Hello,
I am an K-8 art teacher in northern VT, I teach about 200 kids a week and I LOVE what you are doing! I see so many “art teacher” websites, and most do not impress me much, but your’s certainly did! I can see you go above and beyond and really inspire your students. Wow, great stuff!! Thanks for sharing all these images. I know it is not easy to maintain a website and work teaching art to kids all day. The best to you! Carol Mason
Hello,
regarding your may 13, 2012 post on coil baskets I was wondering if you could tell me the process of doing designs when coiling. Would it work if students coil their coil core so its flat (without yarn, just tape holding it in place) and then draw or mark a design so they can follow that plan when actually using yarn? Im not sure if this would work especially when they build their basket walls. The kids (6th graders) really wanted to have designs but I’m not sure how to successfully go about it,
Thanks for your help.
Thank you, Carol! Your positive feedback inspires me to continue posting updates and projects. You’re right, it takes time (and can be a chore), but so worth it to share and connect with other Art teachers!
Hi Ramez,
Creating a pattern on the coil basket is tricky in the beginning because it requires pre-planning and forethought about colors and coil layers. Before starting with the coils, I give students a template with concentric circles to represent the coils. It’s flat on paper, but I explain how the basket will originate from the center and evolve upward. Mirroring this process, students can color the template (starting from the center) and shade in the colors for each coil layer. When coiling the actual basket, they will need several colors of yarn, wrapping one color on top of the others to create the pattern.
Once students understand the concept and process, they won’t need the template anymore and it becomes rhythmic and repetitive.
I hope that helps!
Hi I teach science and your work by students inspires me! Its incredible.
Andrea Medrano
Kea’au Middle School
I was very impressed with the Tiki sculptures, Please what type /brand of clay did you use and what firing temperature. It seemed very workable and smooth .
Hello,
I am an K-8 art teacher in northern VT, I teach about 200 kids a week and I LOVE what you are doing! I see so many “art teacher” websites, and most do not impress me much, but your’s certainly did! I can see you go above and beyond and really inspire your students. Wow, great stuff!! Thanks for sharing all these images. I know it is not easy to maintain a website and work teaching art to kids all day. The best to you! Carol Mason
Hello,
regarding your may 13, 2012 post on coil baskets I was wondering if you could tell me the process of doing designs when coiling. Would it work if students coil their coil core so its flat (without yarn, just tape holding it in place) and then draw or mark a design so they can follow that plan when actually using yarn? Im not sure if this would work especially when they build their basket walls. The kids (6th graders) really wanted to have designs but I’m not sure how to successfully go about it,
Thanks for your help.
Thank you, Carol! Your positive feedback inspires me to continue posting updates and projects. You’re right, it takes time (and can be a chore), but so worth it to share and connect with other Art teachers!
Hi Ramez,
Creating a pattern on the coil basket is tricky in the beginning because it requires pre-planning and forethought about colors and coil layers. Before starting with the coils, I give students a template with concentric circles to represent the coils. It’s flat on paper, but I explain how the basket will originate from the center and evolve upward. Mirroring this process, students can color the template (starting from the center) and shade in the colors for each coil layer. When coiling the actual basket, they will need several colors of yarn, wrapping one color on top of the others to create the pattern.
Once students understand the concept and process, they won’t need the template anymore and it becomes rhythmic and repetitive.
I hope that helps!
Hi I teach science and your work by students inspires me! Its incredible.
Andrea Medrano
Kea’au Middle School
I was very impressed with the Tiki sculptures, Please what type /brand of clay did you use and what firing temperature. It seemed very workable and smooth .