first grade leaf sculptures

We had our first taste of Spring weather this weekend in Saint Louis after many snowy and icy days! This reminded me of a project we did in first grade soon after this printmaking project.



The first graders used real leaves and large rubber leaf stamps to press the leaf texture on the clay. They carefully cut them out and assembled them using the score and slip method onto a base. The sculptures were fired in the kiln and painted using metallic watercolors. I am so impressed with these young artists! Their work is a beautiful reminder that our cold winter trees will soon have leaves again.





I love the little armadillo!

first grade autumn leaves

"Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower."
-Albert Camus






The first grade artists have been using beautiful fall leaves from our school garden to make art! Each leaf was inked with white paint using a brayer and then printed on black paper. Students made multiple prints on a page to create an interesting composition making sure to include a ghost print (a second print made without inking the same leaf again). Once the paint dried, bright colors were layered with colored pencil to create a vivid autumnal display.