Day at the Beach

Here, father and son begin by mixing a palette of colors to create a joint painting.

The scene begins with water at the beach, painted together, brushes sometimes mixing as they go.

Dad adds a house while his son continues on the water.

They remember the dolphins they saw and add those.

Both artists look pleased with their painting and with the remembering that goes with it.

Continuing to add details, a line of red chairs on the (yellow) sand, flowers above the sand and then the beach house.

The finished painting, "A Day at the Beach."

Monoprinting

Monoprinting is a fun way to explore and experiment with paint. Here the young artist begins with a ground of purple painted on plexi-glass on her tray.

She uses a comb to scratch lines into the paint, notice how this mimics the color and design of her shirt in the picture above.

The finished print, capturing the texture and colors.

A Device to Transmit Sound

This project was created during a week of exploring recycled and found materials. One artist/inventor began with the intention to "make a device to transmit sound." When asked what exactly she meant by transmit sound, she admitted she wasn't sure but she just thought it would be interesting to try.

The building began with two plastic cups, inserted through holes in a box. Here a rubber band stretched around one cup will make a sound.

Experimenting with listening and talking at different sides of the box.

This expanded to trying different materials, (tissue paper rattling above) to see how they sounded through the device.

Sharing our creations with the group at the end, the different materials tried and the results of each. I think what excited me about this exploration was the way the experimenting seemed led to new materials and possibilities along with changes in the design of the device. An exact definition of sound transmission was not necessary to enjoy playing with the idea and experiencing numerous ways sound could be explored through the materials at hand, both directly and through the invented device.

The Hot Tub - Why I Love Student Choice in the Studio

This pot began toward the end of the spring after school session. A nice example of the clay skills this young artist developed over the course of her classes. Notice the scoring marks on the bottom slab, ready for attachment of a second side to complete the pot. Also, there is a coil of clay worked into the space between the two attached slabs, adding strength to the joint of the piece.

Here, she carefully adds the second side, supporting the inside and outside with her hands as she joins the fragile sides together. Behind her are cut off pieces from shaping the slab to be just the right size to complete the pot.

The completed and smoothed slab pot...or what I thought was a pot based on her original intention. The artist seemed a bit dissatisfied, saying she thougth that it was too deep to be a pot. As an observer, I felt a bit disappointed that she did not see and relish in the growth in her hand building skills that I was seeing.

I returned some time later to find this addition, also built with slabs - as well as another transformation. "It was too deep to be a pot so I added a ladder and now it's a hot tub." Watching this unfold was a wonderful experience of developing clay and sculpting skills along with the delight of imagination and creative problem solving.

Visit the Teaching for Artistic Behavior page to read more about Choice-based art making.

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