Silly Bands in Art

Like many parents, my initial response to silly bands was a bit skeptical. As I found myself increasingly surrounded by them at home and in the studio, I am fascinated by the conversations begun by asking about these simple objects. They are a form of fashion and fashion is part of art. I heard of one child who wore hers in the order of the colors of the rainbow. Their design is also unique...each animal is represented by a single continuous line or contour. This alone could be an interesting challenge...how would you represent your favorite animal using a single continuous line? Finally, their flexibility makes them interesting; pinch, pull and bend to transform the basic animal outline fatter, thinner, stranger...what stories might they tell?
Silly bands have of course made their way into the art studio; here are a few of my favorites:
Silly band rubbings created with oil pastel on paper. The bands were placed under the paper; notice the one in the upper right was twisted and made a unique design.
Silly band rubbing and a child's drawing inspired by the outline. These first two images were done by Savannah.
Here the silly band is used as a stamp when applying glaze to a pinch pot. The band was carefully painted and pressed onto the pot, the flexibility made it a good stamp for a curved surface.
The impression left by the guitar silly band.
The finished pot (upside down) after the glaze firing. Here we can see how the artist combined the stamps in her overall design. Turned upright, this is a basketball pencil holder created by Andie for her sister and fellow artist, Liz.

An Introduction to our Kiln and Firing Process

The kiln is a large appliance that lives on my back patio. Here it is with the top closed the way it looks when it is firing. The box on the outside houses the computer that controls the temperature. The clay and glaze we use are "low-fire" meaning they fire to about 1900 degrees Fahrenheit.

The kiln opens from the top.

Sculptures and pots are stacked on vertical shelves supported by columns. Below, you can look down intot he kiln to see the first shelf. Columns will be added next and another shelf stacked on top.

The picture above shows clay that has dried and is ready for a first firing. When it goes into the kiln it is called "greenware." When it comes out, it has been transformed to ceramic and is called "bisque." This firing takes about 15 hours and then another 8 to 12 hours to cool.

The clay in this picture is ready for a glaze firing. The blue pieces are all painted with clear glaze. This can be a bit confusing because it doesn't look very shiny. The glaze gets its color and sheen from the firing process. There is silica in the glaze that melts to form a thin coat of glass covering the clay. This firing only takes about 7 hours but takes 8 to 12 hours to cool.

Below are the same pieces after firing. Notice their sheen and color.

The Art of Happiness

A big thank you to our presenters, Gioia and Rebecca and all who attended The Art of Happiness lecture May 4th at Art at the Center. Gioia Chilton and Rebecca Wilkinson brought to life the energizing field of positive psychology and ideas around defining mental health based on strengths rather than on pathology. Their experiential activities got us up and moving around to discuss adn explore how these ideas relate to our own lives, strengths and preferences. Art activities helped to create a bridge to the connections with art therapy and how achievement of mastery and flow experiences contribute to feelings of happiness.
One important point they made was that achieving happiness does not mean an absense of any negative emotions. It means building resilience, a focus on the positive and the ability to bounce back after setbacks.
This reminds me of the Studio Thinking Habits of Mind we work to build in the studio. When we "engage and persist" we work through frustration, having faith in the creative process. When we "develop craft" we attend to specific skills and the care and use of our tools. This leads to feelings of accomplishment, mastery and ownership of the studio space and the work that is made. We "stretch and explore" when we experiment with a new art media or subject matter, something outside our usual comfort zone. This is where a community of artists is so important in the studio. Peers provide support and resources to support creative risk taking. When we "reflect" or "envision," we look at what is going well, what works in a piece of art and how that might lead us to logical next steps. We imagine new possibilities and look for ways to build on interests and strengths of individual artists.
The Studio Thinking Habits of Mind were developed as a way to highlight learning in studio settings. You can read more about them here,
Studio Thinking for Young Minds

The Turtle and the Egg

For our four and five year old artists in the Art in the Afternoon class, the process is very much about the story. Stories grow and evolve as children paint, draw and sculpt.

With clay work, the photos are sometimes the only record as the same material changes form and the original character or setting may or may not remain. This is a wonderful story of transformation and new life.

The artist's clay turtle.

He is crawling toward his nest - see it there with the egg.

The egg has hatched!

See the new baby turtle.

Zebra and Camel Story

The beginning of stories in young artists work is very interesting. Here, we began with the idea to explore black and white paint on black or white paper.

This painting begins with white vertical strokes on the black paper, creating strong contrast.
Black stripes are added on top of the white and the story begins, this is a zebra.

Working beside her first piece, she begins on the white paper; this one is a camel. "He needs a really big bed. You have to go very fast to make a big bed." This narration was accompanied by rapid movements on the lower half of the page using the big brush.

The camel painting.

The zebra painting.

"It's a zebra and a camel; they're friends and they love each other."

Building with Boxes

Everyone loves a big empty box - particularly one you can fit inside! Gather boxes around your house and see what you can build. Kids can draw windows and doors and rely on adults to do the cutting.


This spaceship has lights, 3 cockpits and a working propeller on the back (attached with a bolt) along with a very enthusiastic crew - they do design-build-and operate!

Shoe Design

Fun for all ages - begin with a pair of white canvas sneakers and use sharpie markers to customize your own pair of shoes. Create wearable art!

This pair has dogs on the toes...can you guess the artist's favorite animal?

It is a good idea to work on top of newspaper when using permanent markers.


Working on both shoes in turn to create matching designs.

Modeling new custom shoes - wearable art!