All of the Peter Noyes K-5 artists completed their designs for the annual Square One Art project.
I have mailed all of the artworks to the company and expect the order forms with the free sheet of stickers to arrive March 28th! Be on the lookout for your young artist’s catalogue.
Kindergarten students had their first ceramics lesson! Each student made three clay pendants.
This lesson is a great introduction to the process of ceramics. The students learn how the soft clay
can be formed, dried over a period of days, fired in the kiln at over 2000 degrees, glazed with bright
colors, and fired again in the kiln at over 2000 degrees. All of their pendants should be coming
home soon on leather cords ready to be worn.
Next, kindergarten students will have a watercolor unit about rainbow order (ROYGBP).
First Graders began an “Introduction to Figure Drawing” unit. I encourage young artists to avoid
drawing stick figures or gingerbread figures to represent the human body. Instead, I focus their
attention on “Shirts and Pants.” I find it is much easier, and proportionately accurate, to start by
drawing clothing first. Soon, the first graders will be starting a Color Theory unit about primary (red,
yellow, blue) and secondary (orange, green, purple) colors.
Second Graders also began a Color Theory unit on mixing primary colors to make secondary
colors. First, they used red, yellow and blue plasticine (modelling clay) to physically mash and knead
two colors together to make a new color. For the next lesson, the second grade artists used primary
color tempera paint to mix the secondary colors. These paint swatches were later cut out and
collaged onto a new paper to make a Color Wheel.
Third Graders started a clay project that entailed making a “mouth pot” sculpture. The students
started by making a pinch pot. Once turned on its side, the opening of the pinch pot would represent
the mouth of their sculpture. After discussing how to attach two pieces of clay together (slip and
score), the artists attached teeth/fangs, tongues and the like inside the mouth of the sculpture, and
eyes, noses, horns, wings, tails, etc. to the outside of their sculptures. After the sculptures are fired
in the kiln, the students will use multicolored glazes to color their creations.
Fourth Graders reviewed how to draw the human figure in proportion by drawing a wooden
mannequin from observation. The students drew the mannequin on toned paper with black charcoal
pencils. Next, they used black charcoal pencil, white charcoal pencil, and a blending stump to shade in the mannequin with deep shadows and bright highlights.
The next lesson is creating 3D paper mache masks!
Fifth Graders are working on a clay project of a 3D head. The head will be made by combining two pinch pots to form a hollow egg shape. Depending on the artist’s plan (human, animal, monster, etc.) features will be added by using the slip and score technique. After the initial firing (bisque fire), all sculptures will be glazed.
