The 4th and 5th graders are doing coil constructions right now...

I know it has been a while since my last blog entry. It has been a very busy, yet fruitful year. Our work for VESSEL - Modern Visions of Ancient Pottery from Around the World has been progressing at a phenomenal rate. My students have far surpassed my expectations. The constructions they have produced have been laced with problem solving, math, science, and bursts of creativity I have not seen in my 13 years in elementary art education. In the fall we began research on ancient greek culture and pottery. Students have been learning about all aspects of the research process and will present research papers and powerpoints for the exhibition opening in May. So far we have completed 4 methods of construction: pinch pots, hump molds, slab constructions, and coiling. We move to "free form" constructions where students will use a variety of construction applications, including wheel throwing. Glazing has been a shear joy. The students are curious and diligent about the process and approach the glazing of their constructions with as much fever as building them. We have weekly crits and talk about the progress of our work together. We just finished a load of glazed hump mold pots using Sax's Colorburst glazes. The effects have been most brilliant with the pots which were painted with at least 3 layrers.

With hard budget cuts coming this way for the next school year, I am going to have to be even more innovative and creative in finding support for my program. As any art educator knows, most of your budget is in consumable materials. I am most thankful for my principal, who I know cringes each and every time I submit a requisition for more clay or glaze, but she knows the end process is well worth any money spent for these kids.

I will post a slideshow of our field experience at the MFAH back in December. It was real "eye opener" for the kids as they had the opportunity to see first hand many of the styles and periods of Greek pottery they had been reading and researching about. It was connective learning at its best. I will try to post more students designing, working, and glazing this truly amazing process.