WORKS IN PROGRESS

A new mosaic by the sixth graders of Hopi Day School.

Hannah was a visiting volunteer for a day. She is a natural at mosaic work. Thanks for your help, Hannah!

More volunteers, including the famous art teacher from Puente de Hozho in Flagstaff! You're awesome, Craig!

Thanks to the traveling students of the Seattle Bush School for their help.

AMATE/MEXICO

Amate bark paintings can be found for sale in various states in Mexico and have a long and interesting history. During this project we learned about the Otomi tribe near Puebla, Mexico.
Rather than gathering bark from fig trees, boiling it, pounding it, then laying it out in the sun to dry, we chose to crumple up sheets of paper from grocery bags in order to achieve the appearance of amate bark paper.

After crumpling the paper we added a thin coat of diluted India ink with a sponge brush. The India ink helps bring out the texture of the creases in the paper, giving it the look of handmade paper.

After the ink wash was completely dry, we drew outlines of our images with chalk.

The next step was to paint our images using tempera paint. Amate bark paintings in Mexico typically include bright, sometimes neon colors. My students were given a limited palette of colors in order to maintain true amate style.

Hopi students are eager to include iconic images from the Hopi culture into their artwork. The results are always quite impressive.

Here is the work of a kindergartener with the Hopi sun, Tawa, as the central image.

MOSAIC

Check out our mosaic-in-progress! Here are a few photos of some of the different steps and stages of this project. We started by breaking all of the tiles and separating them into different buckets and trays. It's also helpful to take the time to separate small pieces from large pieces of the same color.

Corn tassels and butterfly antennae are great examples of the need for tiny little pieces of tile.

A little bit at a time!

In the picture above, you can see how we masked off the corn in order to apply the grout. This was necessary because we wanted to keep the grout off the surrounding cinder blocks in order to maintain a smooth surface for future tiling.  

Check back in, we're going BIG!

JAPAN UNIT

NOTAN

Notan is a Japanese design concept that focuses on the interplay between dark and light and how the resulting contrast enhances the design. It is also a great opportunity to learn about positive and negative shapes. Notan is typically achieved with paint, ink, or cut paper. My students worked with cut paper. We started this project by making small  pieces, and then we went BIG! The leaves in the center of the bulletin display are fluid and organic, as are the waves in two of the corners. Then there are the geometric shapes in the opposite two corners. This only added to our discussion about contrast. Not only do we have color contrast with the black and white, now we have contrast between the basic shapes in the overall design.  Nice work, everyone!

GYOTAKU

Gyotaku, or fish rubbings, originated in Japan in the mid-nineteenth century. Fisherman wanted to record the type and the size of their catch, so they would lay the fish on a block of wood, ink it up and make a rubbing or print of the fish. Gyotaku is now a popular art form in many countries, and it can also be found on various items from clothing to surfboards. Here at our school we have a wonderful variety of rubber fish made specifically for gyotaku projects. We can use the fish again and again, and they don't stink!

RECYCLED ART

RUSTY LIDS

Here on the Hopi reservation there are plenty of cans and lids to be found in the desert that have been rusted to perfection! A small group of my students and I each painted a Hopi sun (Tawa) on a rusty lid. We used acrylic paint for the sun followed by a protective varnish. Some students chose to glue a magnet on the back, others wrapped the edge of the lid with thin ribbon.

PINCH POT FISH

Here is a fun and easy project for a broad range of grades and ages. Today my first graders and my eighth graders made the same fish. Naturally the results were quite different, but the rate of success was 100% in both grades. You will probably have better results if your younger students make small fish; small enough to fit in the palm of their hands.

Begin by building a basic pinch pot. The deeper the better. If it is too shallow you may not be able to fit eyes and fins on the back.
Then pinch the sides of the pot to form the sides of the mouth. This will help stabilize the structure. Before adding eyes and things, scratch initials and class number into the bottom of the fish.

Roll out two small balls for eyes, form a tail and fins, then apply each shape to the fish with a bit of slip. Place completed fish in a safe place to dry. Fire up your kiln, your oven, or just air dry them. Add some glaze or paint and display for all to see and enjoy!

 Look for our pinch pot fish after they have been bisque fired and glazed.

TAP-TAPS/HAITI

After the earthquake in Haiti, I thought my students and I would take some time to learn more about the country. While browsing the internet I was delighted to discover "tap-taps". Tap-taps are privately owned but publicly operated forms of transportation in Haiti that are painted by their owners with brilliant colors, whimsical patterns, and religious motifs. They are named tap-taps because passengers tap on the metal panels inside the bus to signal when they would like to get off.

The first photo shows the simple structure that we built from half of an egg carton for the bottom of the tap-tap, and a piece of cardboard taped to the egg carton for the top of the tap-tap. The initial structure does not need to be bomb-proof as the paper-mache serves to strengthen the final piece.

The photo above shows the tap-taps after they have been covered with "plastercraft", your own paper-mache recipe will work just as well.

 After the paper-mache is completely dry, start decorating your tap-tap by painting in the largest spaces first as seen above. Then add the smaller painted details. The last thing to do is glue any fun thing you can think of to decorate your tap-tap. We used sequins, jewels, small shells, and even feathers!

Display for all to see! Have fun, and make sure to contact me if you have any questions about this project.
~Miss Karen

UPCOMING PROJECT IDEAS

Here are some photos of projects that will be posted soon.

Welcome!

Hello and Welcome!

This is a new place to look for fun art projects. As an elementary school art teacher, I find myself frequently googling ideas for art projects. Now I would like to share them with you and encourage you to make time to make art.

The first photo is of a work-in-progress. It is a tile mosaic which is on the front of our school building. It is currently too cold to work on it, but we will continue the project in spring. Although this is a large project, it is really quite simple. First we drew the outline of our design with chalk right onto the bricks of the building. Then we applied thinset mortar and let it set up. Then we gently pushed the tiles into the mortar to create our picture. After the mortar had completely dried, we applied the grout. If you look closely, you will notice different colors of grout. What a time consuming process! Next time we will limit our choices of grout colors.

Please visit this site again soon. I will be posting fun ideas for you to do at home or at school with your students.

Miss Karen