fourth grade pandora's box

The story of Pandora's Box is a rich source for visual interpretation. The students were asked to create their own Pandora's Box from clay using a slab construction technique. This was a wonderful opportunity for independent study and each student developed their own ideas through sketches and discussion. The results are highly original and creative interpretations of an ancient myth.



















The fourth graders were asked to write artist statements. They could write about their creative process, write an original story or poem, or retell the myth referencing details from their boxes. For the first time this year, we used garageband to make a multimedia artist statement. They loved doing this part and did a great job using the art room macs! For example, here is a play on Pandora Radio from clever Willa:

Untitled from on Vimeo.

Allison did a beautiful job describing the artmaking process:

Untitled from on Vimeo.

And Fran gives us a dramatic retelling of the original myth:

Untitled from on Vimeo.

See all of the fourth grade Pandora's Boxes here!

second grade full moon rattles

May is the Flower Moon

Can you guess how the second grade artists made these ceramic rattles? They used a special technique using two pinch pots to make a round rattle inspired by the full moon. We read some full moon poems from the book, When The Moon Is Full by Mary Azarian. The titles of the poems are from Native American names for each full moon. The second grade artists chose a poem to inspire their own full moon rattle design.


June is the Strawberry Moon

Each rattle has a unique sound depending on the size and number of beads inside. Lisa's second grade class worked with our amazing perfoming arts specialist, Ben Griffiths, to record these unique sounds using garageband (how cool is that?!). Originally, we had just wanted to make a recording of the rattles but our very creative students thought it would be even better to include the poems too!
Listen to all of their beautiful work here.


February is the Snow Moon


October is the Hunter’s Moon


August is the Green Corn Moon


January is the Wolf Moon


July is the Buck Moon


December is the Long Night Moon


March is the Sap Moon


April is the Frog Moon

We finished this project a couple of months ago to coincide with this rare cosmic event. We'll have to wait until the year 2094 to see that happen again but you can always see the next full moon on March 19th!

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!

third grade rocks!

Art in different cultures around the world is a reflection of environment, land, and home. In relation to the third grade “Keepers of the Earth” theme, the students explore how artists make and use art as an expression of their place in the world.

We started with the cold landscape of the Inuit and looked at how material, size, function, and subject matter of Inuit art directly relates to their environment.





An inuksuk is a balanced based stone sculpture traditionally built by the Inuit. These sculptures were used as hunting and navigation aids, coordination points, message centers, and as spiritual markers. The third grade artists expressed their thoughts and ideas by choosing and arranging rocks, stones, and pebbles; these pieces of earth formed by ancient forces long before our time.









We read this beautiful book to help get us started. Everybody Needs a Rock by Byrd Baylor presents 10 wonderful rules for finding just the right rock. I challenged the third grade artists to come up with an 11th rule. This is a great way to get them thinking about aesthetics. Here are some of the rules they created:



Keep your rock in a special spot. -Catherine
Make sure it matches your personality. -Lily
Be gentle with your rock. -Emma
Keep your rock at the right temperature. -Sophie
Find another friend for you rock. -Rohan
Don't let you rock fall into the wrong hands! -Steven
Find round rocks that look like a robin's egg. -Gavin
Look for one that has a white line going all the way around. -Mila
Don't misplace your rock. -Julia
Take your time finding the perfect rock. -Meg
Keep your rock close to you. -Ruby
Find a rock that suits you. -Mason
Respect the personality of your rock. -Allie
Name your rock. -Russell
Enjoy your rock while you have it. -Tre
Put it against your cheek to really feel it. -Maya

sixth grade unlikely pairs

We started off with talking about the concept of juxtaposition and I introduced the work of Fred Wilson. He is a master at curating and arranging objects to make powerful juxtapositions especially dealing with racism. Here is a clip of him working in his studio.



We also take a look at Unlikely Pairs by Bob Raczka to help inspire them to make their own juxtapositions.



I've done this project many times and am always surprised and impressed with the creative combinations- I've never seen the same pair twice! I have hundeds of art postcards I've collected over the years. Their task is to find a combination of images that when put together changes the context and meaning in an interesting and creative way. They each need to find their own pairs but they do a great job of collaborating and the conversations are rich. This is also a great way to work with art history! Here are a few examples of their unlikely pairs: