paper

I had big plans this week to make a pattern for a geometric design top I want to make and somehow the drafting of the pattern has taken a lot longer than I expected so I am posting what was happening on the art circuit this week…

I took the kids to their Art Show down at City Hall before we (of the Arts Focus team) took it down. I wanted to take them before the reception so they could talk about their artwork with me. My son loves his Origami Yoda from the paper class and he enjoyed making paper and doing the collage, that I have to track down.

Yoda forever!

Missy did a Global Beats Art class focusing on dances around the world and she even made these beautiful bells for an Indian Dance. The kids also got to make and decorate their own drum and rhythm sticks. For me I think the fun part would be getting dressed up for the dancing and hearing some new sounds.

Ghungroos – a musical anklet tied to the feet of classical Indian dancers

I finally glazed and fired clay pieces that I was working on from last October. The puzzle box pumpkin took ages to dry as the walls are super thick and we have to make sure that it does not crack so I dried it for months till it was even ready to go for a first bisque fire.

Punkin’ out in the garden

I decided to use a underglaze and paint on yellow and orange and rub it back before I applied a super glaze over the top. I wanted the inside to break away from the Autumn theme and used a dark turquoise – I was lucky as I forgot my teacher said not to glaze the top of the pumpkin, this guy could have been stuck to the clay feet used in the kiln – whew!!

Punkin’ inside the puzzle box

I love playing around with texture and clay and I found this doily at FabMo (where else do I find the good stuff!?!) and used a tennis ball to transfer the pattern to the hand built plate. I like the look of the transfer and I wanted to show up the pattern so I used three different glazes to see what would happen and I really like the finished product. The plate is quite asymmetrical but I have only been doing clay for 12 months now and it is all a learning process that each time I make a piece I learn something new. Next stop wheel throwing in the Spring!!

Fancy some bananas on a doily appetizer plate?

This strange looking experiment is a salt cellar – I like to take a pinch of salt here and there when I am cooking so I made this! It again had really thick sides and took months to dry. Certainly a lesson in hand building as I rolled this into a cylinder and carved out the inside – there is definitely an easier way to make this, maybe using a slab and cylinder. Still I will see how I go with this and if I get bored with it, I can take it outside and put a succulent in it!

A salt cellar living large in it’s new home

I volunteer at my children’s school for the Arts Focus program to help out with teaching the children Textiles (Sewing). We have a class of 27 Kinder through 5th grade children and give them needles, scissors, fabric and thread and they truly enjoy themselves. At the end of our 6 week Arts session we then have an exhibition of works on display at City Hall. This year I took time out to check it out when I could absorb the pieces on display and I was so blown away with what the children had created. I love the Arts Focus program as you can really see the children shine when experimenting with art in it’s many mediums. There are 14 classes on campus on a Thursday morning that inlclude 3D, Animation, Ceramics, Drawing and Painting, Global Beat, Materials, Paper, Musical Theater, Physical Theater, Photography, Textiles (sewing), Textiles (Weaving and Dyeing) and Video. Whew that is a lot of parents on campus and what an amazing feeling it is to have such a community of parent volunteers ready to help out in the arts – yay!