which could only be thrown away (so far, nothing like that yet) or it's not even your fault but because the pieces are placed close together, you can't prevent an accident, just cause and effect. 

In every lesson, the children learnt from other children's work and we discussed about the good, bad and ugly. Everyone need to work together to make the lesson happen. The glazes doesn't fill themselves up. Someone has to wedge the recycle clay and ensure it's kept and mist properly. Someone has to plan the schedule to fire and reload the kiln. So, they need to know the work behind the scenes that they won't need to do and all teachers ask for is that they bring a good attitude to class and enjoy. 

Housekeeping: Lesson Packages

Hi teachers! I've been collecting my lesson resources and teachers' samples over the years and keeping them in envelopes like these in the resource room. I think it's essential to accumulate more resources and refine them for future use. Keeping them in opaque envelope would preserve the original colours of the painting. I have some samples of string art and watercolour painting for future reference. It's also useful to prepare simple activities for relief teachers in case there is a need. 

Art Class: Colours (Part II)

To prepare for our mouse paint art, the children will be making three mice on their art piece. It looks very cute given the interactive element. They watched the video and begin their work. Tearing the papers instead of cutting them gave it an uneven finish. I certainly did not anticipate that any of them would tell me it's too difficult to tear the drawing papers! Perhaps they are too afraid to tear the papers or displeasure associated with tearing papers??

Art Club: Recycling Clay

How do you recycle the leftover clay from previous classes? In our class, the children place their remaining clay pieces into a black bag and I pour some water to soften the clay. After accumulating them for a few sessions, they would be soft to knead and wedge. Wedging the clay would prepare it ready for use by eliminating air bubbles and ensure a consistent texture. They would be packed into balls of clay right into the black bag again, sprinkled with some water to maintain moisture. 

Art Class: Abstract Art (Part I)

The P5 students are making their mark in the art room. You can click on this link to see what I collect all year round as art materials. Students observed the marks made with unconventional everyday materials. 

The children studied abstract artists' work such as Piet Mondrian, Wassily Kandinsky and Henri Matisse. We wanted to see how figurative and abstract work play a part in meaning making. And we analysed how the elements of art and principles of design are applicable in their work. 

I created a giant worksheet (A3-sized) using acrylic paper, by printing on the back of it. My initial idea was to use life experience to frame the idea of abstract art but decided against it. Using lines, shapes and colours, I use emotion as the backdrop to scaffold their learning.

Art Class: Colours (Part I)

The story, Mouse Paint by Ellen Stoll Walsh is a wonderful book to introduce colours to the younger students. I gave each student a set of primary colours cellophane papers so they can walk around their class and see through new lens. It's quite amazing to see their reactions when the primary colours overlapped. Then, I had them sat down for a class discussion about what they have observed and they thought that besides secondary colours, we would have 'college colours'!

Within the same lesson, the children will blend the primary colours by using the cross-section of the oil pastels. Quite a feat to see three sticks of oil pastels churning out a variety of abstract art. Stay tuned to next week's lesson!

Art Class: Paper cutting and symmetry

This short unit allows me to introduce a local artist, Anthony Poon's work. Even though his art has no resemblance to what the students did, his style of abstract expressionism is very precise and calculated. I showed some images of his sketches and notes to emphasize the importance of thinking and planning in art. The artist once said that everything can be simplified in basic shapes of lines and angles so getting the students to do kirigami has similar objectives. They were very eager to reveal the patterns after folding and cutting. It's a task that's feasible for them to feel successful and putting the artwork together is visually captivating.