Clay Fish

Hi Art Spotters! Have you been spotting art all around Grandville lately? I have! Last weekend we had our first Art and Chocolate Walk in downtown Grandville! Similar to Art Prize, (without the cash prize), we hung artwork from students in Grandville Schools up in the businesses located downtown. It was a huge success, and I'll be working on a blog post on that soon.

Until then, I wanted to share a fantastic clay fish project that I completed with 6th graders. Some of the pieces were in the show!

This was a project that really focused on learning how to score and slip pieces of clay together. Students learned that without properly attaching clay pieces, they would fall off during the drying process.

To make the fish bodies hollow, we started out by making two small pinch pots. Taller pinch pots made longer thinner fish, and wider pinch pots made rounder fish. We attached the two pinch pots using score and slip, and added a hole for the mouth. Then we added eyes, lips, fins, and tails. The last work day was used to add details such as gills, scales, and texture.

 Check out some of my favorites from C.P.L.C. below!

This student also made a fish, but had a bit of extra clay. He made this lizard and I just couldn't resist letting him fire it and glaze it! I think it came out so great!

Aren't they amazing!! I was so proud of my 6th graders. I also had some fantastic results at Central and Grand View. Their fish are being finished right now, so I'll post some of those when they are done!

Happy Art making!
-Miss O'Donnell

Kinder Spring Flowers

Hi everyone! It's been a busy year, and it's almost over! Can't believe how fast it went by :)  Just wanted to stop in quickly to share a super cute Spring Kindergarten project with you. It's a project that teaches Kinders how to draw three types of flowers, as well as create a pattern for a vase.

I chose this project to try out our new Tempera Cakes.  And I must say.....I absolutely LOVE them! They are great for younger artists to use.  I was spending so much time pouring tempera paint and then ending up with a huge mess that needed to be cleaned up after each class. These tempera cakes are already ready to go, and if any colors get mixed up, all it takes is a quick swipe with a wet cloth to clean them off.

Here are some in progress shots of the kids painting their flowers.

And the finished product!

Well that's all for today Art Spotters! See you next time. 

sincerely, 

Miss O'Donnell

Biggby Contest Winners!!

Hi Art Spotters!  This past week I hope you all had a chance to head on over to the Standale Biggby to vote for your favorite pieces of Artwork from Cummings Elementary 3rd and 4th graders. Last night was the final night to vote, and at 7pm we announced the winners!

Take a look at the top 3 as well as the Barista's Choice winners below!


First Place, #57.  Prize: $20 Gift Card to Service Reproduction (Art supply store)

2nd Place: #21. Prize: $15 to Service Reproduction

3rd Place #15. Prize: $10 to Service Reproduction.

And Finally, The Barista's Choice Award: #53. Prize: Biggby Ribbon

Congratulations Winners! Can't wait to see next year's selection for the Biggby Art Contest. 

Check in later for some updates on what my other grades have been making so far this school year!

- Miss O'Donnell