Third Grade Coil Pots

   In Third Grade we are finishing up our pottery project, focusing on coils.  We talked about the artwork of the Pueblo Native Americans and also discussed the different functions pottery takes within their daily lives.  We looked at the geometric designs painted on the surfaces of the vessels and also we watched a video showing potter Maria Martinez at work in her house, the students really enjoyed watching Maria working and learning more about her style.  Here is the video link that I show students during class, it is a two part documentary on Maria.

  After the video, we discussed how we will be creating our coil pots.  There are many important steps to take in order for the pots to be successful.  We  discussed the process of scratching and slipping our clay together, this is where you take two pieces of clay and scratch them like Velcro and add water to help it stick together.

  After they were fired in the kiln, the students learned about the glazing process and the steps needed to glaze their pottery.  Students picked out one color for their pots and applied it in three layers. 

 Here are our wonderful results!

Elementary School Banner

  This year at Rousseau Elementary we created our annual Elementary banner.  Our wonderful Fourth Grade students volunteered some of their class time to work on painting our design.  Each time we have done the banner, I have tried to tie it in to a project the students have learned about previously in the year.  We selected our Mola project to use as our banner's design.

  It took all three Fourth Grade classes about a week to finish the painting.  They enjoyed being able to see the project start from the drawing and go to the final painted product.  It really did turn out beautifully, lots of bright and bold colors standing out against the black background.

Fifth Grade Chihuly Bowls

    In Fifth Grade, we looked at the works by artist Dale Chihuly.  We discussed how his work looks abstracted and has form.  We watched a video that documented works that Chihuly has in Seattle, Washington in a botanical garden.  We also watched a video where some glass artists showed the glass blowing process.  The students loved looking at all of his intricate pieces and the colors, they also enjoyed seeing how glass can be created in different shapes and sizes.

  We took our learning and created our own Chihuly inspired bowl.  First, we took a ball of newspaper about the size of a softball and taped it so the form was held.  Then, we rolled clay into a slab and draped the clay over the newspaper ball.  Our hands were used as tools to shape the edges of the clay.  We let the clay dry over the newspaper and then they were fired.  The students were then able to glaze them however they wanted, patterns, one color, etc...

Here are some of the end results, they were all so beautiful!