Patriotic Magazine Mosaics

My students were frustrated by how long these took... but most of the overall results turned out super cool!!  We did a history lesson on patriotism and patriotic symbols... they had to develop their own piece and cover all of the white paper.

HGTV Magazine get ready for Mrs. Reardon's Shelf Design Challenge

This is the continued post to my Ellen's Design Challenge remake.  You can see the first post here:
http://artjulz.blogspot.com/2015/04/ellens-design-challenge-at-our-school.html

Grant Wood's influenced shelf

Here are the final photos... Yep, Junior High designers and builders... pretty impressive!  Thank you Ellen for the inspiration!
http://www.hgtv.com/shows/ellens-design-challenge

Well...this took longer than planned, but my students will say it was their FAVORITE project and my 1st semester students keep saying, "Why didn't we get to build shelves???"

Van Gogh's inspired Shelf

So...  I guess it's a WINNER!  My students voted in each class and although the winners are not getting $100,000 or a spread in HGTV Magazine...and Although we emailed Ellen and have not heard back from her, they were partially satisfied with the SONIC DRINKS I gave to the winners and told them they would be featured in my blog.  ;)

Power Point I made is:
http://www.authorstream.com/Presentation/huskeyj72501-2483261-artist-shelf-design-challenge-7th-8th/

Munch's inspired shelf

Eric Carle's inspired 

Hokusai's inspired shelf

Dubuffet's inspired shelf

Piet Mondrian's inspired shelf

Michelangelo's inspired shelf

Jasper Johns

Chace...because I loved his shirt!

Ellen's Design Challenge at our School... or maybe just her inspiration!

SUPER EXCITED about my new Jr High Project!!  I'm an addicted HGTV chick... and fell in love with Ellen's Design Challenge.  So if you love art and you love furniture then why not do Art & Furniture!  :)

We have just started this project.  Our Ag teacher is helping me out...and my students are stoked!  These will either be amazing...  or perfect for a bonfire!  :)   Here is the power point I used to help my students:

http://www.authorstream.com/Presentation/huskeyj72501-2483261-artist-shelf-design-challenge-7th-8th/

Partner writing and creating their RUBRIC for their project.  I gave each team the 5 categories.  They had to discuss and determine what criteria that must be met in order to score each area.  We had some great discussion.  I also liked how many of them reworked their sketches afterwards to amp up their designs.
Artist Research in the media center using these sheets:

  Next came the MANY SKETCHES.  Some had trouble deciding which design was the best.  We discussed how we all have strengths in the art room and use those strengths as skills to help each other.  

Finished priming and the building begins....  EXCITING TIMES!!

Pop Art vs Pop Up - Claes Oldenburg in REVERSE

 Mini Sculptures and the lesson plan that couldn't stop...

Step 1:  How it all began:  I'm at a new school without a Kiln and slim resources to boot.  So I ordered these tiny packets of sculpt it air dry clay...when I say tiny... think like a chewing gum packet.  Here is the link at DickBlick:  http://www.dickblick.com/products/sargent-art-sculpt-it-air-hardening-clay/

My plan was to think SMALL - actually more like TINY for my students to make their sculptures.  I love to tie artist and literature into my pieces so who else to do sculptures with than Claes Oldenburg!   That's where the idea came from creating Oldenburg sculptures in reverse...instead of giant POP ART sculptures...we made minis.

Step 2.  We did a little research on sculptures and Oldenburg.  I showed them a power point or 2 with various images of his work.  I merged and added to a some power points I found that I really liked and you can use it here:  http://www.authorstream.com/Presentation/huskeyj72501-2427133-mini-clay-sculptures-oldenburg-reverse/

Step 3:  What is POP ART?  My students kept thinking it meant "pop up" like a pop up book.  BOO... they are in Jr High.  So after 1000 discussions I decided to combine the 2 (pop art & pop up) into the piece.

Step 4:  Pop Art ideas and sketches...sky was the limit.

Step 5:  How to work the clay using additive, subtractive, slipping and scoring to create our mini sculptures.

Step 6:  How to make a Pop UP back ground... like a greeting card.  They had to decide what they would make pop out, if they needed anything popping out, etc.

Step 7:  Use their clay piece to scale their background designs (in colored pencil).

Step 8:  Acrylic painting & glazing

Step 7;  Writing our stories...  Can't Wait!

Their pieces are priceless!!

And the Oscar goes too...