THE INSTALLATION OF CHIHULY GLASS PROJECT! SIMPSON ELEMENTARY

The Installation is completely beautiful! The look of Chihuly glass is throughout the school and the knowledge of the art of glass is in the minds of the students. The learning was color, beauty, glassmaking, recycling, and installation and collaboration! Art Teacher, Kelli Combs did an outstanding job of installing the various works by the students of Simpson Elementary. Each group of students had a different focus. 2nd grade was imitating the glass Makia forms using plastic cups and permanant sharpie markers. 3rd grade used recycled water bottles that the entire school had collected in a box near the art room. The students colored the bottles using permanant sharpies and cut them into a spiral design then the bottles were tied together to create the look of a Chihuly Chandelier of glass. 1st grade used crayola markers to color coffee filters that were then placed on solo cups and rubberbanded then sprayed with starch and allowed to dry into the shapes of Chihuly Makia glass and then sprayed with a glossy spray to give a reflective shine.

"A TOUCH OF GLASS" SIMPSON ELEMENTARY ARTS INCLUSION PROJECT SEPTEMBER 22, 27, 28, 2022

Day 1 September 22, 2022

This project titled, "A TOUCH OF GLASS" is inspired by the glass art of Artist, Dale Chihuly. The students learned about how glass is made and how artists infuse colors into glass. They were amazed by the hot kilns that fire the glass into shape as the artist blows and rolls and shapes the pieces. They were inspired by the installations of Cheekwood and museums where Chihuly displays his art. Each class had a different project so that the final installation would have lots of different kinds of art and colors. We focused on warm and cool colors. Visiting artist Kim Soule and Art Teacher, Kelli Combs led the students in the creation of all pieces used for the collaboration.

Day 2 and 3 we were meeting with more students and creating more glass like objects from recycled plastic, plastic cups and coffee filters to create the installation. Students were learning about the power of a group collaboration!

Dale Chihuly inspired installations are coming together! Ms. Combs and I have been using a heat gun to melt the plastic cups and form them into the perfect Mackia bowls in the style of Chihuly glass. The Chandeliers are growing as we add more to them each day. Some are warm and cool colors and some are a mixture. The first grade mackia bowls are drying and forming into the shapes to be added to an installation of all of them together. The colors are so outstanding!!

WARREN CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL ARTS INCLUSION PROJECT "TREES!TREES!TREES!" APRIL 26-29

Warren Central High School was awarded an Arts Inclusion Award titled, "TREES!TREES!TREES!". The award paid for the wonderful supplies needed for this project including, Water Mixable Oil paint sets, acrylic paint, gloves, canvas boards, watercolor paper, and Dorlands Cold Wax. I was the artist and I loved teaching and demonstrating the process as well as showing the students my own work! We looked at the art of Wolf Kahn for inspiration of colors and style. Partnering with Alice Orange, art educator was so much fun! She has a colorful, organized art room full of inspiring art work! Her students were highly motivated and seemed to really enjoy learning and creating. Fun fact! Alice was one of my elementary art students at Natcher elementary!

The first step in the process of creating the Cold Wax painting is to create a sketch for your idea paying attention to the composition. Then decide what colors will work well as your undercolor and that is what you will paint your canvas using the acrylic paint. Acrylic paint has plastic pigment and drys very fast so it is perfect for this. Some students chose more than one color and some students chose a light to dark effect.

I love being in a classroom! Does it show?

Day #2 we put on the gloves and mixed the oil paint colors with the Dorlands cold wax and applied! A little messy but so worth it!

Once the wax is applied then you begin the scraping off to create the landscape with trees.