paint & pirates

Back to basics in y3 with a bit of colour theory. 

 

Whilst in y1 the children drew pirates.

 

Not bad for a 6 year old!

I know some adults who would struggle to draw recognisable pirates.

on the bench

Currently on my worktable are several part completed wooden automaton figures. Some made from pegs, some from bobbins and some from wooden blocks - am experimenting with the most efficient process at the moment. 

 

weaving

Continuing with our 'going green/enhancing the environment' theme in y5, we used prunings to make small looms. We tied them together with colourful threads before adding woollen warp threads. We started to weave using wool but, as they progress, we'll add other bits and pieces.

 

 

going round in circles

Tenuously, as part of their Ancient greek studies and with a nod to Pythagoras and Euclid, y3 created some designs and patterns using the 'old' compass-drawn method. 

 

 

 

They actually enjoyed the preciseness of the task and 'magical' way in which the patterns emerged. None of them had ever used pairs of compasses before!

Meanwhile y1 have been making bugs from lollipop sticks and card;

doodles

Some 'bot doodles from today. They were originally done on scraps of paper which I then stuck into my sketchbook. The first one is in honour of the Mexican keeper who apparently played a blinder in the game against Brazil.

 

In this one I played around with the same pose to create two different pics.

automaton

The latest automaton to grace my work table. This time using a wooden block for the base and a simple turntable mechanism. Again, the figure is poseable and twirls as the handle is turned.

 

The small red beads you can see in this pic support the turntable.

 

Quite pleased with the simplicity of this one. It also breaks down into two parts so is relatively easy to package should I decide to sell them through my shops. What do folk think?

enhancements

Y3 enhanced and embellished their 'Gorgon' pieces the other day. Sequins, crayons and felt tips were all employed.

 

Y6 continued with their printing mini-unit. They used sticks/'found' materials to add to their hand/finger prints from last week.

Next up - potato printing!

card

This years Father's Day card with Y1's. A jacket opens to reveal a shirt and tie which then opens to reveal the message. Simple but effective.

 

 

finished

Yesterday I completed the ballerina automaton and it works! The figure is still poseable and she twirls when you turn the handle. The box lid slides in and out. Quite proud of this little piece though you do have to hum or whistle a little tune as you turn the handle in order to get the full 'musical box' experience.

 

I've left the box plain as this was a prototype but obviously it could be painted, decoupaged, stained etc. Am now on the lookout for more boxes to adapt.

recently

In y3 we created some Gorgon pictures. We used sharpies for the heads/faces and then blew watered-down paint to represent the writhing and wriggling mass of snakes atop.

 

In y5 we continued along our Green/enhancing the environment theme by painting some small stones.

Meanwhile I've been adapting an old 'farm animal' domino box by installing a simple automaton mechanism. The right-hand side will feature the poseable peg ballerina from a recent post whilst the left will still be a useable space. I'm hoping that the ballerina will rotate!

BIG 2

It wasn't as messy as it could have been! The children were very sensible and managed to cover large areas of the dinosaurs rather than themselves!

 

 A little wooden peg doll I whittled recently. The joints are tied with elastic making it poseable.

BIG

The calm before the flurry of crepe paper and glue, as we papier mache our huge dinosaurs this afternoon. The T-Rex stands around 5' tall and towers over the littley's!

 

French-made kits and quite expensive so hoping we don't spoil them in our efforts to make them look 'realistic'.

back to work

Half term is over - back to school for the final push before the summer break! The final bit of art we did before the hols was to complete our recycled pieces in Y5. Card, buttons, wire and straws were all pressed into service to create our wonderful floral decorations. They have been placed around the school in an effort to brighten some dark and dingy corners.