Air dry clay "food" that was painted to look realistic. This project focused on different construction techniques such as slab rolling, coil construction, pinch pot construction, and addition.
I decided to create two summer art classes that were each a week long through Community education in my district. The first class was called "Art Around the World" and featured projects such as a chinese lantern, making didgeridoos out of PVC pipe, and multicultural paper mache masks. The second class was called "Arts & Crafts Camp" and I definitely think this class was my favorite. The Arts & Crafts camp really let student's imaginations run wild and create some really cool art! Each class included students from the ages of 9 to 13. If you've never taught a community ed art class before, you should know it's a blast! No tests, no standards, just a room full of art supplies and enthusiastic students. For any other interested art teachers out there, I included the schedules for each class's days below for your reference. Art Around the World Day One- Mexican Folk Art terra cotta pots & Paper mache mask Day Two- Australian Didgeridoos made out of PVC pipe with a beeswax mouthpiece Day Three- African Adinkra printmaking on t-shirts Day Four- Ukrainian painted eggs & Russian architecture metal tooling Day Five- Chinese Calligraphy lantern & Free Art Time Arts & Crafts Camp Day One- Cardboard Challenge & Leather tooling/stamping Day Two- Travel Posters & Clay food Day Three- Dada-inspired lamp & Drawing to Music Day Four- Metal tooling & painting clay food to look realistic Day Five- Junk Sculptures & Hot glue fancy frames Check out the photos below to see all of the cool art we created & tips for doing the same! 
Clay food painted with tempera paint. The straw for the soft drink was cut from a q-tip. The student used a red sharpie to make the lines on the straw. Too cool!
Metal tooled tiles. Cut 38 gauge aluminum metal into 6"x6" squares. The foil I purchased was from Dick Blick and came in 12"x25 ft rolls for around $16. Fold a 1/2" over on each side to prevent injury. Use a blunt pencil to tool designs. I had students draw their design on scratch paper first and then put their paper over the metal and traced to transfer. Use colored sharpie to highlight the areas you tooled. You can also turn the metal over for an embossed effect.
Metal tooled owl and tree. Hole punch holes in the top to add string or wire for hanging.
Dada-inspired mason jar lamps. We looked at a variety of different Dadaist artworks and I instructed students to choose a certain theme for the artwork. Some themes included, "Kids", "Save animals", "Be green", etc.
The lamps were created using pint size mason jars, socket light switch kit ($3.99 at Menards or other hardware store), modge podge, tacky glue, and an assortment of magazines and newspapers. Students decoupaged their cut outs onto the lamp using the tacky glue and modge podge. Some students used shredded up tissue paper and decoupaged the tissue paper to the inside of their lamp for a cool background. We used a nail to pound a hole into the lid and then used tin snips to cut a larger hole (this was mostly done by me due to sharp edges). Then the sock was inserted into the hole and a nightlight bulb placed inside that! The original project idea was for a hanging lamp, but some students designed their lamp to sit on a table. We simple cut a small notch in the lid for the cord, so the lamp could sit level. This was probably my student's favorite project!
The first day we did the Cardboard Challenge. This was kind of a "get-to-know-you" activity for students. Students had to create ANYTHING out of cardboard using only scissors and glue (and later paint). This student spiraled cardboard strips and glued them together for a cool wall sculpture!
I had an assortment of different leather pieces and tons of tooling supplies for students to practice. Some students made necklaces and other students made key chains. I've never heard a class so quiet and focused on their work!
Junk sculpture bird with a leftover Ukrainian egg from the last class :)
A flock of junk sculpture geese using old christmas lights, bottle caps, pen caps, crayons, and toilet paper tubes.
A wiper blade with google eyes. Fantastic.
Hot glueing designs onto wooden frames. I won the 4x5" frames from an art conference!
Painting the hot glued frames.
Finished hot glued frame that had been "distressed" with some of the paint rubbed off.
Metal tooling of Russian architecture for my Art Around the World class.
Ukrainian paper eggs. We discovered a cool way to hold the eggs was using a plastic cup, letting the paint dry, and then flipping it over. The eggs were 4" paper mache eggs purchased at Hobby Lobby for 99 cents each. We used q-tips for the dots.
A cool way to work on the didgeridoo was actually discovered by accident! We placed didgeridoos on sturdy, over-turned chair legs so we didn't have to worry about smearing paint. 1 1/2" schedule 40 PVC was used and cut in a variety of lengths from 3.5 ft to 5.5 ft. Students sanded the PVC and then painted at least two coats of acrylic paint onto the PVC. Next, students took q-tips and paint to create aboriginal-inspired dot paintings on their didgeridoo. The last step was adding melted beeswax to the top to create a mouthpiece and a few beads/feathers for decoration. This project was student's favorite from the Art Around the World class!
My own didgeridoo made out of PVC! Learning to play the didgeridoo wasn't too hard and I played some how-to videos for my students while we finished. Some students caught on really quick!
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 A while back I had stumbled upon the website of a teacher who did a "soup drive" along with her Pop Art project. I thought this was such a cool way to get students involved with art history and their community! I took this teacher's (I have no idea who she is) idea and ran with it. I created what is now called, "The Warhol Project". For the last month, students have been bringing in cans of food where we will be donating them to Channel One Food Bank in Rochester, MN. Our goal is 400 cans by the end of May. We already have 238!
 We are collecting our cans in two large barrels that Channel One kindly gave us. It's not a bad idea to put a sign on them that states they are not garbage (I encountered I few issues there...)
Last semester we made pop bottles (Pop Art...get it?) on the benday dots handout. We used markers and colored pencils for that project. This semester, I plan on having students draw soup cans in their table groups and use the benday dots handout I used last semester. I think I will teach students how to use watercolor pencils instead of using regular colored pencils and markers. I think it would be interesting for students to use complementary colors in this project as well. I just love how the students (and parents!) have shown so much enthusiasm and generosity by donating to our soup drive! Stay tuned for the next part of The Warhol Project: Drawing our soup cans! |
Mrs. QuamI am a 7th year high school art teacher in Rochester, MN. I have taught middle school for 2 years and high school for almost 5 years. I truly enjoy working with students on a daily basis. I also enjoy teaching real-world skills such as problem solving, using technology, and the power of teamwork and collaboration. My joy is sharing my passion for art with others! Archives
January 2020
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Photo used under Creative Commons from Rob Qld
