Hero Portraits (2007)

Students studied the artwork of Chuck Close and his stylized use of grids within his portrait paintings. Students chose someone they considered a "hero" to be the subject of their portrait. The created one inch grids and enlarged a photo to 16x 20. Each square needed to be filled with line designs while capturing the varying shades and contour lines of the face.

**As with any art project I post please email me if you have questions about materials used, processes, or if you would like lesson plans. splattersandsmudges@gmail.com You can also ask questions in the comment section below each post.**

Faces in the Media (2008)

Students chose as famous person that they've seen in the media to be the portrait for their project. Students found an image of their subject and used the cut out filter in photoshop to alter the image. The new image was projected and traced onto the canvas. Students created monochromatic paintings and then added a mixed media element to the background.

                                                                    Clint Eastwood

                                                                          Twiggy

                                                                      Alicia Keys

                                                                    Melissa Etheridge

                                                                    Mariah Carey

                                                                  Osama Bin Laden

                                                                  Michael Jackson

                                                                   Jason Alexander

                                                                   George W. Bush

                                                                  Stephen Colbert

                                                                            Jon Heder

                                                                    Harrison Ford

**As with any art project I post please email me if you have questions about materials used, processes, or if you would like lesson plans. splattersandsmudges@gmail.com You can also ask questions in the comment section below each post.**

Thematic Teapot (2008)

Students created a teapot based upon a specific theme of their choice.  Tea pots needed to have a handle, spout, and lid and seams must be sealed tight to hold water. Teapots should have a minimum of three textures and at least two pieces of clay connected together.

**As with any art project I post please email me if you have questions about materials used, processes, or if you would like lesson plans. splattersandsmudges@gmail.com You can also ask questions in the comment section below each post.**

Abstract Vase (2008)

Students created an abstract vase that had a unique or interesting form.  Students were encouraged to move beyond the simple cylinder or cube.  Vases needed to be hollowed out and able to hold flowers or another object. Vases needed a minimum of three textures.

Ah, I remember this "vase". The kid didn't listen and glazed the bottom of his project and apparently I didn't check projects close enough (rookie mistake). The project was glazed to my kiln shelf and I couldn't get it to come off. Against my better judgement I yanked it as hard as I could and broke it off the shelf but in the process it cut a nice gash in my hand. Next thing I know there's blood dripping on the floor and I ran to the nearest teacher to clean me up. I feared that I was going to pass out again (yes I've passed out in front of my students, read here) and nobody would find me alone in my classroom. After I was bandaged I showed the teacher what cut me and she started laughing. I was a little offended that she was laughing at me. But then she proceeded to say, "you let your kid make a bong!" WHAAAAT! I had no idea what she was talking about since I've never done drugs. She pointed out the very obvious components to the "vase" that made it a rather nice device to smoke pot. I couldn't believe that I was so naive. And then the darnedest thing happened...the "vase" broke. I dunno...maybe it was too think...maybe it wasn't scored and slipped well enough...maybe there was an air bubble and it cracked...or maybe the art teacher got revenge for making drug paraphernalia in her classroom!

**As with any art project I post please email me if you have questions about materials used, processes, or if you would like lesson plans. splattersandsmudges@gmail.com You can also ask questions in the comment section below each post.**

Animated House (2008)

Students created an animated house intended for a specific environment.  Houses needed to be enclosed
with walls and a roof.  Houses should've have at least two windows and a door and included details of
the intended environment.  Houses needed to have a minimum of three textures and at least two
pieces of clay connected together.

This was the first ceramic project that I taught. I remember a student sculpted a chicken themed house that
had little chicken feet supporting the house and it was the best sculpture in the class. She placed it on the
top shelf of the ware cart and those little chicken feet were just a little bit unbalanced. As I was moving
projects from the bottom shelf I rocked the cart just enough to tip that chicken house over. That baby came
falling off the top shelf, landed on my head, and knocked me clean out. If that wasn't bad enough it happened
in front of a class full of students...one of which was the girl who made the chicken house. Many kids ran
to me to make sure I was ok, a couple ran to the office to tell them I passed out, and the girl that made the
project was in tears because it broke apart when it landed  on my head. lol. Ceramics can be a dangerous
venture. I learned to always move the projects off the top shelf first.

                                                                   The infamous Chicken House

                                                              Below was the replacement sculpture
                                                      of chicken house....which turned out awesome!

**As with any art project I post please email me if you have questions about materials used, processes, or if you would like lesson plans. splattersandsmudges@gmail.com You can also ask questions in the comment section below each post.**

Symbolic Color Wheels (2008)

Students created color wheels that represented some aspect of their life. They created rough drafts in their sketchbooks with colored pencils. Their painting had to include all 12 colors and a tint and shade of each.

**As with any art project I post please email me if you have questions about materials used, processes, or if you would like lesson plans. splattersandsmudges@gmail.com You can also ask questions in the comment section below each post.**

Student Teaching (part 2)

The second half of my student teaching took place teaching 10th graders in San Diego. This was a very ambitious art project I planned and my master teacher trusted that I could handle it (thanks Shani!)

United States Mural Project (2007)
This project took a lot of hours to plan the logistics of making a huge mural! I projected a map of the US on heavy duty banner paper and traced each state. I then cut out the states for the students to paint. This was the students art history unit covering 20th century art movements (I love the 20th century and teach it every year). 

Students were assigned a state based upon their artistic ability and responsible behavior. I wanted every student to be successful so kids that really didn't like art or ones that I knew were lazy were given the smallest states. Students were given the larger states (Texas, California, Alaska) because I knew they would do an awesome job and could handle that much surface space.

Students were given a brief overview of about ten 20th Century art movements. (Ok...I did let them do Impressionism and Post Impressionism even though they technically weren't in the 20th Century). Students then researched specific topics about their assigned state to help brainstorm ideas for their painting. Topics included: famous landmarks, historical people, historical events, professional sports teams, state bird, flower, tree, animal). Students then chose an art movement to design their painting in the style of...and a lot chose Pop Art!

A couple parent volunteers came and helped cut plywood for the mural to be mounted on and then bolted the wood to the wall. Students were so proud of their mural and love that their artwork became a permanent fixture in the school building. (Last I knew it was still hung). I think I was a little nuts planning such a complex art project but I love the final outcome!

                                                                         Texas: Pop Art

                                                                 North Dakota: Pop Art

                                                              Colorado: Surrealism

                                                                  Montana: Post Impressionism

                                                               Kentucky: Pop Art

**As with any art project I post please email me if you have questions about materials used, processes, or if you would like lesson plans. splattersandsmudges@gmail.com You can also ask questions in the comment section below each post.**