Stained Glass Designs!

Post Contributed by Jocelyne Adkins, Program Director/Educator

On Thursday, we presented the art of stained glass, using Richard Spilsbury's book titled "Stained Glass Windows". Spilsbury introduces a brief overview concerning the history of stained glass and reveals the steps and techniques to create beautiful colored glass images and designs. We learned that in addition to working with a variety of colored glass pieces to bring an image to life, stained glass artists can also paint features onto pieces of colored glass. To make the paint permanent, it is heated in a kiln. Lead, a soft material that can bend and does not rust, is then used to hold the colored pieces of stained glass together.

Andrew

For the project*, students used colored pencils and transparent paper to bring their own stained glass designs to life. Students, if they chose, could use symmetry in their work. Strips of black paper glued to the edges completed their designs. Hung in a window, these look amazing with the light shining through!

Joseph

*Project credit given to Brooke Hutchinson from Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust: last spring, Brooke introduced this project specifically in relation to FLW's inspiring art glass designs. We have adopted here, within the broader context of stained glass throughout the centuries.

Norah

Ben

Xantal

Dexter

Joseph

Ms. Maryanne, Emory and Xantal

Norah

Ben

Leila

Texture Beye Texture!

Post Contributed by Jocelyne Adkins, Program Director/Educator

On Wednesday following winter break, we prowled the school's hallways looking for textures. There were many to be found and I was impressed by how invested the students were in their quest to find and record them! Stocked with paper and crayons (without their wrappers to rub most efficiently), most students recorded 10 pages of textures each, some with multiple textures per page.

Back in the classroom, students were asked to look closely at their textures/rubbings to see if a character, place or story emerged from them. With clues from their rubbings, students cut out elements and collaged them to create a seascape, the beach, a naturescape, a picnic, a video game, dancing hearts etc. We invite you to take a peek below:

Cassie

Elizabeth

Collaboration between Jessica and Leila

Liam

Heidi

maurice

Emerson

Anika

Jackson

Emory

Andrew

Xavier

Ben with mom, Linda

Ben, part 1

Ben, part 2

Ben, part 3

Nice work students!!!

Happy New Year! Fabric Batiks, Part 1 & Pocket Pets

Post Contributed by Jocelyne Adkins, Program Director/Educator

We are so excited to be back at school, reuniting with our students after a wonderful winter break! This week we planned projects that were experiential and very open ended, allowing students to explore and to decompress as they acclimate back to the routine of school.

On Monday, we completed Part 1 of our Fabric Batiks. In this project, washable glue is used to draw a design on muslin fabric (Part 1). The glue dries and then the fabric is painted with tempera (Part 2, to be completed next week). The glue acts as a resist, so the areas with glue will remain the neutral color of the fabric, after the fabric is washed and the glue is removed. Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera, so do check back next week to see Part 2!

On Tuesday, we made "pocket pets" using Crayola Model Magic and tiny milk cartons from the lunch room. We demonstrated how to create animal forms that have detailed features (for example, to form an eye with 2-3 shapes/colors to capture the eyeball, iris and pupil and how to create a snout adding a nose and nostrils). We also provided a colorful paper template, so students could cover the cartons and make a special home for their pet. A big thank you to Ms. Jenkins for taking the photos below, as I did not have my camera again on Tuesday.

Joel

Dexter