Stargazer Studio

Last week I taught a new technique to a few of my 3rd grade classes, to foster more variety among their buttons. I ended up also teaching it to a few 5th graders, and a couple of 4th graders, as well.  Add one of our fabulous EAs (Educational Assistants), and our TAG teacher to the list, too!  It is a modified version of a process called “Polished Stone Technique” (or, PST) that is usually done on glossy card stock using alcohol inks.

In my modified version, students apply patches of analogous colors using permanent markers on shrink plastic. (which is why I was teaching my 3trd graders this technique). Then, 91% isopropyl rubbing alcohol is dabbed on in small amounts with a brush. Tap-tap, up-and-down with the brush, on top of the color patches. Not swish-swish, side-to-side, which leaves brush marks. The rubbing alcohol dissolves the ink and causes it to spead out. The color then becomes more concentrated near the edges of the applied alcohol drops, and very pale in the middle. It is really a cool process, and the results are not fully visible until the piece is shrunk. Then…WOW.

You must see the photos! I must post some. Again, this weekend has whooshed by, and I have still not worked through all of my technical issues. Please be patient! I will get the photos up, I promise!

It is so fun getting to share the Stargazer Studio blog with my students, thanks to my new Promethean ActivBoard! The students are excited both about the ActivBoard and the Stargazer Story Quilt/button project, which they are learnng more about thanks to the blog. I haven’t yet had a chance to show the blog to every class, but at least most of them have seen it now.

Last week was a different kind of week. Our 3rd-5th grade students took their TCAPs (standardized achievement tests) every morning. I proctored a class during the test, and afterwards, taught a highly modified art schedule–30 minute classes, back-to-back, which limited our studio (hands-on activity) options.

Those 30-minutes were perfect, however, for sharing the blog with some of my classes and answering questions about the project. I have discovered that many of my students are not familiar with the concept of blogs. Some 5th graders are, but not many 4th or third grade students. So I get to introduce them to a whole new realm of the internet! Mrs. Deaver’s class noticed that I mentioned them specifically…they liked that.

Last week I also sent home a letter to families about the project and the blog. We are now getting more visitors. I love checking out the ClustrMap in the side bar each day to see how many visitors we had the previous day, and see if there are any new dots indicating visitors from afar! I am also delighted that we are getting more comments. I haven’t had time to respond to all of them yet, but I am so happy that people are visiting and sending in comments, questions, and encouragement.

Up until now, my students have not had a complete picture of the Stargazer Story Quilt project. It will be our focus from now until the end of school, as I teach them more about quilts–traditional quilts and contemporary art quilts.

I am flabbergasted at how quickly the school year is coming to a close. I wish I could slow things down a bit. There is so much more I’d like to do with all my classes!

I have lots more to share with you…come back soon for another update.

 Buttons are bustin’ out all over the artroom!

The students and I have been extremely busy, and now all of my 3^rd-5^th grade classes are enthusiastically making buttons of various shapes, sizes, colors, and materials. They are all over the artroom in various phases…all of my spare tables look like they have sprouted button farms, with rows of cardboard and paper clip contraptions supporting buttons that have been recently painted or varnished. Keeping track of who made each and every button, and keeping them sorted by class has been quite a challenge, let me tell you.

The 5^th graders are working with polymer clay with stunning results; I’m nearly done baking all the batches-no small task! Each batch gets 30 minutes at 275° in one of my 2 small toaster ovens. I don’t know how many batches I have baked, but before this project is over, I want to tally the total number of buttons created! The polymer clay buttons lose some luster after they have been cured; their surface appears dull. We use a water-based, indoor-outdoor varnish that dries to a satin finish to add just the right amount of gleam without the glare of a high-gloss sealer.

The 4^th graders used Sculpt•it! air dry clay to create their buttons (as did the first button class, Mrs. Deaver’s 5^th graders). They look stunning when painted with metallic acrylic paints. The buttons, I mean. (Not the students!) These buttons, too, get a coat of the satin-finish varnish after the paint has dried. We are currently in the midst of the painting and varnishing sessions.

Perhaps the 3^rd graders are the most excited of all about making their buttons, which are created from shrink plastic. Many of them have never seen Shrinky Dinks before, and they watch in wonder and joy as I shrink each button individually with my heat tool. Using the heat tool (a.k.a. an embossing tool, which can be found in the rubber stamp section nearly any craft store) is far more interesting and viewer-friendly than shrinking them in the oven.

In addition to the buttons that have burst into being in the past few weeks, my classroom has another wonderful addition: a Promethean ActivBoard! It was installed the week after Spring Break. I was actually out of town that week, attending the National Art Education Association (NAEA) annual convention, which was held in New Orleans this year. (That should explain why I have those festive Mardi Gras beads hanging off my computer cart!)

 The ActivBoard is an interactive white board that works in conjunction with a digital projector that is hooked up to my computer. I now have the ability to make digital presentations to my students, and as soon as I figure out the Promethean software and have a chance to develop some good lessons with it, I will be teaching with interactive technology! I am thrilled! In fact, today I finally had a chance to share this Stargazer Studio blog with some of my classes!

There is still much to write about, but I can’t write it all in one post. I am also frustrated by several unsuccessful attempts to post photos…I am determined that one day I will figure out how to resize the photos for optimum viewing. And when I do get that figured out, I have dozens of photos to share with you. I hope you’ll “stay tuned” and visit again soon! And maybe leave a comment…no one leaves me comments, and I would just love to get some feedback that I could share with my students!