The Ratner School Art Program

What a fun and successful Gala event we had this weekend! I enjoyed seeing everyone at the event and I want to thank you for your kind words about the art program and know that I appreciate you all trusting me and supporting me in the art education of your children. I am so pleased that all the student art work brought strong bids and the students were very proud to hear how much their artwork raised at the auction. I made several announcements at the Monday morning meeting with the 1st-8th grade and they were all so pleased to hear that their artwork was among the most coveted items at the auction. The 3rd and 4th grade class were extremely proud to hear that their bench will be at the new Children's Museum of Cleveland! My most sincere thanks to you all!

Mark Rothko sketch

Kindergarten Art

The bowls and cups were fired this past weekend and they were all successful! I did not have any piece that broke during the firing and I am excited to show the students their work this week. It is always amazing to them to see the bright colors from the glaze. All the work will be coming home next week, as I want the students to see their work before I wrap it up to send home. All the ceramic work is food safe and while they say it can be put in the dishwasher, I would suggest hand washing the work. All the students are eager to eat cereal out of their bowls, I hope they will all hold be leak-proof! 

We began a printmaking unit last week in Kindergarten art and the students really enjoyed the process. They were careful following the many steps of the instructions and each student was able to pull a clean and successful print. They have all developed so wonderfully this year and I am impressed with the level of work they are creating. I may be able to hang up the prints for a short time so everyone can enjoy the work. Please know that there will be a lot of work coming home with the students before the end of the school year.

Using the brayer to apply ink to the printing plates

1st and 2nd Grade Art

We had a week of printmaking in class. The students wanted to create fantastic creatures with their work, so we talked about what textures, patterns and forms they could use to develop their ideas. There are several times that students want to draw characters or iconic figures from television or video games and I always encourage them to design their own characters. I explain to them that while they may be inspired by someone else's work, it is always better to invent a new character that reflects their ideas and personality. That usually helps keep the cartoon characters out of their art work! The students loved the printmaking process and equally enjoyed creating an environment for their creature to live or be displayed in. 

3rd and 4th Grade Art

While waiting for the ceramic work to fire in the kiln, we did a fast printmaking project. The students looked at the work of Georgia O'Keeffe and we talked about the impact of her work on the mainly male driven art world. We discussed how her environment directed her work and paid close attention to her flower series. Each student created a flower image on their printing plates and we will begin printing soon. One class last week was a combined Science and Art class focusing on the equinox and the Mayan culture. The class created sun masks and then we went outside to have the masks absorb the energy from the sun. They ended the class by creating a human snake dance to lead the class back inside. It is always a fun class to combine Science and Art and we had an enjoyable learning experience.

5th and 6th Grade Art

While we were waiting for the bobble heads and stands to get fired in the kiln, I decided to do a quick unit on printmaking. I love printmaking and although it makes a tremendous mess and creates extra clean up, I always look forward to the students results. We approached the designs with a graphic art intent, using free form patterns and trying to add as much information as possible into the original printing plate. The students practiced pulling straight black ink prints first and then began experimenting with different colored inks and papers. Some of my favorite prints were printed on maps and watercolor background. I was very pleased with the results and the students were tremendously engaged in the process. 

                                                  

7th and 8th Grade Art

We had an interesting week in art. We were in between phases of the ceramic projects waiting for the bisque work to come out of the kiln, so I thought we would get a start on the history projects. Each student has a different approach to their personal projects, so it gets a little hectic in the art department. Some students want to build ambitious projects in the Maker Space, others have ideas for paintings or posters. The students are learning to organize their making process, gather materials and continue to build on the problem solving skills we develop year long in art. We will be glazing the 7th grade totem pole elements this week (finally) and will finish the year with the history projects. 

The Ratner School Art Program

SPRING! I am so glad my favorite season has arrived in Northeast Ohio. The change in light and the freshness of color is a delight and I look forward to the time every year. Do not be surprised if the school ground become filled with works of art as it is hard to stay inside when the weather is nice. I think enviromental art was created for climates like ours! I hope to see many of you at the Gala this Saturday, please let me know your thoughts on the art the students created. Every year brings a different addition to the Gala from the art department and your thoughts and comments help make the projects better each time. I am looking forward to seeing everyone outside of the school setting and hope you will find me to say hello.

Photo by Melissa Jacie

                                               

Kindergarten Art

We continued the ceramic unit this week by glazing the bowls and cups created in the past week. The students were careful with the glaze, applying 3 layers of each glaze color they wanted. They had a large palette to work with and showed restraint not mixing all the colors together. All the painting projects we have created this year certainly helped with the glaze methods. All the students are anxious to see the final result and I will try to get the work fired in the kiln this week. The kiln is on the small side, so I have to run a tight schedule to get all the student work complete. I try to fire the youngest students work first, but I am already behind schedule this year. We will be starting on a printmaking unit in art this week and will post pictures of the process as soon as possible.

1st and 2nd Grade Art

The face cups were glazed and fired last week and they look AMAZING! I love this project with this grade level and always look forward to seeing the results. This group of artists are so great with faces and portraits that I was exceptionally excited to seeing their creations. They, of course, did not disappoint! I will be holding onto the cups for a while until the upcoming VIP/ Grandparent Day event at school. We will be having a juice-tea party with our Very Important People in art using the mugs the students created.

                         

                              

3rd and 4th Grade Art

The work in this class was focused and the students showed wonderful concentration on the construction of their creative functional bowls. Each student created a large scale pinch pot bowl and added "feet" to the bowl. They could then chose to add a creature or other elements to the rim of the bowl to add a creative element to their work. This project taught the students several new ceramic techniques and allowed a level of experimentation in their work. I will try to get the pieces in the kiln this week and we will be able to glaze the work next week in class.

5th and 6th Grade Art

We finished all the clay work this past week in art. The bobble heads are all constructed and the craftsmanship showed marked improvement as the project progressed. Every student reinforced their sculptural knowledge and showed a high level of detail in their work. The construction of the cone base was successful and the students finished their bases in record time. This has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that the art teacher could not tolerate the clay dust in the art room one day more! I will be firing the work this week and we will glaze the pieces next week in class. We are all anxious to see if the engineering worked on the bobble heads and hope that the heads are all balanced correctly. 

7th and 8th Grade Art

The 8th grade class has been working on a few different projects in class including beginning the year end history project, working on designing a snack stand and a few of the students created prints. This is the time of year that the 8th grade students begin to work on specific areas of individual interests to refine their techniques and help launch them into the high school art programs. I feel the students have a very solid art and design foundation going into high school and I like seeing where their personal interests lie. The 7th grade class finished the clay elements of their totem pole and will begin glazing the work this week.

The Ratner School Art Program

Thank you all for your patience in receiving the art blog. The last weeks before Spring Break were busy with a combination of Gala project production and Iowa testing. The Gala projects we made in art are really wonderful and we are all excited to see the reaction to all the participants at the Gala. The students were all proud of the work they created and every student at the school helped create a unique piece to help participate in the event. I would love to show you pictures of the pieces, but you will just have to come to the event to see for yourself!

Teaser images of works of art made by your child for the upcoming Gala!

Kindergarten Art

All the students completed the construction of their clay bowls before spring break. Each student made several golf ball sized clay balls, flattened the balls with their hands, then scored and slipped the disks together inside a bowl form. Each bowl needed several disks to be completed and the students learned basic clay techniques with this process. This week the students will glaze their bowls and then the project will be completed. The bowls will be safe to use, so I hope they will be watertight with no holes in the construction. All the Kindergarten artists enjoyed the clay project and look forward to using their creations for cereal or ice cream!

1st and 2nd Grade Art

We worked on a special project for the upcoming Gala in class. Each student created their own view of the world, using globes from my personal collection as a reference tool. The students could paint, draw, collage or use pastels to create the surface of their globe. As always, I was so pleased to see the techniques and skills with their work. They have grown so much with their material knowledge this year. I hope you have all enjoyed having the historical figure artwork in your homes, I hope they arrived intact! We have begun the ceramic unit in class and have constructed a pinch pot face cup with a stand. The work will be glazed this week and should be completed by next week. I love the creative work the students have with their face cups and am excited to see the glaze choices they make with their work.

3rd and 4th Grade Art

The students finished their bases, painted them and are ready to attach the wire to the cubes. We will be working on a special project for the upcoming Gala this week. After the project is complete, we will be working on our ceramic unit. The students had one class to experiment and play with the clay and enjoyed building and squishing their masterpieces.

Teaser image of the Gala project

5th and 6th Grade Art

We have begun the official ceramic unit in class. The students finished the Ursuline College collaboration and have had a class to "play" with the clay. We will begin the project this week and will be constructing ceramic bobble head sculptures. This project will introduce many higher level ceramic techniques and is one of my favorite units to teach. I always look forward to the ideas and creative approaches from the students.

7th and 8th Grade

Each class has been working on their ceramic project. The 8th grade class has experimented with a technique called sgraffito. The students could determine what form they wanted to build, either sculptural or functional. When the clay is in the leather hard stage, a layer of underglaze is applied to the surface and a pattern is drawn by scratching into the clay. The work is in the kiln today, so we will see how it turns out! The 7th grade class is working on creating totem pole objects in clay. Each student could choose any theme or object they want to create. We are about half way through with this stage of the project and will complete the building unit in the next couple of weeks. They are all enjoying the clay material and they are showing improvement with the level of detail they are adding to their work.