Cement Sculptures...so much fun!

 

What a great way to end the school year! My co-advisor, Sherri, and I took sixteen members of our Muse Club arts group to K12 Gallery and TEJAS for an all-day cement sculpture workshop with one of our local artists, Ann Ruef. The process is similar to working with plaster gauze, just a little bit messier...which always adds to the fun!

 

When we arrived, Ann had already prepared the base for each sculpture by pouring the cement mixture into yoghurt containers and inserting a few pieces of thick wire. The students then used a variety of thick and thin wires to create the armature for their sculpture. Once the armatures were complete, Ann mixed up cement, paper pulp, and water until it was the consistency of thick syrup. The students saturated strips of cotton fabric with the mixture and wrapped their wire armatures to create the final form.

 



 Not everyone had time to finish embellishing their sculpture with beads, but there were plenty back at school in the art room, along with a can of spray glitter for those who like a little sparkle!

 

 

 

There were so many interesting sculptures and everyone agreed it was a great way to spend a school day in May! 

 



So proud of my young artists!

Our Muse Club Nativity

 

During October and early November, fifteen members of the Incarnation Muse Club met before and after school to create this lovely crèche for the University of Dayton's annual Christmas crèche exhibit. This was the first time that area students were invited to participate and have their work displayed along with the university's extensive collection of multi-cultural Nativity sets. The work has been on display since Thanksgiving weekend and I will finally be bringing it "home" to share with the school community.

 

Ready for the kiln!

We loved our cute little sheep!

The Three Wise Men

The Holy Family

Our Angel and Cherubs







So much work and so many hours...but so worth it! The fifteen students, all in grades 6-8, were an impressive team, doing every bit of the work from building and glazing the figures to designing and painting the backdrop, on their own time before and after school. The reception at the University of Dayton in November was especially sweet when the awards were announced...and this creative team won the Marian Award for their artistic vision and creativity!

 



 

It's Not Halloween Without Pumpkins!

My third graders had a blast creating their clay jack-o'-lanterns the past few weeks! I originally saw the idea in either Arts and Activities or School Arts about seven or eight years ago and have been doing variations on the project ever since. I skip the glazes and instead we use tempera and Mod Podge. Quicker and a lot less expensive!

I love the little Mini-Me in this Jack's hand!

Cute little bows on this Jack...or is it Jackie?

Look closely to see the teeth in Dracu-Jack!

Not to be outdone, my sixth, seventh, and eighth grade Muse Club students came up with some creative interpretations of old Jack at our club's Halloween Breakfast Club Meeting during Halloween week. I put out foam pumpkins from JoAnn Fabrics, pieces of foam, colored permanent markers, yarn, glue, and glitter and let the creative juices flow along with the fruit juice and doughnuts!

 

Yes, those are Elvis-style sideburns!

I love it when a student applies something learned in class...
in this case, Zentangles!

Love this artistic interpretation!

Brings to mind Phantom of the Opera for me!

Of course, the kitty cats are always crowd-pleasers!

Look closely for this Jack's face...it's there!

My second, third, and fourth grade students voted for their favorite pumpkins and of course, prizes were awarded.

 



MUSE Machine...bringing the arts to schools!

Our new year with MUSE Machine got off to a fantastic start with a special workshop in mid-September to welcome our new sixth grade class and introduce them to the MUSE Machine secondary program.

What is this MUSE Machine?

Just one of the most amazing arts organizations anywhere...and it's in Dayton, Ohio!

Our music teacher and I have been secondary level (grades 6-12) club advisors for the past five years. Through this organization, we have met and worked with some of the most creative and talented visual and performing artists you could ever hope to meet. But even more important, our students have been enriched by these artists through in-school performances, artist residencies, and field trips to arts venues.


"So You Think You Can't Dance?" proved to be a high-energy hour with choreographer Lula Elzy (Lula Elzy Dance Theatre of New Orleans) and actor and Wright State University musical theatre director, Joe Deer, two of MUSE Machine's arts partners. They challenged our returning seventh and eighth grade MUSE Club members and the entire sixth grade class to put on their "dancing shoes" and prove that middle school students CAN dance!


Everyone had a great time, including myself, my fellow Muse Machine advisor, Sherri (music teacher), and all four sixth grade teachers.





Later in the month, our full season of Muse Machine in-school performances opened with a performance of "Historical!" by The Human Race Theatre Company, one of Dayton's many awesome performing arts organizations. Scott Stoney, resident artist with Human Race and script writer for "Historical", and four young actors took the students on a journey through critical events in American history using the musical, an all-American art form, as their vehicle.

Songs included "But, Mr. Adams" from 1776, a heart-felt medley from The Civil War that included "Judgment Day" and "Tell My Father", and a humorous rendition of "Thank You, Herbert Hoover" from Annie.  The 40-minute performance ended with a moving rendition of "The Gun Song" from Assassins, a very timely commentary on today's culture and gun violence. After the performance, the actors and Mr. Stoney conducted an informative Q & A session for the students before everyone headed back to prepare for dismissal.

We'll be looking forward to November 5, the date of our next MUSE Machine in-school performance!