Coil Pots

It's been a while since I've posted a seventh grade project. This is due to the fact that over a few weeks time students were creating coil pots which then need time to dry and be fired, glazed, overglazed and fired again. In the meantime, seventh graders started (and are almost finished with) a whole other project!

Usually when I teach the skill of creating vessels from clay coils, we make pots in a particular style (like Greek pottery or Nazca pottery). This time around, I decided to see what creative things they could make after showing the kids a bunch of different freeform pieces that I found online which incorporate texture and various ways of using coils, like these:

Artist: Laurie Bartlett

Artist: Christine Castillo



 Here are some shots of the kids working:

And here are the final pieces:

Outreach Trip to Paul's Place

Yesterday after school, the 8th grade girls' advisories traveled to Paul's Place, an outreach center in Baltimore. The girls worked with kids in their afterschool program, helping with homework, sharing a sweet treat and making a holiday craft. We had a great time bringing smiles and service to others. Here are some photos from our trip!

Homework help:

Making our messy but fun craft project- Quart sized mason jars filled with the dry ingredients to make chocolate chip cookies, complete with a handwritten recipe card and decorative lid! (Want to make your own? Recipe here!)

Cupcakes... Yum!!

Mona Lisa

My Art History class recently completed their study of Leonardo Da Vinci and created this collaborative version of the Mona Lisa as part of it. Each student looked at a small square of the original artwork (I cut up a small poster of it) and created a larger copy of it using oil pastels. Our version of the masterpiece measures about 36" x 24" and looks pretty cool on display in the hallway!

All Aboard!!!

For the fourth year in a row, my Advisory was lucky enough to work on a big gingerbread house in collaboration with the kitchen staff (click to see the houses from 2010 and 2011- I wasn't blogging about it in '09!). The company that does our food services, Flik, holds a yearly gingerbread house contest- we have come in second for the past two years and are hoping for a first place finish this year! Of course, the sheer fun of making such a creation feels like winning enough :)

Mr. O and Chef Ashe came up with the idea of a train station and my advisory happily decorated with that theme in mind... Check it out and wish us luck!

Pics of the process: