Koi Fish Sculptures: Watch the Video Tutorial!

So it's a year of firsts, and I've tried my hand at making a video tutorial. Can I just say it is sooo much more difficult than it looks, but I hope to find it easier to accomplish as I continue. I also jumped into learning iMovie to edit things and make them fancy. I came up with this lesson for using Model Magic to create Koi Fish Sculptures last summer during my stint as a summer workshop teacher for my school district. 

The summer workshops for me are a great place to develop a lesson, to see which age groups it works best for, figure out what tools work best or what materials will be needed, how long the lesson may take etc. Not to mention, will the kids enjoy it? Will they all attain a level of satisfaction and success? Can early finishers assist those who need help, or who may have missed a class? These things are more important to me than the writing of the lesson plan. I know it's important, but it's a heck of a lot easier to explain in theory, when you have also accomplished the putting it into practice.  

This was also a lesson which helped me round out a ceramics and 3D workshop. The classes ran for 5 weeks, and towards the end, you just can't begin a ceramics project with no time left for drying, cycles in the kiln etc. Model Magic was a great option for the kids, and I am proud to say this lesson is all mine. I love this blogging community, and I love being inspired by all of your hard work! I am thankful to have the technology to research your successes and failures, and so happy to share this one with you.
 
I hope you get a chance to take a look. Enjoy!

EXTRA TIPS AND TRICKS: 

I’m not fond of using Model Magic in the hotter months, unless the art room is air conditioned. When it is hot, the material becomes soft too quickly.

A clean table top work surface is best, and reminders to students to pick up their projects now and then while working will prevent their projects from sticking. 

If you're creating this project in the classroom, I would plan for one class to introduce the lesson, a class to form the body (closing up projects in ziploc bags will keep them fresh for next time), and one to add colors and final details.

For drying time, I place projects on a layer of plastic wrap, let dry for a day or so, and then turn upside down or on it’s side for the last area to also dry out. A hard, stale marshmallow is kind of what you are looking for when it is completely dry.

If a piece was not properly attached, and falls off, I just hit it with a little bit of craft glue and it repairs nicely.

I attempted to give a finished piece a layer of Mod Podge to glaze it, and it was successful for me. Unfortunately, the little bit of extra time the kids took to paint a layer of Mod Podge over their projects caused the Model Magic to release it's color and bleed into the Mod Podge. Now Crayola does sell a glaze specifically for this purpose, but not in amounts for the classroom, so I haven't given it a try.

This subject matter lends itself to cross-curricular learning! Think anatomy, life cycle, or environment of fish, Asian art and culture, and so on. Not to mention, I used these sculptures for a collaborative lesson and display, which I will share soon! Make sure to check in and see it. Cheers!

Watercolor Landscapes

Students and I looked at landscapes painted by Grant Wood, and used his works to discuss foreground, middle ground and background. We then planned our own landscapes to include plants, water, rolling hills and sky. We marked the side of our paper at the halfway point, and then again one quarter of the way and three quarters of the way to act as a loose guide for spacing of each of the elements across the page. Images were planned out in pencil, and then gone over in black permanent marker. We painted with a large set of liquid watercolors for a greater range and intensity of colors. Aren't they breathtaking?

This lesson was adopted from the Apex Elementary Art Blog.

The students' works were completely inspiring! Thank you Mrs. Haake and class.

Woven Space Invaders

Upper elementary and middle school students recently discussed the art of weaving and its parallels to computer technology and video game design. We talked bout how comparing the look of classic arcade video games to today's games demonstrates the advancement in technology for many aspects of our lives. 

This is a great lesson for weaving, art and technology history, careers in art, or you could also touch upon Invader, the international graffiti artist. I found the idea for this lesson at Minieco Tutorials, where there are lots of modern paper design projects as well as lots of other cool stuff.

I had examples of Space Invaders for my students to chose as reference, and they created a weaving using their own color choices. Then I asked them to design their own creation. For these original designs, we worked on graph paper and paid attention to symmetry and color. Students also had to figure out ways to make more than one color appear on a single row, and how to come up with an effective design with limited amount of space and color choices.