I asked them to create a relief tile to tell a story about our hike in Lynn Canyon the day before.
They could use the sketches they made during the hike or create something that they most vividly remembered from the day.
Then everyone was given a block of clay and they carved out the middle to about a quarter inch from the bottom, creating a clay frame.
I told them the clay they dug out of the slab would be used to create their story.
First they smoothed out the bottom of their slab and drew into the clay with a toothpick to create the background.
Then they began to build up the middle ground, finishing with a foreground.
When dried, I used a spray gesso on the work and had them use Golden high flow acrylic paint I have in studio to add color. These paints by far produced the nicest results ever on this medium. I was just beyond thrilled with how the projects turned out. It was so easy for the kids to get into the nooks and crannies of their work without losing all the wonderful details they had already created in the clay.
Most of the colors you see produced in their work were created by them with primary color only. I did give them a couple of browns I had because the struggle is real my friends when it comes to kids creating brown. I figured they did not need to fight that battle this day since they were already challenged getting their paintbrushes into all the crevices of the work.
And because I knew the kids would love it, I gave each a few drops of iridescent blue to create a water shimmer on their work. For those without water, they used a little "sparkle" wherever they saw fit. That is if they wanted a little sparkle on their tile.
It should come as no surprise that everyone wanted a little sparkle on their tile.
10 year old, "river's edge"
9 year old, "River bed"
(love the fish hiding under the log)
9 year old, "waterfall"
6 year old, "pinecone"
8 year old, "wooden bridge"
8 year old, "waterfall"
8 year old, "river bed"
7 year old, "rocky shore"
6 year old, "mud monster"
I have to stop here because the above tile has quite the story. It was riveting to all the other kids as the artist explained what she was painting. This is a mud monster. My original understanding was that it was in the bottom left corner, just the leg sticking up. She corrected me and told me that was the head. I mentioned about making sure she painted all sides of the log the mud monster was hiding under and she quickly told me how very wrong I was, silly teacher, THAT was the mud monster's brain.
And with that, every head swiveled her way and wanted much more information on what was going on inside that tile. I think the boys might of even been a little green with envy that they had not thought of a mud monster with brains and body parts on display.
It was quite an impressive imagination and I loved hearing the story.
8 year old, "white moth and hydrangeas"
During the afternoon hike, I let the two eight year old boys lead us astray to a part of the trails I had never been on before. While hiking we came across all these hydrangeas blooming in the middle of the woods. I was genuinely surprised to see them and it was quite beautiful with the sun streaming in through the giant trees, especially when one delicate white moth began to flutter among the blooms.
The moment was striking to me and I was pleased to see that it had obviously touched the heart of one of the students too.
11 year old, "Inukshuk"
Why have I never thought of this solution? The artist painted the frame and sides of her tile as a continuum of her relief. Brilliant!!
6 year old, "baby duck"
You will be seeing a lot of baby duck over the next couple of post. The artist did several different art works using baby duck. This tile was truly precious and so I have to show you baby duck up close. However as you can see, the artist wanted baby duck displayed as if swimming away from the viewer. I even double checked to make sure she wanted the bottom where she put her signature and she was quite firm that yes, this was the way the tile was to be presented. So although I want to really show off the adorable baby duck, I also want to be sure I honor the way the artist wants the work presented.
10 year old, " bumpy branch"
Along the trails, this artist collected a small branch with knobby things all over it that no one could identify. It was fascinating however, so fascinating she made a tile out of it. How amazing is that spider on the lower right side hiding under it? Did you find it?
Aren't they amazing? Don't you want to get up from your computer and head out for a hike right now? I know the next time I'm in Lynn Canyon, I'll be remembering all these great works created from our neighborhood trail.
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