IFAC – Summer 2010 lovin’

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we are ROBOTS, we are just like YOU…

Just like you we were created by someone, except we are painted and made….

out of a cereal box…

Just like you we have ears, except our are made out of ….

...mini dixie cups...

We also have feet,  except ours are made out of….

....Toilette paper rolls cut in half...

Just like you, there are…

... baby robots...

 and…

mommy robots

Daddy Robots

Girly Robots... ...more Girly Robots

 

...and more....

 Just like you, Robots like to make-out in Art Gallery’s…

Smooch!

…and laugh when we get caught….

Heeeehehehehehe!

and just like you we like to…

….hang out with our friends and look at Art…

 We do think one thing about you humans is kind of weird though. Why do you drive yourself bonkers trying to be like us?….

*Note plastic eye balls on childs forehead

Just be you! Cause YOU are so cool!

Love, Robots

Ceramic Heart Boxes!

You know how every parent thinks their kid is the cutest kid? I think I can relate, cause I think my Art Students are the most talented Artists! My 3 and 4 year old Little Artists made these Ceramic Heart Boxes. I prepped them with pre-flattened clay and a heart cookie cutter. The steps were the following:

1.) Cut two hearts out of the flattened clay.

2.) Skor the edges of all hearts and apply slip to edges.

3.) Take pre flattened clay and skor the edge, then mold around one of the heart shapes to make the sides of the box. When the heart is shaped the way you want cut off the excess on the top with a wire clay cutter.

4.) Roll a tiny ball for the top of the box. Skor and slip the ball to the other heart shape.

5.) Fire in the kiln at 3000 degrees. When it comes out talk to the students about cool colors and warm colors. (This is my favorite part! I ask the kiddos what something thats hot? They say, “The sun!” I say “what color is the sun?” They say “Yellow!” I make a list on the board of all things that are hot and coincidentally, Those are all of our warm colors! I told the kids that because the heart means love and warm feelings we are going to use “warm colors” some of them get bummed because they want to use other colors, but I have found when it comes to childrens art if they are provided with too many colors they mix them all and get brown anyway I’m not sayin’ thats not “pretty” or “artistic” but I think it’s my job as a teacher to show them what different color combinations can do for their art!

Messanger Birds Art Lesson

Its so interesting how one image or thought can inspire something completely different. Take this Messanger Bird Lesson. My friend Lisa at the Art Center had found an image of some “Peruvian Messanger Birds” made out of clay. They were tiny and held a tiny note for someone. I saw the picture and was inspired to teach about messanger birds, but not with clay, the lesson I came up with was this Messanger Bird Lesson using watercolors and colored pencils.

I  had my kiddo art students make these awesome dawson Messanger Birds for an Art Lesson. I started out handing them a piece of paper and I asked them to think of someone who lives very far away and to write them a message. Then I told them what messanger birds and honing pigeons are. I showed them how to draw a bird from shapes and then to connect them. Then I asked them to imagine that bird taking their message from their house to the person who lives far aways house. They drew their lesson in colored pencil and then filled it in with water colors.

The lesson instigated some cool conversations about places the students have been and the art of letter writing vs. texting or emailing.

My little Artistic Architects!

So the art center where I teach hired this super awesome new instructor name Lylah. She’s so artsy she makes me look like a blonde friggin’ stepford wife. She’s got dreds, she wears Birkenstocks and she’s from COLORADO! Oh! And her boyfriends a glass blower. I love when I get to work with her. She’s so deep and mellow and always has the best art lessons to teach our students. The latest was a lesson onarchitecture and using earthy and also “creative eco friendly elements” AKA shoe boxes. Check out the pics. They are awesomeness in a box!

When I grow up!

When I grow up I want to be a Cellist and a Vet!

WRITER, ART TEACHER, ENGLISH HORSE RIDER

I’m sure every Art Teacher thinks their students are the most talented, but lets just cut the marmelade …my art students are better than yours! Haha…you still love me! Seriously though check this out. I taught a lesson to my 5 to 12 year old students called, “When I grow up.” I had them create the person they want to be when they grow up, whether it was a ballerina, a doctor a paleontologist, a horse back rider, a vet, a teacher a mommy…whatever…and look at what they created! The kids did so many unique professions and got super creative!

I started out the lesson going around the room and giving each kid the opportunity to say what they liked to do when they were all done with their homework. Some kids said, “Play Wii, read, shop, play with my dog, write, go on Facebook.” (Lord help us!) I then discussed with the kids how we could take doing stuff they liked to do and turning it into a job.

I provided the dye cut “person” that I cut out of Trader Joes boxes. I just free handed one person then traced it and cut 40 more people. Then painted them a neutral “skin” color.

I put out a ton of different felt, fabric, yarn, buttons, pipe cleaners, pastels, colored paper, glue and tissue paper for the lesson. My guidelines for my students was that they had to create their accessories and think outside the box. I couldn’t be prouder. Their creations turned out better than my sample. Go figure!