New batch of clay cacti pots and desert silhouettes

Here's a lesson I have posted about many times, and I think I have found the best presentation so far - so new post! Here goes - first I'll share a few pics from earlier...

We have made these clay pinch pots with cacti and succulent plants for several years in 4th grade:

And since starting our Artsonia portfolios, we needed a better presentation method, so we tried some different ways of photographing our 3-D works, starting with variegated tissue paper which looked a little like a sunset sky:

Since the students were also learning about what these plants are and where they come from, we started making some cut paper silhouettes as a backdrop, featuring cactus shapes:

So cool! But the silhouettes were kind of temporary, so from there we painted our own colorful skies and made landscapes that could stand as works of art on their own as well as serving as a backdrop for our clay work. We focused on blending analogous colors to keep from getting a muddy sky - it helps to not use water when painting these, because you want blended colors: 

This is a fantastic lesson because there are so many elements to explore - science, culture, color - and plenty of room for kids to experiment. Here's a view from our Artsonia gallery: 

5th grade memory bowls

This glazed clay bowl will make a nice keepsake for my 5th graders about to head off to middle school. I hope it will help them remember the years of fun in art class as they grow!

We started by rolling a slab and cutting the outer shape.

Next, we added pressed textures and joined coils rolled into numbers and letters, followed by firing and glazing.

Latest and Greatest

We are finishing up lots of terrific artwork right now, most of which I have posted about before but really want to share these newbies! If you want more info about each project, just use the search tool on the right and you will find it - meanwhile, just enjoy looking at what these young hands have produced😍😍😍

2nd grade lidded pinch pots with funny faces

First grade stitched pinch pots

Kindergarten clay fossils

4th grade painted desert silhouettes, which make great backdrops for our clay cactus pots

Kindergarten paper bouquets

2nd grade jingle sticks to use in music class - great way to use up random pieces of yarn! Found this idea on "Musical Experiences for Children."