The Ratner Montessori School Art Program

It has been an interesting week in my world. I mysteriously lost my voice on Tuesday, even though I felt perfectly fine. I am blaming it on springtime allergies, although it may have something to do with age and the machine of my voice running thin. The students were lovely and equally quiet, whispering their responses to my diminutive voice. It made for an interesting lesson on attention and awareness! Art goes on and each class continued independently creating and moving forward with their individual projects. I am enjoying creating art outside when the weather permits and am always shocked to realize that spring means school is drawing to the end of another fast year.   I appreciate all your kind comments about the students work on the Gala horses, I have let them know the comments as I hear them. They are quite proud of their work and are glad others appreciate their efforts.

Artwork created by Andy Goldsworthy

                               

Kindergarten Art

I felt that the Kindergarten students were ready for a more intensive and longer term project, so I presented a sculpture project to them last week. This is normally a project I reserve for older students, but this is such a strong group of artists that I knew they could be successful with the process. Each student had several Styrofoam geometric solid of various shapes and sizes, different wooden sticks and plaster gauze.  The students connected the shapes into a balanced and visually interesting composition, taking time to view the sculpture from many different points of view. Once they were satisfied with their abstract composition, the application of the plaster gauze began. Every surface has to be covered with the material to prepare the surface for painting. This requires advanced fine motor skills, patience and the ability to follow several steps during the process. The work is very dynamic and enjoyable for the students. We will finish the final coat of plaster this week and begin painting next week. I really enjoy teaching this group of students!

1st, 2nd and 3rd Grade Art

We had a wonderful exploration last week of the work of the living British sculptor, Andy Goldsworthy.  I showed the class a few videos of his temporary landscape art installations made of natural material found in the outside environment.  We talked about the respect he shows to the environment that he builds his work in, the mathematical precision he uses when building and the rate of failure as he patiently builds his work. The following class we went outside on a material hunt. The students gathered dried grasses, twigs, leaves and rocks to begin work on their own Goldsworthy inspired installations. Unfortunately yesterday I had lost my voice and did not feel safe taking a group of students outside, so we created small constructions inside the art room using mulch, sand, rocks and various plant life. The students enjoyed the quick work and I plan on continuing the outside installation today if the weather co-operates.

4th, 5th and 6th Grade Art

Work continues on the sewing projects. The students are getting better at choosing the correct size needle, able to thread the needle quicker, tie the end knot and run a smaller stitch than they were able to a week ago.  All the creatures are taking shape nicely and the students are beginning to think more creatively with their work now that they feel more comfortable with the mechanics of the sewing process. I had mysteriously lost my voice for a day of classes and the class was very quiet and mostly well focused while sewing. They made a lot of progress this week with their work and I am excited to see the finished project as I have never tried this approach before. I believe we will have one more week of sewing until the pieces are completed. 

7th and 8th Grade Art

Work continues on the wire quilt squares. Some students are really experimenting and trying interesting techniques and imagery with the wire medium. They have shown improvement in how to join the wire shapes together and have begun to be more comfortable creating the small compositions. I believe we will begin to "stitch" together all the squares next week to complete the project. I am hoping to end to school year with a Maker Space project building wooden spinning tops. I can't believe that we are that close to the end of the school year. This has been a great group of students to work with this year and they have cycled through many projects and processes. They keep me on my toes.

Can you see the manatee?

The Ratner Montessori School Art Program

Last week was a bit off balance for me as the 7th and 8th grade classes were on their class trip. I always miss the students when they are away from school, but an entire week without a large group is very different. I did have extra time in my schedule to display all the Gala horses in the front lobby and we have had so many positive comments about the work. I enjoy hearing the students explain their work to anyone who is standing near the display and they are all enjoying hearing your comments. I am also excited to say that the last of the ceramic work has been fired in the kiln and the work looks beautiful! I had to do a bit of creative problem solving as the top half of the kiln stopped working as I was completing the glaze firing, but I was able to use the bottom half of the kiln successfully. "The Little Kiln that Could" has served the clay program well for 9 years, but it is definitely time for an upgrade.  More on that at a later date....

Kindergarten Art

The Kindergarten class had two classes to explore all the various materials and techniques they have learned this year with our last project. They had the opportunity to use several materials including watercolor paint, oil pastels, colored pencils, glue, paper and markers. I am always impressed with the retention of information from the beginning of the school year and enjoyed watching them experiment with the combination of materials. The final pieces are full of color, beautiful mark making and energetic! They enjoyed creating "free form" as one student called it and wanted to have an extra class to continue working on their pieces. I appreciate the ability to adjust the class plans to the needs of the students and I know the students greatly benefit from the flexibility in their creative education. We will begin a sculpture unit this week that will be at least two weeks long.

1st, 2nd and 3rd Grade Art

We have had a busy and productive set of classes this past couple of weeks. The students created a material exploration piece that began with a simple grid design. I wanted to assess the amount of techniques and skills they have acquired this year and presented them with a fairly open ended project to check the development. They had several materials to work with including watercolor paint, oil pastel, colored pencil , graphite and collage materials. I wanted to see previous techniques used and was looking for a sense of exploration and experimentation. They, as usual, did not disappoint! They retained information from the beginning of the year, used the materials in an intelligent and creative way, taking care to not destroy the tools in the process. We actually extended the project by 2 classes because they were so excited with the project. The students were also able to finally see their finished clay pieces and I will display them on top of their lockers of a week or two so everyone else can enjoy their work. They did a fantastic job with their glazing and they are all looking forward to sharing their pieces. 

4th, 5th and 6th Grade Art

We began a sewing unit at the request of several students. We started with a simple weaving exercise, creating potholders on a hand loom. The students chose their color palette and created patterns with their work. Following the loom work, they sketched out several ideas for a creature they could construct with fabric. The shape needed to be fairly simple as we will be hand stitching all the work. They sketched the final design on a white canvas, learned how to thread a needle, tie a knot and how to sew a running stitch. We have several choices of fabric to piece together different patterns and elements on the creatures and the students seem to enjoy the work. They also had a chance to see their final glazed ceramic work and made note of any improvements they could make for the next clay project. I was very pleased with their attention to craftsmanship and form with their work. I will display the pieces upstairs in the black box displays. If you happen to be in the school, please come upstairs by the library to view the work.

                             

                              

7th and 8th Grade Art

The students have returned from their trip energized and ready to create. We took some time to see the glazed ceramic work and made note of any improvements that could occur with glazing, construction or general craftsmanship. I was so relieved to finish the glazing firing in the kiln and I am so proud of the work the students created. We began a new project this week constructing a wire "quilt". The students used a heavy 14 gauge aluminum wire to create a 5x5 inch frame. Various colored wire, beads or found objects were used to create a composition for the quilt square. Each student will make 4 squares and then we will wire them all together to create one piece. This work is great for fine motor skills, problem solving, color theory and composition.