Art Pound Blog - The Art Pound

Egyptian Sarcophagus Sculptures

4/2/2015

The words Egypt and Sculpture get students excited about the connection between beliefs and art in Ancient Cultures.
Students learned of the Egyptians' preoccupation with the afterlife and the process of mummification. They learned how to pronounce, spell and the meaning of the odd word Sarcophagus. A draft drawing followed by using basic sculpting tools and Crayola Model Magic started the process. They could then use three accent colors to bring out the designs. The clay air drys but you have to make sure it is turned daily or the shrinkage makes it crack!
They could select different patterns of scrapbook paper to glue on their cardboard display board to finish them.

Pysanky Style Eggs

3/24/2015

What is pysanka?
Students learned about an old Ukrainian Sytle of art called Pysanka. The Ukrainians have been decorating these wax resist eggs for generations. The design motifs on pysanky date back to pre-Christian times. The name derives from the Ukrainian verb "pysaty, meaning "to write."
Students worked together on a graphic organizer learning the history behind this old art form and then made four hand drawn images before starting their 3-D eggs made from Plastilina Modeling Paste. Check out the video below to see how the traditional Ukrainian eggs are made. The students had a great respect and understaning of the art form after viewing it.

Year of the Dragon

9/25/2014

A Dragon is a Dragon is a Dragon!

Asian Dragon

The most iconic image in all of fantasy art is the dragon. Powerful, ancient and beautiful it has captivated the minds of artists, and story tellers. This mythological creature that has possessed our imaginations for centuries. Legends were built around these creatures that have been recorded as early as 5000 BC in Mesopotamia. Art of the ancient Greeks, Romans and Asian created dragons as well as today's contemporary movies and games.
Students created three different mediums of dragons; traditional colored pencil drawings, three dimensional using aluminum foil armatures with Model Magic Clay, and one using the iPad app 123d Creature.

clay dragons

123d Creature

Here Comes Peter Cotton Tail

4/8/2014

Model Clay Bunnies

Model Magic Clay Easter Bunnies are always fun and exciting in the art room. Easter Riddles:

How does the Easter Bunny stay in shape?

With Hare Robics

What do you call a rabbit that has fleas?

A Bugs Bunny

What does the Easter Bunny order at a Chinese restaurant?

Hop Suey

How do bunnies communicate on the internet?

Hare Mail

What does a bunny use to keep it's ears perky?

Hare Spray

Together We Can Make a Snowman

1/27/2014

This winter project is one of the middle school students as well as my favorites. They are just so creative and fun. Students started with a colored pencil drawing of a snowman and created a snowman on their free iPad app Make a Snowman. They then created a 3-D snowman sculpture using Styrofoam balls, model magic, with wiggly eyes, pom poms and pipe cleaner arms. Some of the Model Magic is colored and others we just blended two colors together to get the desired color of clay.

Repurpose, Recycle, Reuse, for Art Fun!

5/1/2013

painting cones

Repurpose, Recycle, Reuse. The art room loves to find creative ways to give back to our environment. Students are painting cardboard cones left from our weaving yarn to make a decorative vase to hold their tissue flowers they are making for Mother's Day.

Egyptian Scarabs made with Model Magic Clay.

4/4/2013

7th Grade students created 3-D Egyptian Scarabs using Model Magic Clay and Gemstones.
The most important amulet (charm) in ancient Egypt was the scarab (dung beetle). The different kinds of scarabs ranged from ornamental to winged designs. Some were used as seals that were pressed into clay to make impressions of design. Thousands of these little 3-D pieces of art were found throughout Egypt. They were made from materials such as lapis lazuli, limestone, malachite, turquoise, glass, alabaster and clay. Check out other model magic scarabs on the Egyptian Art Page.

Egyptian Vases

3/1/2013

7th Graders finished their Egyptian inspired vases using cardboard tape ends, balloons, papier-mâché glue, strips of paper, tempera paint, and gems. Check out the 7th Grade Egyptian webpage for more art work.
History: In ancient Egypt coffins and death masks were often made from cartonnage--layers of papyrus or linen covered with plaster.

Snowmen are a bunch of flakes!

2/6/2013

6th Graders finished their last winter project by building a snowman using various materials and Model Magic Clay. They are soooooo cute! Love, Love, Love these! When they were finished they created a snowman on their iPad using the app "Make a Snowman" by Appdicted.