A NEW ASSIGNMENT

GARDEN TOTEMS

CERAMICS II

clay, glazes, oxides, wood blocks and dowels

I've been doing a lot of researching on Pinterest these last couple of years for new ideas

for all my classes.

After so many years of teaching,

I really enjoy changing things up.

Well this project proved to be a real game changer.

I feel it took these 2nd year clay students to completely new heights.

I'm so very thrilled and proud to share them with all of you!

This first amazing work of art,

which stood about 3 feet high after mounting,

 was created by junior Chloe Chang.

It was so very pleasing in how she balanced all her pieces,

with  the arrow piercing thru them all.

But what really caught my eye was the incised and carved textural elements,

even in the smallest beads.

Bravo Chloe!!

Your wood base is lovely as well,

and compliments the piece very nicely.

The six 2nd year students all agreed that this one by junior Eugene Ho 

was so much fun and possibly their favorite.

They are still talking about it as this years kids start theirs.

We all loved the playful & whimsical sea creatures he created,

and make sure to look closely at how beautifully he glazed his turtle 

which sits on the wood base below.

Senior Sarah Oh really pushed herself and created a gallery worthy sculpture here.

This one piece could have easily gotten her into any art college in the country.

And it actually did!

She ended up with several top schools to choose from.

We were all so excited with how incredible this piece turned out.

Her handling of the glaze on the fish head was brilliant due to her amazing painting skills

in my 2-d classes as well as her outside Art Academy.

I also really liked how she watercolored on top of the wood base.

You really are quite gifted Sarah!

This last gorgeous work was made by senior Ylia Madayag.

Ocean based and beautifully glazed and put together,

I was just over the top pleased with how it turned out.

I especially loved all her little ocean pieces she made separating the larger ones

and how she glazed them.

I can't wait to hear from all of you and get your feedback on this latest assignment.

My current 2nd year students just began working on this project and they are so excited.

Can't wait to show off their pieces next year!

ABSTRACTION

PLASTER SCULPTURE

INTERMEDIATE 2-D ART

milk carton, plaster of Paris, carving tools, sand paper, wood block, paint

For many of my Intermediate students this is probably their least favorite assignment.

Carving away or Reductive Sculpture is extremely challenging,

and depending on which materiel you use,

may break half way thru and not be fixable.

Using clay is the easiest reductive method but we used plaster.

This year I'm going to first have the kids do a mini piece in clay to be able to see their boundaries

before carving into the plaster.

Every year the kids get to choose their subject matter.

It's usually a choice between Abstraction or Non-Objective.

If they choose to abstract then it's usually a figure sculpture.

Senior Rachel Kann chose the last.

If you look back thru the blog over the years and put into the search engine Abstract Figures,

or Plaster Sculptures,

you will see that Rachel has put in far more detail then the others

like waves in the hair, arms & legs.

Rachel was very frustrated about losing an arm and leg

as she was carving,

but I told her it was fine the way it was,

like a piece from antiquity. 

She has also chosen a dynamic pose rather then a static one,

which makes sculpting even more difficult.

She might be the first one to do this as well.

All of us really loved her wood base too.

It came out so like-like.

I believe she painted it with multiple layers using a sponge.

And then of course using a toothbrush with paint to spray those fine dots over.

VINEGAR & AMMONIA

METAL & WOOD SCULPTURE

SPECIAL STUDIES 3-D ART

copper, wood, propane torch, wood burning tool & acrylic paint

This is senior Shreya Sheth's last project in her 4th year Independent Study class

where she gets to design her own curriculum.

She chose to work with wood and metal.

Shreya used a propane torch to patina several of the copper pieces,

sawdust mixed with vinegar for the two pieces that look multi-colored,

and an ammonia float for the more solid looking turquoise piece.

She learned these techniques in her 2nd level 3-D Art class.

It was really great to see her go back and use that knowledge again.

She used a wood burning tool to mark up the wood blocks,

then applied several colors of acrylic paint that mimicked the various patinas she achieved.

She used a staining technique with the paint,

sponging it on then wiping it off. 

TRASH TO TREASUES

PLASTER SCULPTURE

INTERMEDIATE 3-D ART

plaster, empty milk carton, pigment if desired

Meet Helen Park,

one of my top art students this year.

She is bravely taking two classes with me in her senior year,

Beginning 2-D and Intermediate 3-D.

She is a joy to teach because she is a quick study;

she takes to everything like a duck to water,

just like I mentioned in the learning to knit a scarf sampler post a week or so ago.

Mixing plaster is like cooking to me,

I never measure anything.

I eyeball how much I need,

how it looks and what it feels like.

But with plaster I refrain from tasting it.

hee hee

The poor kids are flying by the set of their pants after my demo.

wondering how much they should use.

ha ha

So I have them do a tester first in a tiny milk carton.

And that's what Helen is sculpting here over the trash can,

cuz it's really messy.

Her prelim was a success,

just the right amount of plaster to water,

because like I told you,

she is an attentive audience.

And this beauty below is her final piece.

She wanted to capture a swimmer doing the backstroke.

What do you think?

Notice the slight change in the camera angle?

 It really makes it look like the figure is guiding thru the water.

Her wood mounting is wonderful as well.

I really get a sense of peace and solitude as I look at her sculpture.

Makes me actually want to get in the water and give it a try.

It's been awhile.

Just lovely Helen.

And your piece is being put on display tomorrow for the Accreditation team to see

 when they get here in a couple of days.

I'm so proud to be able to show it off!

FINALLY MOUNTED

PLASTER SCULPTURE

INTERMEDIATE 3-D ART

plaster, milk cartoons, carving tools, wood scraps, dowels, paint & wood burning tools

This have been a long time in the making.

My 2nd year crafts kids began carving them in first quarter,

then let them dry out so they could be sanded and mounted.

The results were worth the wait.

Below is a group shot of all but senior Hazel Cruz's.

(hers came in late because she was absent and missed this photo op)

But let's first take a look at the kids getting started,

and the messes they made  :)

Above they are mixing their plaster. 

Some have chosen to pour in acrylic paint to marble into the liquid before it sets up.

These are all my cuties in the class.

In the first shot way above we have senior Will Kim center,

senior Antoniette Jabat left, 

and junior Shreya Sheth right. 

Sitting around the tables are happy campers from left front to right front,

Shreya,

 senior Kristine Luong,

 junior Jacqueline Yu ,

Antoniette,

senior Liana Chie,

 and senior Amber Wu.

And I couldn't resist taking this photo of Hazel & Antoniette.

Adorable!

These are the individual works.

We start with Hazel's.

So many things to love about Hazel's piece.

First of all her figure form.

Crisp, clean, angular & interesting.

And then her mount.

More angles to compliment form,

lots of interesting woodburned marks, 

the height and importance of the triple stacked mount,

 & the carefully place glass shards.

And then if you look closely below,

you will see she dusted chalk over top the wood for a look of snowfall.

Masterful Hazel. 

Will Kim is the artist on this next fun piece.

I love how he mounted it,

so very creative with the bamboo sticks and grasses.

I also like how he thought to suspend the figure with two poles instead of one.

This next one is the work of Amber Wu.

Very formally balanced and lovely.

Shreya Sheth enjoys pushing the envelop.

She did that herre in several ways.

Two abstract figures instead of one.

Using glass instead of poles to suspend them with.

And giving us a dramatic painted effect on her wood.

Brilliant piece Shreya.

And then there is the work of Liana Chie.

She will spend hours and hours on a piece getting it just right.

Notice how she has even decorated the cool off centered pole?

And the sensitive colors she has used along with the lovely pearls, 

shells and glass shards.

Very pretty Liana!

I wish I had a different angled photo of this next one by Kristine Luong.

And then a close up of her mount.

She stained the wood so beautifully

 and then she has taken real rose petals and glued them down.

Really sensory and appealing.

What a voluptuous figure Jacqueline Yu has sculpted.

And then she has accented the form and mount with glitter to tie them together.

Beautifully done.

And Antoniette has floated her form on a billowy cloud of fluff.

Angelic,

just like Antoniette  :)

It was wonderful sharing these,

I hope you enjoyed seeing what they'e been working on.

OVER THE MOON

MOONSTONE MOUNTED SCULPTURES

CERAMICS II

clay, sawdust firing, metallic rubbing compounds, wood & paint

I so enjoy sharing these every year.

The kids work so hard on them,

and besides working in clay they acquire wood working skills as well.

Let's see who made what. 

This first one is the creation of senior Klyne Madayag.

This assignment began as a Pinch Pot review 1st Quarter,

 and ended with the kids mounting them for their Final.

Pretty amazing,

right??

I love so many things about this piece.

That Klyne thought ahead to add holes so she could string beads at a later date,

the visual flow between mount and sculpture,

and the limited color palette.

This next one was made by senior Sitara Puliyanda.

Again,

 great visual flow between sculpture and base thru color choices.

And I really like the smooth quality she was able to achieve with the gold metallic.

Senior Sandhya Raghvan is the artist of this next piece.

Love the colors she was able to get with the metallic rubbing compounds.

And how fun are all those dots on her base.

What patience!

Speaking of fun,

look at this tricky base made by senior Efrain Quintero.

Gonna try to get a side view for you,

even trickier from that side.

And senior Celeste Zambrano really jazzed hers up thru her mount. 

Wow!!

And we end with senior Eryn Burnett's sweet moonflower.

Looks like someone plucked one of it's petals.

Ahhhh :(

She has also created a lovely mount.

WHAT'S UP IN ROOM 18?

PLASTER SCULPTURE

INTERMEDIATE 3-D ART

plaster of paris, empty milk cartons, acrylic paint, carving tools, wood

Here's senior Kaili Hamada,

 not really sure if she likes the feel of the plaster thickening on her arm as she mixes her brew.

then above we have kili and senior bianca Tolentino carving away at their abstract figure sculptures.

It's a very messy process so I have the kids work outside my door.

And below senior Daphne Chiang uses her sweatshirt (clever girl)

to keep the sawdust out of her sinuses as she sands her wooden mount for her sculpture.

The finished works are creative and varied, 

and I'm so pleased with the results.

The kids put their hearts into this very difficult reductive sculpting process.

This year the girls asked if we could open up the requirements a bit so that they had a choice

 between sculpting an abstract figure or a non-objective work.

Absolutely. 

Both are challenging and require the use of critical problem solving.

Besides sculpting in plaster they also had to mount their pieces on wood.

Above is Kaili's finished work,

and below we have Bianca's piece,

both girls choosing to do an abstract figure.

What's so impressive to me is how differently they all turned out,

 and really showcase their individual personalities.

Daphne challenged herself with the non-objective choice

which I personally feel is a bit more difficult.

She thought so too.

But I think she did a great job,

and the mounting is extraordinary.