May 19, 2011
Self Portrait Prints
To take a break from clay, Seward High’s Ceramic Classes did printmaking for their final project. They made 2 layer linocut self portrait prints. They began by photographing themselves an interesting pose, which was adjusted on photoshop under the threshold option. They traced all of the shapes of the photo onto a piece of linoleum. They then cut out the white areas and printed at least 4 copies in bright colors. Next, they cut out a bold pattern in the background and printed on top of the first prints in a darker color. They turned out great:
May 13, 2011
Encaustic Paintings
Seward High Art Students made Encaustic Paintings for the Art for Parks art show which is currently on display at the Kenai Fjords Visitor Center in the Harbor. The theme of the show this year was Sharing the Outdoors with the Big Wild: Moose, Goats, and Bears of Kenai Fjords National Park. The student art show, which has art from students K-12 will be on display from May 6-20, 2011. The Art for Parks program is awesome, it brings artists into classrooms of every grade in Seward, and also donates the materials for each project. Thanks to CJ Rea for organizing and to the artists involved for donating your time!
My students were assigned to create composite beasts with at least some features of a moose, goat or bear. They melted crayons on pancake griddles and painted with the wax to create textured paintings. They really had fun with this project and did great work.
February 28, 2011
More Ceramics Projects
Here are some more soap dishes and plates!
January 21, 2011
Coiled Candle Holders
Seward High Ceramic Students began the semester by making coiled candle holders. After creating foot tall structures that incorporated at least three shapes, they coated them with spray paint them and accented them with acrylic paint. Here are some of the nicest ones:
December 3, 2010
Triptych Collages
Seward High Art students created new scenes out of old photos. For inspiration, students viewed the Abberant Art of Barry Kite. Kite is a contemporary artists who mainly reworks art history classics by cutting them up and combining them in humorous ways. Students also viewed triptych artwork from the past and were asked to make their collages in triptych form. Thanks to the Seward Library for donating encyclopedias and magazines.
December 1, 2010
Ceramic Bas Relief Tiles
Seward High Ceramic students have made bas relief tiles. Bas means low in french, these are low set sculptures emerging from a flat surface. This carving technique is quite ancient, and it has been used independently in many cultures from Mesoamerica to India. Seward high students made theirs with clay.
Pottery Wheel Projects
Seward High Ceramic students have been mastering the pottery wheel this semester, namely making bowls and mugs. Here is some of their work:
November 19, 2010
Black Tempura with Colorful India Ink
Students adjusted the threshold of a photo in Photoshop, making it pure black and white. Then they drew the image on a large scale, painted the black areas using black tempura, and filled in the white areas with colored India Ink as they chose. Here are some of the results:
October 25, 2010
Day of the Dead Masks
When the Spanish Conquistadors arrived in Mexico over 500 years ago, they encountered the indigenous people practicing a ritual which is today known as the Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead). This was a month long celebration for dead relatives when it was believed that the souls of the departed return to visit the living. Unlike the Spaniards, who viewed death as the end of life, the natives viewed it as the continuation of life. Instead of fearing death, they embraced it. To them, life was a dream and only in death did they become truly awake.
To the Catholic Spanish, this ritual seemed to be sacrilegious, and they unsuccessfully tried to eradicate it. There was a good deal of reluctance on the part of the indigenous people which resulted in a blending of old customs with the new religion. All Saints’ Day and All Hallows Eve (Halloween) roughly coincided with the preexisting Día de Los Muertos resulting in the present day 2-day event which draws from both.
Today, people don wooden skull masks called calacas and dance in honor of their deceased relatives. The wooden skulls are also placed on altars that are dedicated to the dead. Sugar skulls, made with the names of the dead person on the forehead, are eaten by a relative or friend, according to Mary J. Adrade, who has written three books on the ritual. The Aztecs and other Meso-American civilizations kept skulls as trophies and displayed them during the ritual. The skulls were used to symbolize death and rebirth.
Seward Art High Students made their own Day of the Dead masks. They began with slabs of clay, which they draped over human face molds. They then sculpted the clay to look like a skull. After the clay was fired, students painted them with spray and acrylic paint. They did an awesome job.
October 11, 2010
Computer Arts Class
Seward High’s Computer Art class have been mastering Adobe Photoshop. Here is a sampling of some of the projects they have been working on this quarter:
New US Dollar Design
Scream Yo Opinion – Students took a stand on a controversial issue and communicated their opinion with symbols.
Concert Posters
Future Profession Faux Stencil
Hybrid Animal Ads
Here is the link to the Computer Arts Class Blog. All assignments are posted here and students in the class have their own blogs linked to this site (right hand side). Click on a student’s name to see their work!