Thank You & Have a Great Summer!

Thank you to all the students, staff & families that helped make this a wonderful year in art! Good luck to all the graduating 5th graders! 

Morgen, 3rd Grade (DeBaie Nickl)

Keep making art this summer and feel free to email me with updates! 
Email: haein.kim@watertown.k12.ma.us

Below is a slideshow of photos of art class through the years for this year's graduating 5th grade class!

Clay Projects

This May and June, students in several grade levels have been working with and making pieces out of clay! 1st grade artists made pinch pot monsters, 3rd grade artists made coil pots, 4th grade artists made coil pots with lids, and 5th grade artists made independent clay projects. Clay comes from the Earth and is made up of different minerals. We learned that clay goes through many stages to become a ceramic object, starting with wet clay, drying out in the air to become bone dry, then getting fired in the kiln the first time to become bisque.

For pinch pot monsters, 1st graders started with a pinch pot. Students pushed their thumbs in the middle of the clay ball and then pinched around in a circle to create a pot or bowl shape. Then, we turned them on their side and added details to create monsters. Some students chose to add tongues, teeth, multiple eyes, and horns. Students made sure to score or scratch up the clay and use slip to add their smaller detailed pieces to their pinch pot, so that everything would stay on. 

3rd graders made round coil pots and 4th graders made triangular shaped coil pots. The coil pot began with a flat bottom and rolling the clay into coils around the sides to form the walls of the pot. Students made sure to score and slip the coils. 4th graders also added slab lids to their triangular coil pots, like pizzas, cake and watermelon.

5th graders were able to choose from all these options and create their own independent project that took the form of a pot, flat slab or slab box. They began by sketching out their idea in their sketchbooks. The slab box involved the most measuring and scoring all the pieces. To make the slab box, students rolled out the clay to create flat pieces or slabs and cut them using a template to form the bottom and sides of the box. They assembled the sides by scoring the base and each side and using slip to attach everything together and smooth all the edges. 

After getting bisque fired in the kiln, students used glaze to add color to their monsters. Students moved to different color stations depending on which colors of glaze they wanted to use and painted three layers of each color. Students had to carry their coil pots to the different stations very carefully! We got our projects back after they had been fired again, to melt the glaze and make it shiny. Below are examples of our various clay projects: 

Edwin, 4th Grade (Cikacz)

Audrey L., 1st Grade (Massa)

Lily L., 4th Grade (Mattson)

Mia Z., 4th Grade (Doherty)

Jaylyn, 5th Grade (Twomey)

Sophie, 5th Grade (Bellis)

Brady, 5th Grade (Domermuth Fantasia)

Breanna, 5th Grade (Twomey)

Graham, 1st Grade (Massa)

Sila, 5th Grade (Bellis)

Anna, 5th Grade (Twomey)

Emily, 5th Grade (Twomey)

Finn, 1st Grade (Mandile)

Arts Around the World: Tiger Paintings and Ink Wash Bamboo Painting from Korea

The fourth country on our Arts Around the World journey this year is South Korea, which is especially fun since Ms. Kim's family is from South Korea! 

We began by learning about the country and looking at artwork that features the tiger. In Korean history and culture, the tiger is a guardian that drives away evil spirits and brings good luck – a symbol of courage and power. It appears in many Korean myths and folk stories, and is a favorite subject of Korean painting and sculpture. The mascot of the 1988 Summer Olympics held in Seoul was a tiger and the recent 2018 Winter Olympics had a white tiger mascot.

We looked at some Korean paintings featuring the tiger and noticed the tiger's striped pattern and the different ways tigers were depicted. We looked at the tiger's face and noticed that they are symmetrical. For our own tiger paintings, students folded their paper in half and drew half of the tiger's face. Then we painted one side, with one color at a time, and folded it and pressed the paper together to get the paint to transfer to the other side.

This was challenging to do, as students had to work quickly to get the paint to transfer before it dried. So once enough paint transferred, students also evened out the paint on both sides of the paper with a paint brush. For our next project, students learned about ink wash painting. Ink wash painting is a type of brush painting that uses black ink, like the kind used in East Asian calligraphy. The goal is not only to paint the subject but to capture its spirit with the fewest possible lines and tones. Mountain landscapes, nature and animals are common subjects. Artists usually grind an ink stick over an ink stone to make black ink.

We looked at examples of ink wash painting and used bamboo handled brushes to paint our bamboo using ink. We learned three different techniques to paint the stalk, branches, and leaves.

Below are examples of our artwork, inspired by South Korea, on display at International Night in May. 

The last project was a fan design. Fans, or "buchae" in Korean, come in many different shapes, including a leaf, oval or a half-moon shape, and are made with different materials such as silk, bamboo, and feathers. Fans were used for special ceremonies, musical events, to exchange greetings, and to show your status. We also watched a video of a Korean fan dance, before designing our own fans using marker.

Plaster Masks

This spring, 5th grade artists created plaster masks, which took us several weeks. The process involved designing their mask, creating the mask form out of plaster strips, painting their mask and writing an artist statement to accompany their mask on display. 

We began by discussing masks, why we wear masks, and learning about masks around the world. Students connected masks to Halloween, as well as masquerade parties and even sports. We talked about how masks can help you hide your identity, or assume a different one. They can also help protect your face, or just be worn for fun. We learned that masks have a long history and have been created, used, and worn by cultures all over the world. They are also made from a variety of different materials. For example, in ancient Egypt, masks were used to dress the faces of the dead. Royal death masks were made of gold and bronze and meant to look like the person. In Japan, samurai masks were designed to instill fear in opponents, as well as protect the wearer. They were often made of iron and leather. In Italy, during the Carnival Festival in Venice, elaborate masks are worn to provide mystery. And in West Africa, masks are used in religious ceremonies to communicate with spirits and ancestors. Many are made with wood, ivory or clay. 

After learning about masks, students sketched out design ideas for their own plaster mask. Many students were inspired by popular culture, super heroes, symbols, and sports. We also cut plaster strips to prepare for mask making. Mask making was done in two sessions, with half the class making their mask one week, and half the class making their mask the following week. The class also came early to art class, so that we would have enough time to complete three layers of plaster. Thank you to the 5th grade teachers for making extra time for this project! 

To make their plaster mask, students began with a plastic mask form that was covered with Vaseline, so that their finished mask would slip off easily when dry. Students dipped pieces of dry plaster in water, then placed them on their plastic mask form and smoothed them with wet fingers to make the plaster come out and cover the holes. 

Students made sure to overlap their strips and could choose whether to leave the eye holes open or closed, as well as the mouth. This depended on their design. Students also made sure to smooth the plaster pieces together to make the top layer the smoothest surface on which to paint. After three layers of plaster, the masks were left to dry. 

After our plaster mask making sessions, students got their dry mask back and were ready to paint! We used acrylic paint (instead of tempera paint, which we usually use) so that they paint would stay on and not flake off the mask later. Students noticed that the acrylic paint dried quickly. 

Students spent two to three classes painting their masks, considering how to paint their design in layers so that they could add details on top. Depending on the design, some students had to paint their mask all one color, or two colors, before adding details on top. Other students began with the white base of the mask and painted details directly on top. On our last mask making class, student added extra details using a variety of different materials. Some students added ears to their animal mask, or feathers to a masquerade inspired mask. 

The following class we worked on artist statements for our masks. An artist statement is a written explanation of an artist's work. You can tell the viewer about the motivation and inspiration behind your design, how you made your work, and any additional information you want the viewer to know. Students typed up their artist statements so they could be accompany their mask on display. Below are some examples of our plaster masks on display!