Artist Place Setting

We introduced an artistic place setting clay project - an inspiration from Judy Chicago's work.  Judy Chicago focused on a feminist style in her own "Dinner Party" piece.  She focused on women of the past and present that have made a significant difference in our world today, relaying the message of strength and power of women.

Students were asked to create a place setting containing a plate, cup and at least one utensil to be included in their piece.  These items had to be made out of clay.  The added pieces, for example: a bowl or other utensils could be made out of any 3-D additional material.  Students were challenged to choose one person that they believed had changed history in some way.  Students researched, and then developed, imagery based on the person that they choose.   Each student was asked to choose someone different so when the entire "Dinner Party" piece was developed, we would have different place settings for different people.  Students created a banner to help introduce the person that they had chosen, and used them for the display.  Here is what the 8th graders created.

Steve Jobs

 

 

Grateful Dead

 

Kelly Slater

 

Bob Marley

 

Albert Einstein

 

 

The Beatles

 

Elton John

 

Michael Jackson

 

J. R. R. Tolkin

 

Georgia O'Keeffe

 

Steven Tyler

 

Jennifer Lawrence

 

Buddha

 

Eminem

 

Louis Chevrolet

Three Noun Clay Vessel

In our 3-D unit, students got the chance to experiment with the properties of clay.  6th and 7th graders were greeted with the challenge to create an uncommon vessel.  This vessel was to be created by having the students pick three nouns that had no association or connection with each other - for example, apple, piano, and dog.  Their vessel had to have some kind of opening in order to be able to hold something in it.  Students first created a list of about 20 nouns that they thought would be interesting for this assignment.  They then had to figure out how they could arrange these nouns into a container shape.  It was strongly suggested they not make a "totem" meaning, not to just stack the nouns.  They then had to problem solve how the words could inter link with each other and be woven into a piece.  Once fired, students used acrylic paint to add color to their piece. This is what they have come up with.

Scratch Art

Students in 6th and 7th grade experimented with scratch art and creating different types of textures.  Students each chose an animal of interest to create on the scratch art board.  Students experimented with hatching, stippling, and cross hatching techniques to obtain their designs.