Week 8 and Monday 10/26

(10/22) I went in Thursday to try out the model magic over the wire armature. A few of the students were watching me learned a little from what I was doing. The model magic works well. I looked at it today and found that it is flexible to a point, but rips when bent too far. I left gaps in the material around the joints; this was a good idea that Gary had. I flexed them and it didn't rip the model magic. The students who were there were excited for next weeks lesson, which was today.

Today I went in prepared to do the sculpture lesson. Gary ended up getting some DAS air dry clay. The DAS had interesting tactile qualities because the texture was stiff, but it smoothed relatively well, but a lot better than the model magic, which could not be fully smoothed or blended when adding material. I think the DAS has some paper within the mixture because of the small fibers when torn apart.

The students came in and Gary introduced me and a little history about the Mexican celebration "Day of the Dead". I started by asking the students if they have done any figurative sculpture before. There were 3 hands raised out of the 17 students. The prepared wire pieces were handed out to the students. I showed them step by step where to bend the wire for the head and then twist down to the legs and stop. The next step was to wrap a piece of wire around the twisted torso area for the arms. the only problems we had was the lack of enough pliers and since the figures were smaller than my demo, the wire was harder for the students to bend. Aluminum would have been more ideal, but it is too expensive for a teacher's budget. Smaller steel wire may have worked out ok as well.

The school schedule was rearranged this morning for an assembly, so we didn't get them for the entire time. Tomorrow We will add the DAS clay to the armatures and staple them to wooden bases.

Overall the experience went well and the students were excited to be working with new material, but especially 3D material.

Week 7

I went in this week spoke with Gary about the lesson. We are going to postpone it until next week to coincide with the "Day of the Dead" holiday. The project has evolved many times since the initial idea. The students will be creating a wire armature and then use an air dry material such as Model Magic or something similar. They will be modeled after the Day of the Dead skeletons. The students don't get to do too many sculptural projects outside of water clay.

I had my trailer sculpture in the car and Gary wanted me to set it out for students to view it. It was nice having a discussion with the high school students about my work and my intentions. One student, creator of the fish and shark pieces, is wanting some help to "gore up", as Gary says by airbrushing and possibly finding other materials to create a better effect or power for his piece. I look forward to working with him because I love airbrushing and have yet to have the opportunity to teach it to someone.

Next week we will begin the sculpture lesson. I will record what aspects of the introduction works and what doesn't.

Week Six

This week was great. I substituted for Ponz Monday and then Tuesday morning. The classes went well. I helped the photo students develop some pictures. I hadn't done this since 2005, but it came back to me quickly. The middle school students worked on their photoshop assignment. That was a lot of fun because I love messing around with photoshop and illustrator. The assignment was to cut and paste their heads on an animal or creature, like Godzilla, create a background, and add people to create an interesting composition that shows action or tells a story. Some of their ideas were great. Most of the boys put their heads on monsters destroying a city.

The Chinese were touring the school most of the day. At the end of the day, all of us went into the auditorium for the program in honor of the Chinese visitors. Eight of Ponz's students demonstrated painting "scholar rocks" along the isles while the music and drama continued on stage. It was a fun experience.

Next week I will be doing a quick sculpture lesson with the sixth graders. Gary and I decided to do a figurative wire sculpture that involves proper proportions and action poses. The students will be able to take their line drawing knowledge and apply it to 3D wire. The idea of this project is to decide the best method of introduction and observe the effectiveness of the intro and instruction. I will keep the instruction as basic as possible, thinking of the teachers who may not know much about sculpture and its methods. This lesson should be able to be taught with basic knowledge on human proportions, simple tools (pliers, dykes), and line drawing. This will be interesting to see how the 6th graders work with the material.

Week 5

This week was interesting. The Chinese are coming next week and Ponz is super busy getting ready for them. I will be substitute teaching for him Monday and Tuesday because Ponz is in charge of the relationship between the schools (Chinese one and Oak Hall) and the festivities. Monday there will be tours of the school as well as an assembly with music and on-stage art production. I am looking forward to teaching and helping with this experience.

I spoke with Gary about what type of lesson he would like me to do with the students. He really wants me to do a figure study in clay. This is exactly what I wanted to do. I haven't done a formal sculpture lesson on the figure and this is where my strengths are in the realm of sculpture. I will come up with a framework and outline for the lesson. I am not sure which grade level it will be, so my approach will have to change according to either middle or high school level. Middle school students seem to like project enthusiasm, while high school students would rather be spoken to "as adults" in more of a serious way. My speech and explanations will have to change as well. Make it more simple or the way I would usually talk to an adult (high schoolers). The outcome of the anatomy will probably appear a little more generalized for the middle school students, but focus on proportions, while the highschool students should be able to grasp a more realistic approach. I will see I guess!

Monday/Tues teaching!