Christmas Project Joy!

Today I will share pictures of projects that I created with some of my students at school.  This is my 2nd Christmas season teaching art to K-8th grade in Triangle, Virginia.  I say on a daily basis that I have THE BEST job in the whole world as I get to experience art through the eyes of children.

I decided to use Creative Paperclay with my 6th graders and Delight Air Dry with my 2nd graders.  Both groups were thrilled to be working with clay and listened intently to instructions (or so I thought).  One of the first instructions I gave was to roll the creative Paperclay flat between 2 pencils before starting to design their individual angels.  A few of my students heard the pencil part, but translated it to "roll the clay as long as a pencil"  Of course the mistake wasn't discovered until they had created gorgeous angels and went to put them on the drying racks.  Hmmm, okay...kind of skinny, but I am used to adapting.

My second graders used Delight air dry to also create angels for a mixed media canvas.  Their instructions were a bit different though.   Each student had already created a halo from construction paper and metallic markers.  With that glued down to a painted canvas they were given a piece of Delight air dry clay and a damp paper towel.  They could use the clay to make an entire angel or combine components of clay with paper elements.  As you can see from the pictures that follow, no 2 were the same and each child had a definite vision of what he or she wanted to accomplish.

I couldn't be more proud of what they all made (both classes) and I think there will be many happy parents or grandparents when packages are opened on Christmas day.  Now for the pictures...some are process and some are finished projects.

6th graders at work.  Each student had a damp paper towel to keep the clay moist.  Each table also had a cup of water to help adhere details.

A dab of water to attach pieces of clay angel together.  

Best "tool" I ever bought for my classroom!  Stackable cookie racks from Ross.

The finished projects.  The backing is a wood board which they collaged with paper and music and inspirational passages.  The backing was not a part of the original project, but became necessary after some of the angels became a bit too skinny to stand alone.

Angels were painted with metallic paints before gluing to covered board.

The angel on the left is one of the larger, skinnier angels.  I am in love with the one on the right!  The student chose her board specifically because of the knot at the top and then used that in her design.  FABULOUS

Students used construction paper, tissue paper, magazines, calendars, and much more to create a backdrop for the angel.  I love the variety.  No 2 are alike.

2nd grade Delight angels.  

The students were given the option to add words to the canvas.  Some place the words on top and some worked the words around the edges of the canvas!

I love the expression on this one.  The student worked very hard to get her eyes "just right".  Paint wouldn't work the way she wanted, so she painted the white, added brown paper for the color, and then a dot of white in the center of each...perfect!

See the angel, top left?  The child wanted hair for her angel.  We found a bag of doll hair in a box of classroom supplies...gave her the perfect curly hairdo.

I hope you have enjoyed these and can see how easy it is to use Creative Paperclay and Delight Air Dry with children.  Have a very Merry Christmas and Happy Creative New Year

Spring Birds by Linda Hess & her 2nd grade students

Hi all!  Spring has sprung in a big way here in Virginia.  The trees are out, the birds are singing, the allergy eyes are itchy!  All of this has me creating wonderful Spring projects with my art classes.

A few weeks back (just before Easter) I made pinch pot birds with my 4th graders.  We used earthen clay that goes into the kiln to cure.  Sadly I had a few students who trapped air in their bird sculptures...the result of this is EXPLODING birds in the kiln.  Sadly, when they explode they not only destroy that creation, but they take out a few around them as well :-(  For that reason, when I decided to create birds with my 2nd graders I wanted to simplify the process and remove the possibility of the creations meeting an "untimely demise".  Naturally I pulled out my go-to airdry Creative PaperClay.

To create these birds you only need a few materials:
Creative PaperClay (obviously)
a small bowl of water
a damp paper towel
tools: plastic knife, pokey tools (a pencil or pen will work for this!)
acrylic paint & a brush

That's it!  Now to create.
1)  For my 2nd graders I cut each package of Creative PaperClay into 6 equal pieces.  Each student received a piece of clay and a damp paper towel. 
2) The piece of clay was torn in half.  One half was placed into the damp paper towel to keep it moist (lay out the paper towel, place the clay on one side, an then fold the paper towel over).  The other half was rolled into a ball and then into an egg shape. 
3) The egg shape was flattened to create a bird body (no thinner than a pencil).  Wasn't that easy??  Now, time to add details!

NOW any of you who work with children know that they all go to their own beat when creating.  You can tell them "We are creating birds", but they will come up with other options..."Can I make a bunny?" "Can I make a snake?" "Can I ...?"  You get the idea.  So of course when I started to demo the details, the questions began.  The bunny option got a yes...the snake option, a no...and so on.

4) "Remove the extra clay from your paper towel.  This will be used to create wings, beak, eyes, and any other details you wish to add." 
5) For a beak, roll a ball of clay.  Flatten slightly.  Pinch one end to form a tear drop.  Dip one finger in the bowl of water and rub onto the bird shape where you want to place the beak (the water forms a glue between the 2 pieces of Creative PaperClay). 

Press beak into place.  Edges can be smoothed and beak lines can be added.
6) For the wings, repeat the beak steps, but with larger balls of clay. 

Again, dip one finger into the water and rub it onto the bird body.  Press wings in place.  Detail wings if desired.
7) Eyes are SUPER easy...just 2 small balls rolled and pressed into place above the beak (using the water "glue" of course). 

8) Add additional details and then set the bird aside to dry. [NOTE: Clay can be "speed dried" by placing into your oven at 275 degrees for ~20-30 minutes]
9) Once dry, paint with acrylic paints.

That's it!  I hope you have enjoyed this Spring project and the simplicity of using Creative PaperClay.  Here are the birds that my 2nd graders designed.  As you can see a few of them go to the beat of their own drum, but that is what makes my job so rewarding...seeing and experiencing the creative souls that surround me on a daily basis.  I never know what will emerge from those pint-sized brains and I love the surprises :-)