Empty Bowls

It’s been a crazy month with work.  I teach art to Kindergarten through 6th graders and let me tell you, it has been a very busy time lately with 4 grade levels making clay projects.  I am constantly spraying clay, rolling clay, fixing clay pieces, loading and unloading the kiln, final glazing, and sorting into classes.  It’s exhausting!  I am also starting new projects with 3 other grade levels so it’s been hectic to say the least.  BUT it’s been inspiring to see what kids come up with when given minimal instructions and shown what to do but allowed to be creative with their own style.  Emerging style as it is, but that’s how we learn.  Someone teaches us basics and we experiment until we do something that we are satisfied with.  Then teachers try to push students farther.

 

 

We are preparing for our Empty Bowls dinner on March 29th at 5:15pm and 6:15pm at LBE.  If you are in the area stop in for $2 a person you get a handmade bowl as a reminder of all the empty bowls in our community that need filling.  You also get some excellent choices of soup, bread, dessert and a drink.  Cheap dinner and help feed the hungry in our area.

I hosted a school wide family art night here at our school.  It’s the first that I’ve run and I have to say it was a success!  We had a horrible weather night with blowing and lake effect snow.  However, 24 families came.  Our cafeteria was full of smiling, laughing, cooperating and creative families!  I showed them what to do with the tools and they created a family bowl together!  It was amazing!  I had about 5 teacher helpers too that ran around and assisted me.  They were amazing!  Thank you!  Here are some photos of our Family Bowl Making night:

Here I am explaining to everyone what the tools are and how they are used

Some families working on pressing textures into the clay

more texture stamping

working together

FUN!

Composing their textures!

lots of smiles

Draping the bowl

Full space! Lots of fun!

Happy family with their bowl!

Some of my teacher helpers! Thanks ladies!

Finished art cart

glazing bowls the following week

So excited to be finishing the bowl!

One of the dad's finishing the bowl!

The finished bowls are going into the kiln this week!  Can’t wait to see them all done.  They can pick them up on Empty Bowls dinner night in March… lots of work but the rewards are so worth it!