Buttons are bustin’ out all over the artroom!
The students and I have been extremely busy, and now all of my 3rd-5th 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 5th 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 4th graders used Sculpt•it! air dry clay to create their buttons (as did the first button class, Mrs. Deaver’s 5th 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 3rd 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!
Tags: Post from Mrs. Broady
February 26th, 2008 · 3 Comments
January slipped by quickly and quietly, but how in the world did it get to be the end of February already?!
Since my last post, there have been numerous phone calls and emails exchanged, but this past Sunday (February 24) was my first visit back to Mrs. Richter’s studio since my January visit. Mrs. Richters has been busy! The sky background is already constructed, and the sunset and hills will probably be done by the end of the week. The quilt that I have been envisioning for months is truly taking shape as a real object.
What we had anticipated as a quick consult turned into 2 1/2 hours of experimenting, seeking solutions to design dilemmas, and exploring new ideas that just kept popping up.
Mrs. Richters had prepared a number of pinwheel blocks to test color combinations. Some worked; others didn’t “read” correctly as pinwheels when we looked at them, so we pinpointed why. Now she can finish preparing pinwheel block kits to distribute to local quilters. I’m excited about having members of our community contribute their skills to our project. We also made some adjustments to our layout plan for the for the pinwheel border. Mrs. Richters had enlarged our constellation concept to the ideal size, and we tweaked the lines of that and discussed how to best enhance the design through quilting stitches.
I have been stocking up on button-making supplies, and researching options. Some of the buttons will be made out of shrink plastic (FUN!) while others will be clay. I am determined to work with polymer clay for the first time, so I found an internet community that focuses on polymer clay. Having joined the group, I have found the members to be a wealth of inspiration and encouragement. Based on their tips, I stocked up on Prēmo, a popular brand of polymer clay that happened to be on a great sale last week for President’s Day. Thanks to A.C. Moore for not just price-matching but beating the sale price of another store.
Meanwhile, at A. L. Lotts, I have nearly completed administering the Quilt Questionnaire that I designed to measure students’ current knowledge of quilts (basic information). Only one of my 24 classes has yet to complete the questionnaire.
Most exciting–today I taught my first button-making class!!! Mrs. Deaver’s 5th grade class made button sets out of an air-dry clay product called “Sculpt•it!” by Sargent Art. I ordered it last fall. It is a product that is new to me, but I find it very pleasant to work with–much cleaner than traditional ceramic clay that must be fired. It is strong, yet lightweight. It smells a lot better than some of the products on the market. The only drawback I see to using this product is that its surface seems to reactivate when wet. It gets all slimy. Eeew. But we do not plan to display the quilt in the rain, and we will paint these buttons with acrylic paint, which will help to seal them.
The Sculpt•it! I ordered last fall came in small packets, perfect for distributing to students. Locally, Sculpt•it! can be found at P&S in a 2-lb. tub, an also in a set of basic colors (I haven’t tried those yet). I think you can also find it at A.C. Moore and possibly at Hobby Lobby. (Anyone interested, don’t forget to check the Sunday paper for coupons!) I don’t recall seeing it a JoAnn Etc. or Michael’s.
The students seemed to really enjoy it. At first I had planned for them to make sets of matching buttons…but then they would not be able to explore different shapes and textures, and what fun would that be?! I brought in dozens of rubber stamps from my personal collection that they used to create relief designs…they also had access to the texture plates that we use for crayon rubbings. Only a few students made use of those, but they seemed to work well. Also, I showed the students how the eye of an oversized plastic needle (for yarn weaving) could be used to press designs into the clay–both on top and on the sides. I’m quite glad I had those tools handy (they are brand new–just got them out of the package today), since we also used them to improve the button holes. The button holes were made first with a corn holder, which ensured adequate spacing between the holes. But the tiny holes made by the corn holder had to be enlarged, or the buttons might not be usable.
It was an exciting day…but I have more work to do. Like posting some photos! Off to get my digital camera…..
Tags: Post from Mrs. Broady
