Thursday, March 16, 2017

LIGHT OUR FIRES

SAWDUST CANDLESTICKS WITH BEESWAX CANDLES
CERAMICS I
clay, sawdust firing, metallic rubbing compounds, beeswax 

Students,
just know that I am currently running 3 months behind on my posts.
Like on these candlesticks.
You all made them in November and finished them in December and I'm just getting them up.
So with that said,
here we go.

Here is the fabulous group shot of them all with their self-evals underneath.

Self-evaluations are mandated by the State of California as part of the Arts Framework 
for students to learn to objectively evaluate and judge their own pieces.
At the end of each assignment,
 on the left side of their evals.,
I have the kids list out all the requirements with the points possible they could have earned.
On the right side they make two columns,
one for themselves and one for me.
Then they write in their column what point values they think they deserve for each requirement.
They give me both their project and their self-evals.,
 and I then write in my column what I think they deserve.
Most of the time they are right on and I agree with them,
or they are a bit too hard on themselves,
so in my column I will give them a higher point value.
Every so often one person might not take this part seriously 
and will give themselves a perfect score.
Once they get to know me,
 they will find that I can always find something wrong with a piece,
so that they can grow as artists.
So usually they only try that one time,
because I blast them for not taking the process seriously,
 and the next time they usually give me honesty.
But occasionally,
there will be a student or two that do earn perfect scores.
And I love when that happens!!
And sometimes,
 they go so above and beyond minimum requirements & they earn some extra credit points.
I always take the time to write at least on positive comment and/or a helpful criticism.
I had an alumni return after 20 years to visit 
and she told me she kept every single self eval. I ever wrote her
 because of my honest heartfelt comments to her.
Ahhhh
:)

This assignment was a prelude to working with slabs dimensionally.
They also learned some new surface design techniques with included embossing items into the clay like laces, feathers, burlap/fabric, cardboard shapes, leaves, flowers etc.
That had to happen on two sides of their candlestick.
On the other two sides they were asked to try out their new bisqued stamps & cylinders
they made that had just came out of the kiln.
The results were so lovely as you will see.

The ones above and below were done by sophomore Olivia Kruger and junior Sarah Oh.
Both girls added sculptural elements which I loved
and inspired me to add to next years requirements.
So thanks you two!

These next beauties were made by junior Vincent Nguyen 
& seniors Vinaini Jayasinghe and Lauren Kennedy.
In all of these pieces,
notice the cool ways the students choose to end the tops of their sticks,
and the delicate application of the rubbing compounds.

These next 3 stunning pieces were created by Olivia (her extra one),
and the other two by junior Simran Doshi.
Love those little balls Simi has added to the one on the right 
not only around the lip but around the bottom to balance her stick.
They look like little feet.
So sweet.
A  close up.

And aren't these pretty?
Also notice how complimentary the beeswax color choices go with their rubbings.
These three were done by seniors Reehan Ahmad and Sahil Doshi,
and junior Samuel Kim.

And I can't end without showing one of my favorites which was done by senior Lauren Kennedy.  .
I'm crazy about those wings.
They remind me a bit of Native American Totems.
Just fabulous design Lauren! 

3 comments:

  1. Aloha,
    I kept reading down your post and I kept thinking, "Oh, that's my favorite!" And, of course, by the time I got to the end of the post, I loved them all and I couldn't have possibly picked one. The colors, the embossed elements, and the shapes are all amazing.

    So unique and so beautiful, each in its own special way.

    Thank you so much for sharing. I've gone from wishing I had been given the opportunity to be in your class when I was younger, to wishing I was in your class now.

    Aloha,
    Hunter

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Would love to meet you Hunter. Stop by if you are ever on the mainland in the So.Cal. You are always welcome to sit in with my students and create.

      Tell me a little about yourself. Are you a working artist? What medium do you like best, etc? Do you have a blog or website?

      Look forward to your hearing back from you.
      Happy Weekend,
      Deb

      Delete
  2. I remember making beeswax candles long ago ... and am trying to recall if they dripped or not. I can just imagine an encaustic effect on these pieces ...

    And as Hunter said, there is much to be seen and it is indeed impossible to pick out a favorite. Still, I would comment on Simran's two pieces. The first, so angular and ordered, actually caught my eye in the very first picture. As I often do, I appreciated that Simran's second piece went in a totally different direction with its beaded edges! The sinuous impressions on the front edge also called to mind a beautiful snake we spotted by the wishing spring at the National Wildflower Center this past week (https://www.wildflower.org/central-complex/courtyard).

    ReplyDelete