The Ratner School Art Program

Well, we finally made it through a full week of school with no holidays, blizzards, or Siberian cold fronts. It was wonderful to get back into a normal rhythm of the school week and we made up for lost time in art.

Kindergarten Art

We are on week 21 of the Humanities program, but because we missed every class for Kindergarten art last week,  Pat Carey-Bell and I decided to continue our study of the Chinese New Year. The students worked on adding complimentary colors to the twelve animals of the zodiac, we discussed how complimentary colors "talk" to each other in a different way than other colors do. The students added more paper to the pulp bins and we will begin making paper next week.

1st and 2nd Grade Art

We had a successful firing of the kiln and did not have any mishaps at all! This is remarkable to me as a trained metal smith that ceramic work actually goes through so many phases and processes and turns out so beautifully. I always have the students repeat the ceramic art oath: "I know some things happen that we cannot control in ceramic art, I will not blame the teacher if my work blows up in the kiln." They giggle, and fortunately I have never had to test the oath. We celebrated the success of the project by having a tea party in art on Monday.  I hope you have all enjoyed the work your child brought home on Wednesday. The cups are safe to drink out of, but I would not put them in a microwave or dishwasher. On Wednesday we began our next project, a pastel and ink landscape. Point out the horizon line to your child while you are out and about, mention how the trees look when they are far away. Ask them about value and scale, hear what they are learning about in art. 

   

3rd and 4th Grade Art

This week was a bit of a catch up week for our ceramic project. The days off came at a difficult time for a unit involving clay, but the students work hard to finish their pieces so they would not risk getting too dry. I was impressed with the care and detail they added to their work and look forward to getting the kiln loaded so we can glaze the boxes.  While we are waiting for the work to completely dry, we began our next unit. The students are learning about landscapes, horizon lines, how to create the illusion of depth and distance using different values and how to blend pastels. This unit will be a shorter 2 or 3 week project and they have already made great progress on the initial application of colored chalk pastel. 

5th and 6th Grade Art

The students continued work on the landscape project this week and are making great progress on their pieces. The layouts of the information are finished and several students have begun applying color to their sections. This is a new project and I am excited to see the result. We welcomed a new student to our class this week, her name is Hailey. She has already settled into creating her landscape and we are glad to have her at the Ratner School. 

7th and 8th Grade Art

We were so lucky with our ceramic work! Some students missed an entire week of art and were very thankful they had wrapped their coil pots up correctly so all their work was not in vain. This week one group completed their face pots, adding all the facial feature and details. The other group is one class behind and is on track to finish construction next week.  Some of the students have thoroughly enjoyed the clay unit and have shown great skill in construction, other students do not embrace the nature of clay. I am ready to put all the clay tools and dust away for a while and look forward to being able to glaze the pots. I thought I would post a picture of one of Kirk Mangus' face jugs that inspired the students to create their own version.

Amazing sculpture by Kirk Mangus

The Ratner School Art Program

In a new attempt to keep all our parents up to date and current on the projects and processes your children are learning in art, I have created a simple blog update for you. Each class will be separated by the grade level and I will give you an overview for our week in art, what projects we are working on and if I get really good, maybe even a picture or two of the art that is being created! I hope you all continue to encourage your child to continue making art and talk about what they see when they look at art.

Kindergarten Art

This week begins week 20 of the Humanities class where we begin our study of the Chinese New Year. In art we will work on the zodiac and begin our paper making project. The students began the process of tearing up various papers and sorting the colors to start the pulp making process. We currently have 7 color bins soaking the paper which will be beat with a hand blender, then processed through an electric blender. The pulp will then be screened by the students to create 2 sheets of handmade paper. This is always a favorite project with the Kindergarten students and the results of the paper making project are usually very memorable.

1st and 2nd Grade Art

We missed one day of art this week for Presidents Day, but began the glazing process on our Kirk Mangus inspired face cups. This project is the direct result of our recent field trip to MOCA Cleveland in January. The students did an excellent job constructing their pinch pot cups and we had a successful firing of the kiln with no mishaps or breaks! The glazing process is a wonderful mix of science and art with the end result nothing short of wonderment. The students are always surprised when the light blue gray glaze "paint" turns into a beautiful rich blue when it is fired in the kiln. I am equally excited when I open the kiln for the glazing firing. I can hardly wait to see what your children chose for the glaze colors.

3rd and 4th Grade

Your children have been hard at work with our ceramics unit. We discussed the projects they would want to create, the nature of clay, the possibilities that clay held as far as form or function and they chose a challenging focus. They were very excited at the prospect of making a clay keepsake box. For those who are not familiar with clay, a box is a technically difficult form to make out of clay. The artist has to be able to roll out an even slab of clay, cut with precision, score and slip (a clay glue) all the sides and to top off the project, the students wanted a lid for the box with an animal on the top. I do love their enthusiasm, so of course I said we could make that happen! The boxes have all been constructed successfully, the lids have been measured and made, and the animals are being created this week. The work looks wonderful, the students have risen to the challenge and are pleased with the pieces they have created.

5th and 6th Grade

We have recently finished the construction of the ceramic bobble heads in class and are now waiting for the pieces to air dry so we can fire them in the kiln. While we are waiting for the drying to take place, we began a landscape project. Each student choose a landscape image from the Cuyahoga Valley National Park to work from. We talked about how we have this fantastic National Park in our back yard and we rarely go to explore this treasure. The students picked an image they admired and divided it into quarters. Each section of the landscape was transferred to a larger sheet of paper, completing a 22" x 42" piece. After sketching out the general details of each quarter, the artists will choose 4 different mediums to apply color to the landscape. Paint, oil pastel, colored pencil, collage, or chalk pastel are just a few of the choices. This is a new project to try and they are off to a strong start with the process.

7th and 8th Grade

We are currently in the 2nd week of our ceramic project. The students have been working on constructing a coil pot form inspired by the work of Kirk Mangus. We were excited to have the opportunity to see Mr. Mangus' work at our recent field trip to MOCA Cleveland in January. The inspiration for the middle school students were focused on the large face jugs we viewed at the retrospective show. Each student has begun to form the final shape and size of their jug and the facial features will be added next week. They are finding the right balance between the material and the scale of the piece to be a challenge, but are showing great resilience and improvement in their skills.

Art Opportunities and Shows

Currently on view at MOCA Cleveland:
Joyce Scott- Truths and Visions
A show of intricate and socially aware beaded sculptures

Ragnar Kjartansson- The Visitors
A video installation that combines visual, performance art and music

Jessica Eaton- Wild Permutations
Vibrant and experimental photography

MOCA has several family friendly events, please visit their web site for more information:

www.mocacleveland.org

I have 3 pieces showing in the annual from Woman show at Lakeland Community College.

 There is an opening reception on March 22, from 3:30-5:00.