Window Art to Celebrate Christmas - Bon Appetit!

Kaitlin1173

Josh4996

Jennifer4008

Emily

  A nine-thirty a.m. start time is unforgiving, especially on a Saturday.  Sleepy-eyed, about 14 senior high art club students showed up to paint the windows for Christmas.  After some emergency doses of Nutella on graham crackers, most were awake and ready to go to work.  About two hours later, energy spent, we fortified ourselves with a pizza party.  All that painting creates a powerful appetite.    

Thane or Bust

Sculpting 

Last spring, one of my senior  students wanted to sculpt a clay bust as an art enrichment activity. At first, she considered the idea of trying to make it look like someone in particular.  I assured her that based on my experience,  I was just relieved when my bust ended up looking humanoid, let alone like anyone I knew.  Truly, focusing on mastering clay construction techniques and structurally valid features gives one plenty to chew on in a first pass.  

 Things can really go south when building a bust, from collapsing heads and structural cracks to total annihilation in the kiln. A dear friend of mine experienced a sad result when her bust completely shed it's  face overnight.  Like icebergs calving baby icebergs, the face simply slid off  in it's entirety and, with some creative salvaging, became a mask.  Undaunted, my student maximized her chance of success by paying close attention to honing construction skills and techniques.  As a result, it took a little over three months for "Thane's" completion, but he came out of the kiln in one piece with only one small crack. We think he may be part Elf, but definitely humanoid!

Loaded in kiln and ready to fire

Meet "Thane" by Anna7742

The Outer Limits of Imagination - Advanced Art

Alex11869

Clinton113

Brittany5262

CJ872

From Walt Disney to Aesop's fables, either through the written page or on the silver screen, artists have long explored the idea of animating the inanimate by  gracing things with human characteristics for their own purposes.  For the past few weeks my students have used the stuff of everyday life to spur their imaginations' "outer limits."  Alarm clocks, wire whisks, plumbing fixtures, jewelry, and even nuts and bolts came to life in their anthropomorphic still life drawings.

We used a limited  colored pencil palette against a support of black charcoal paper.  Interpreting items predominately metallic in nature gave drama to the stuff one finds at the bottom of a drawer, or a shelf in the basement.   

"Toobers & Zots" and the Art of Play

Preschool toys in the hands of high school students? - Yep!  We got in touch with our inner child this week playing  Toobers and Zots.  They seem to intrinsically inspire sculptural designs with a slightly surrealistic twist.  Relatively simple shapes to draw, my students learned how to make quick drawings and thumbnail sketches using different configurations.  Picasso once said, "Every child is an artist.  The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up."   I think I need to raid my children's old toybox more often.

Fashionistas, Advanced Art and the Remnants of Spring 2012

 Before the great memories of last year get folded neatly away,  I wanted to share these last bits of spring semester  2012.

Advanced Art and Project Runway 

 

Taking my cue from the hit television series of the same name, and inspired by its co-host, Tim Gunn, the kids brought their creative juices to full throttle  by creating head coverings incorporating recycled materials.  Paper Mache being the method of basic construction, students developed themed hats that ranged from stunning fashion statements to well, ...not so stunning fashion statements.  Bonus points were awarded for coordinating outfits at our critique.  

Since the  proverbial picture is worth a thousand words, I’ll let you be the final judge of students’ “make it work” creations. 

Michaela1229

Laura2621

Bonus Points for coordinating outfits with hats!

Hannah10535

Entitled "The Helmet of Salvation"

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Art Club features Mural Unveiling May 2012

Art Club dedicated our rendition of Paul Klee's "Landscape with Yellow Birds" to the applause of a hallway full of well wishers in May.

Art Club 2011 - 2012

A Duct Tape Battle

Winning,... for the time being

After weeks of adhesive submission, I’m beginning to believe that our mural cover has taken to tearing itself from wall when no one is looking.  What lies beneath will hardly be a surprise given the number of times it’s fallen down.  Considering the cover’s propensity to absent itself from the mission, “The Reveal” on May 3^rd could end up being rather anti- climactic.  To avoid that end, more aggressive measures have been instituted.     Art club students have instructions to firmly slap errant duct tape back against the wall when it threatens to unstick, adding reinforcements when necessary.  So, if you’re walking down the hallway and notice a kid whacking the mural cover, please realize that he’s doing me a favor. 

Artsense Miniterm: And the Winner is....

The overarching  summary of Artsense Miniterm in D.C.boils down to this:  We came, we saw, we photographed.  "Arigato," (thank you), Japan, for the gift of seedlings that grew into a visual haiku of stunning proportions.   Not only does one drink in exploding tress mantled in delicate shades of pink and white, but one inhales cherry blossoms and exhales spring.  I would have been content to just photograph trees. 

Cherry Trees Everywhere by W.Brott

Culminating in a photo contest, Artsense students submitted their best photo of D.C.  The award winning photograph goes to C.J. for her evocative photo of the Washington Monument at sunset.  Honorable Mention goes to Josh for his Cherry Blossom portrait.  Thanks for all your photos!

By CJ872 - First Place Winner

Josh4996 - Honorable Mention