One of the challenges that comes with creating classroom auction projects is to find blocks of time in which students can create the art without disrupting the teacher and monthly classroom schedule. An approach that reduces overall impact on the teacher is to design a project comprised of individual units. A "project kit" may be left in the classroom for students to use during their personal downtime or study periods. The project team could schedule a session to present the project to the entire class and then follow up periodically to track how the individual pieces are progressing. One possible item that could be divided into smaller units, is a room divider or screen. For example, students could make small glass mosaics on squares of fiberglass netting to be assembled and installed by parent volunteers outside class time. (Search "indirect mosaic techniques, mosaic netting" etc., for directions). If wet applications (such as mosaics) are applied to wood, make sure that the wood itself can tolerate it. Use marine plywood for the screen panels (IE., for the mosaic base) or waterproof and seal a store bought prefabricated screen so that it doesn't warp and separate. Another simple stylish idea is to use paintable tin punch ceiling tiles, installing them on both sides of a screen. Palettes and themes can be preselected to ensure that all the tiles function as one piece when assembled together in a screen. If a stack of ceiling tiles is left in the classroom, students could either work alone, or in groups to paint them during periods of free time. Giving both the teacher and students open ended work time will more likely produce careful unhurried paintings. This is a link to directions
for building a wood screen, and using tin punch ceiling panels as the decorative element.
http://www.lowescreativeideas.com/idea-library/projects/Tin_Punch_Screen_1106.aspx
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Monday, August 10, 2009
Garden Art and "Green Graffiti"
I live in an area of the country which both has a dank wet climate suitable for growing moss, and an area that encourages learning about the environment through "eco-arts projects". Moss is an excellent medium to include in the design of garden art objects.
In the past, I have made concrete planters using a mixture of peat moss, perlite and cement.
The easiest way to do this eco-friendly art with children is to use discarded containers. I have used everything from old boxes, baking pans, and once, even two old washing machine tubs. If the items don't have drainage, drill or pound holes into the bottom of them. In order to give the goopy mixture texture to adhere to, roughly butter the surfaces with tile mastic, and allow to dry overnight.
Then, blend together equal parts each of peat moss, perlite and cement, adding enough water to make a thick goopy soupy mixture. It is possible that you may need to add a little more cement to the mixture in order to make it stronger. (If you are unsure about how these materials "feel", it would be good to make a practice container alone instead of doing your first one with the help of excited children. ) Wearing protective gloves, pat the mixture directly into the dried mastic, creating the desired form. When the mixture dries (but isn't yet cured) paint or spray the surface with buttermilk and attach clean moss. Corn syrup may be used to make the moss "stickier". Use a spray bottle full of water to "mist" the moss until it gets a good start. If the container is situated in a garden area suitable for moss growth, the children will be able to watch the moss grow spread, covering the entire outer surface of the container while the inside is growing any combination of shade loving plants. In urban gardens, large moss containers could be used to grow grass which could be trimmed so that young children could sit on "lawn chairs" in their garden. ( Included are two links for ways to expand upon this basic art garden idea. One is for a more challenging way to make art garden containers, and another is for making "green paint" out of moss! Although the instructions which follow are for "moss graffiti", I plan to use the green paint as a medium to paint a geometric design on a garden wall.
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