Santa Barbara Mission Clay Project

Third and Fourth Grade students in California study Missions. We are lucky to have the beautiful Santa Barbara Mission right in our city. Here is an easy project that I incorporated into my ceramics unit but you could easily do the same project with air dry clay and acrylic or even tempera paints.

• Start with a rectangular slab of clay. I don't measure but the size is approximately 6" x 4" x 1" thick.
• Put a tray of clay tools on the table: small plastic knives, plastic credit cards (from mailers), small wooden dowels, etc.
• Using the credit card, cut out two triangles from the top of the slab. (see diagram)
  

• The resulting shape will create the two side columns.
• Make a ball with some clay. Cut in half with the credit card. Place the two halves on top of the columns and attach using proper ceramic techniques (scratch both surfaces with the dowel and add a tiny bit of water).

• Using the tools, etch in bricks, windows, make columns and doors. refer to the pictures for ideas.
• Add a cross on the roof. I like to make a hole in the roof and "drop" the cross into the hole to secure. I have to warn you though...if anything falls off with this project, it's definitely the cross!

• Allow to dry completely. if your mission is more than 1/2" thick, stick a few large pencils up through the bottom so that the clay can expand. If using air dry clay, this step is not necessary.
• Don't forget to scratch in names!
• Once dry (about 10 days), fire in kiln according to clay specifications (I use Laguna Clay cone fire 6).

Set out the underglazes (or acrylic paints for non-firing clay) and let the children paint a simple color palette of orange, red, brown and black. For white, don't paint at all. The clay is a natural white once it is fired.

• After the underglaze, dip the pieces into a glaze of your choice. I sue Duncan Dipping glaze because it's so easy but you may have a brush on glaze. Use whatever works. If you are using air dry clay and acrylics, there is no need for a glaze. This is what it looks like when the purple glaze dries. The kids freak out here...
• Fire at cone 4.

Upstream Salmon Art Project for Kinders

Salmon are beautiful. Period. The tangerine flesh screams yummy...accompanied by a tangy ginger sauce or on a bright blue paper! This project was inspired by the book "Wow! America" by Robert Neubecker. The illustrations in this sadly out-of-print book are engaging and fun. Just like my kinders.


To begin, start with a bright orange piece of construction paper and a black oil pastel. Draw a circle for the salmon's eye, a big round body, a tail and fins.
Then, using a small brush and white and gold metallic paint, create areas of color. Paint the eye, fins, add scales, etc.
When all the little salmon are happy, grab a pair of scissors and cut out all the fish.

Set aside the salmon and give each child a blue piece of construction paper and access to a tub of white paint. Use big arm motions to create a raging river. Glue salmon to river, step back and admire your beautiful art!

Kinder Results!

Recycled Robot Art project

I've been collecting odds and ends for this project for some time now. Things like concentrated juice can toppers, plastic strawberry baskets, bottle caps, soda can tabs, old buttons, scraps of shiny paper, old aluminum foil, etc.
Even the paper is recycled. The cardboard backing is the cardboard used to wrap newsprint in. Our local newspaper gives this stuff away, so even though it's a bit bulky to store, it makes for good backings with projects like this one. The robots are made from corrugated boxes. One peek in our recycling dumpster and I picked enough boxes to supply 60 kinders with enough robot body parts for ten years!

The process is simple but very messy...

Set out a few tubs of tempera paint, brushes, foam rollers, texture items and let the kids paint their cardboard backings. If you don't have heavy paper, regular construction paper is fine. It'll wrinkle alot but you can put in under some heavy books after they are dry to flatten them out.
I had some small cups in my art room and used them to make rings on the paper. Simple dip cup into white tempera paint and dot the page as you like.

With the background paper set aside (but not far away), set out a tray of corrugated cardboard pieces. I pre-cut squares, rectangles and a few triangles. Make sure there are different sizes available. Have the children set and glue their robot to the background paper as they make it. If you made the background paper first and let it dry, you're smarter than me. I did most of this project in one class and with the cheap cardboard edges curling and robot parts not sticking, it was quite a challenge!

At the end of the day, most children had all their body parts glued to the paper. If some parts don't stick right away, don't worry. The paint will adhere it well enough. After everything is dry, set a tray of oil pastels, old paper trimmings, and recycled materials on the table. Resist the urge to demonstrate this step. You don't want to influence their imagination! Simple suggest that that they can decorate their robots any way they wish.

After the robots looked almost completed, I offered "googly" eyes to the children to put on their robots. Most accepted and were pleased with how their little friend developed.

Kinder Results!

Elementary School Art Show

Tonight is the opening night of Mountain View's Annual Spring Art Show. This is what the kids look forward to all year (well, at least as far as art class is concerned!). Each child has a piece selected for them (it's a surprise until the art is mounted). PTA volunteers staple the art onto long sheets of paper and then the paper is stapled to the wall at one end. It isn't the end of art class though. I still have six more weeks with my first through fifth grade students. Congratulations, kids. I love your art!