Week of September 22-26

As some of you may know I have been dealing with the illness and recent death (9/16) of my grandmother, Goldene Hart. She was a mentor and constant support of all my endeavors....personal and professional. I was blessed to have her nurtured my creative and artistic abilities. I was out of the classroom Thursday and Friday as my family honored her life.

Assignments:
Grade 7-All students are working on their ceramic clay frog instrument. Points were recorded for the two pinch pots being connected. Students are working on the front and back legs of the frog. Students should be sure that the hind legs differ from the front feet. The front feet should put the nose of the frog on an upward tilt. Students will begin adding the back spine 3D detail. Students will continue to add dimension and carve detail into the face and body of the frog.

Grade 6-We have spent a few days back tracking on our frogs. Most students are well on their way with their ideas. Many students are painting, gluing, and so forth on their designs. A Mad Lab drawing project was introduced with a handout. Students will work on the Mad Lab drawing project while I work individually with other students. My hope is to work with 5-8 students at a time moving them forward in their individual design. It is a long process when every student is doing something different. Students are learning how important cleaning up after yourself is in an art studio. We will have some frogs out for you to view at Open House. Green frog worksheets will be collected on Friday. Pam Herd, Conservation Education Director, stopped by the classroom to see our progress. Frog information cards will be given to the students on Thursday.

Announcements:
I have written three grant proposals for the Foundation for Springfield Public Schools.
Grant 1-Beyond the Wardrobe: Creating Imaginary Worlds....visual & written
This grant ties 2 first semester art projects to Springfield Little Theatre's production of Narnia...three dimensional architectual wardrobes (7th grade) and formal & radial wire constructed snowflakes (6th grade). The art work would be displayed during the run of the show. The grant would allow us to attend the show during the school day.
Grant 2-Bringing Honor through Chinese Designs
This grant ties 4 second semester art projects to Springfield Little Theatre's production of Mulan...constructing a 3D chinese dragon, origami, scrolls with Chinese brushwork, and printmaking. The artwork would be displayed during the run of the show and allow us to attend the show during the school day.
***Hickory Hills was awarded a similar grant last year and it was the highlight of 1st semester!
Grant 3-smART Classroom Resource Center
This grant would provide a foundation for setting up an art resource center in the classroom. Books, 3D models, activity kits, music, and enrichment lesson projects would be purchased. Wish us luck on getting these much needed funds for the classroom.

Mr. Mostyn will be having Art Club on Thursday mornings in his classroom for any interested students. He plans to do Hickory Hills community projects such as props for special programs.

Review of the week of September 15-19:

Grade 7-students received a handout on the ceramic clay pinch pot process, as well as sample images of the frog musical instrument project. Students organized and labeled clay storage boxes. The organization of the clay tools, the ceramic clay station, and clean up processes were observed. Students began forming two pinch pots which have been connected with a coil. Demonstrations were shown of slightly indenting the mouth area, forming and connecting front & back legs. Sample mini Chicago cows were observed.

Grade 6-students received a list of ideas for their Frog on Parade project. Mini sample Chicago cows were observed. Students brainstormed on ideas by reviewing books and a project handout. Students were to complete the green project handout by answering questions, filling in the blank, and completing drawings of various views of their planned frog. This handout will be collected for points next week. Students were to cut out their lilly pad out of cardboard.