Pinch Pots 6th Grade Lesson Plan ~ Ms. Schafer and Ms. Dargatz

Description:
Pinch Pots: "The oldest and simplest handmade ceramic form.  Holding a kneaded ball of clay in one hand, and pushing the thumb into the center.  By pinching and rotating motion between the thumb and index fingers, one can open up the form" (Schafer and Dargatz).

This was the first peer lesson plan of our Arts Method class.  Ms. Schafer and Ms. Dargatz presented a beginning clay unit lesson plan with pinch pots.  They showed us the proper way to knead the clay by means of pushing straight down on the clay against the table, picking it up and repeating in order to remove any of the air bubbles that may reside in the clay.  Once all the air bubbles are removed, the clay form is tossed from hand to hand to create a ball of clay that can be worked into a pinch pot.  Once a ball of clay is formed the artists place their thumbs in the center of the ball and push down, holding the sides of the ball with the remaining fingertips.  To increase the size of the center and to create the desired shape, the artists leave their thumbs in the center and rotate the forming pots with their fingertips.  Once the desired shape of the pot is obtained, the pot's surface is smoothed out using slip.  To decorate the pot, I used a scoring tool to outline the inside of the pot to create a raised center.  I also took a toothpick like stick and made indentations in a zigzag pattern.  The outside of the pot is scored with a cheese grater like utensil.

Extension Activity:
Pinch pots would work perfectly with studying any ancient cultures and their pottery.  Students will research the type of pottery made in the culture and recreate the pottery and explain what it would be used for.

Hidden Safari Pictures

Description:

This fun project is focused on the idea of warm and cool colors.  The hidden safari project began by making the very "warm"  red cellophane glasses you see above.  After we made the glasses we looked at various safari animals and chose which ones we would like to draw in a "Hidden Safari" picture.  I chose to draw a giraffe amongst two trees.  I began by drawing the picture upside down because drawing upside down makes the artist more in tune to the lines and the direction they are drawn.  I drew my picture using the cool sky blue color.  Once I completed the initial drawing, I covered the sky blue picture with the warm colors red, orange and yellow.  I covered the picture with spirals because to me, spirals are fun.  If I could do it over, I would have done something more along the lines of squares and lines rather than spirals because while I was drawing the spirals, I noticed it was not covering up my hidden picture very well.  The squares and lines would have probably made the finished project look more clean rather than sloppy.

Extension Activity:

I would use this in an 5th-8th grade math lesson.  The students would create math equations and the answers would be hidden in the background.  

It would also be a good use in English or Language arts class.  Students can write secret messages.  This type of activity can also be extended into an art lesson revolving around Leonardo Da Vinci.  He is said to be a very secretive artist and encrypted messages and symbols into his art work.  

Vincent van Gogh Inspired Tissue Paper Collage

Description:
This Vincent van Gogh inspired project began by applying tissue paper to a black sheet of construction paper.  The tissue paper was cut out in shapes such as swirls and arches to represent a van Gogh brush stroke and the movement he created with his lines.  Once the paper tissue collage was applied, a clear modge-podge was applied to create a second form of texture.  Once the clear coat was applied, oil pastel colors were applied to create definition as well as the essence of the line movements as found in van Gogh's "Starry Night."  After I applied the oil pastel colors, I added a city scape background made out of construction paper and decorated with a white colored pencil.

This was  by far my favorite project to date.  I used to love playing and creating things with tissue paper.  My favorite element of this project was the clear finish that we applied.  It created such a cool texture and shine to the artwork.  However, I do not like how my city scape turned out and have plans to one day return to this project and redo the building part of the project

Extension Activity:
A fun way to use the idea of a tissue paper collage would to create Pablo Picasso inspired self-portrait.  I believe it would be fun to make use of his style of painting into a tissue paper self-portrait.  Students will be able to make use of the fact that tissue paper has a transparent quality that allows artists to layer it and make new shades of color.  The modge-podge clear coat would be applied to make sure that the tissue paper does not tear and lays flat.  The oil pastels would then be used to add definition to lines and details.

Vincent van Gogh Inspired Finger Painting

Description:
This painting was inspired by Vincent van Gogh.  The object of this assignment was to capture the essence of van Gogh's movement of lines.  My van Gogh painting is of a cracked and broken boulder that I drive by every time I visit my parents.   We began with primary colors along with black and white to create tints and shades as well as mixing the primary colors together to make different colors.  The sky is inspired by the artists painting "Starry Night" by using circular motions to create a sense of movement in the color and lines.

My personal experience with this project has mixed emotions.  I do like how it turned out but this is not what I was expecting to produce.  My objective was to create a scene on the prairie of an on old barn or building  but I was not happy with the building and how it looked so I smudged it and sat back to look at it.  After a few minutes of contemplation, I noticed that it looked like a boulder so I asked my professor to make it look like a cracked and broken boulder.  So now when I show people this piece of artwork I introduce it as my ... boulder!

This is a picture of a boulder on Highway 7 along the Minnesota and South Dakota border that I drive by every time I visit my parents house.

Extension Activity:
A great activity for finger painting is to use it in Social Studies.  For example, students can create portraits the figures in history that we are discussing.  In the instance of studying presidents, students will pick a president to research, write a paper and create a portrait by means of finger painting.  Students will focus on mixing colors to make not only the proper skin colors but also other colors necessary to create the presidential portrait.

Eric Carle Illustration

Description:
This piece of artwork was inspired by my favorite Eric Carle book, Papa, Please Get the Moon.  This project began by adding wallpaper paste to paint.  Before the paint was applied to the paper, water was applied.  Tools, such as sponges, fingers, and the ends of paintbrushes were used to create variations in texture.  Many pages were made in this style.  For my project, I made a black painting to act as the background to my Eric Carle Illustration.  I then cut out moon out of a gray sheet and the stars were made out of a yellow sheet.  I also made the house out of a sheet that was made with blue and red, the windows were made out of a pink sheet, and the doors and chimney were made out of a purple sheet.  The title of the story is placed in the lower left hand corner.

This project was one of my favorites.  It reminded me of my childhood experiences and the enjoyment I used to get having Eric Carle books read to me.  It was fun to pretend to be a famous author and illustrator for a day.

Extension Activity:
In my classroom, I would let my students explore with what they could create.  They could make a prairie scene, ocean scene, etc.  With this activity, they will be able to explore different textures techniques, colors as well as the layering of different sheets and shapes as you see in my Eric Carle Illustration.