March 20, 2013

The Big Reveal!

Wednesday afternoon was our last ceramics class at the Indianapolis Art Center. We sat around the work table with all of the other young people waiting for Mrs. Beam and Gina to pass out the final results of all of our efforts. The flat matte look of the colored gazes of last week came to life as each brightly colored piece was put into waiting hands.  Mrs. Beam asked each student to share their favorite piece.  Cannon held up the textured heart he made for his sister. After everyone shared and compared their pieces it was time to wrap them carefully in newspaper and put them in their boxes for a safe trip home.

Patiently waiting for our projects.

Sharing and Comparing Wall Pockets

Cannon pretends to drink from the yellow bowl
he made with Gina on the wheel.

"Look" Cannon's neighbor says, "we both made small bowls".

Then everyone got in line for a tour of the Art Center and the exhibit of student work hanging in the halls and galleries.  Mrs. Beam gave everyone a certificate of completion and then it was time to say goodbye and carry our boxes out to waiting parents.
 
Everyone was excited to get home so they could share the results of their efforts. Each piece has a story about how it was made, how the clay was pounded and squeezed into shape, the problems faced making it, the pieces that fell off during firing.  Each face beamed with the pride and excitement of creating something that is your very own.

Saturday March 16, 2013
Family Fieldtrip Saturday

 This week we continued our visit to Ghana but before we started we took another look at Mauritania.  We found a new discovery in the Sahara desert in west central Mauritania.  Scientifically it is called the Richat Structure but it is sometimes referred to as the Eye of the Sahara.  It was discovered by astronauts looking at the earth from outer space.  We looked at satellite photos of the phenomenon.   This structure is a deeply eroded, slightly elliptical, 40 km in diameter, dome. 


This is where Mrs. Campbell stayed when she visited the Butterfly Sanctuary



Virtual Tour

 

Then we took a virtual tour of  three points of interest in Ghana.  First we visited the Bobiri Forest and Butterfly Sanctuary.  Then we stopped by artist and friend Nana Anoff’s home and studio to visit his mother’s orchid collection in Accra. www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyiVovFPGpM  

 

Finally we visited the Kadum National Park to went to the Rainforest in the southern part of Ghana and walked the trail above the canopy of trees. It is the scariest thing I ever did.  You can try it at…www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAYnivamaJ4   

 After our virtual tour we made some butterfly designs.  Cannon used his folding bones and stretched his arm out from the top to the bottom of the fold.  Then he opened the paper and we dropped the colors he chose into the valley of the fold. Then he refolded the paper and used the folding bone to squeeze paint from the center fold to the two far corners. 

 

 When we unfolded the paper we found symmetrical butterfly designs.  It was so much fun we did lots of them. Everybody had a favorite one.

 

 We spent the rest of our morning time together playing Math Slam and ready the rest of Super Diaper Baby.  Then it was time to head out for our Family Fieldtrip to the Garfield Park Conservatory and to visit a real rainforest.
 
Giant Birds of Paradize, Chocolate, Chiclet and Papaya Trees, Orchids, Orchids, Orchids and So Much More!

I met Cannon, mom and dad and a napping baby sister Avalon at the entrance and then our real life rainforest adventure began.  At the entrance we stopped to smell the gardenias and looked up at the giant white bird of paradise plants that soar to the ceiling on either side of the entrance. 

 

 

 

 

 

 Just inside we saw the cacaoa (chocolate) tree.  There were lots of yellow orange fruits hanging on the tree and inside – chocolate beans!  Next to the tree we saw our first koi pool and Cannon counted six koi.  Five of them swam to the edge to greet him and one was shy and stayed hidden under a lily pad.  We moved through the conservatory stopping to read about the plants and to test the flowers for fragrance. 

 

 

 Spiders and Snakes and Fish Oh, My!

Dad discovered the glass tanks that contained snakes and one very large, very hairy spider.  

Cannon reached out to touch the “sensitive plant” and to watch its delicate leaves fold up in response.  In some places it is called a “praying plant”.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We found orchids hanging from tree and looked up to see papaya clustered under the umbrella like leaves of the papaya tree.  Dad was the researcher and every time there was a question about a plant or tree he would ask his portable library and he would have the answer. 

 Cannon had fun walking under the waterfall. 

 

 

 

When we got to the large koi pond the koi came to greet Cannon hoping he would have some food for them. He waved hello and then he reached into his pocket and pulled out “pretend” food and threw it into the pond.  The fish kept hoping they would find something each time Cannon pretended to feed them. Finally he waved goodbye to them and we continued

 on our way down the path. 

 

Cannon was getting hungry for lunch and Avalon woke up so it was time to leave the nice warm conservatory and head back out into the cold gray day.  But we left plenty of things to discover on our next visit.

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

Wednesday March 13, 2013
Ceramics at The Indianapolis Art Center

Cannon completes the last step on all seven of his clay projects. Each piece required three layers of glaze. They will be fired again and we will pick up the finished projects next week.

March 10, 2013

Ghana Sub-Saharan West Africa was our destination this week.  First we unpacked the art cart and looked at and put away new supplies, paint, printing ink and water colors, mixing trays and storage bins. We found Ghana on the globe and then on the flat map. Then we unpacked the artifacts from Ghana.  This week we focused on Kente cloth and musical instruments.

 

 

 

We dressed dad like a Ghanaian King in a long “robe” of Kente cloth.  Mom stood next to him as his linguist holding the linguist’s staff. We learned that because the king was so powerful his voice would hurt his subjects so he used his linguist to speak for him.

 

 He would whisper into the linguist's hear and the linguist would tell the people what he said.  

 

 

The linguist was his ambassador or prime minister and traveled to all of the villages to give messages from the king to the people. The people knew the linguist spoke for the king because of the staff he carried. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The symbol on the staff that dad’s Linguist used was a hand holding an egg. Cannon found the symbol on the chart and learned what it meant.

 

“Power is like an egg, When held too tightly it might break, or falls and breaks when held loosely.  A successful ruler must be both firm and sympathetic. “

 

We also looked up the pattern on the cloth dad was wearing. It is called Agyengyensua and means “water purifier”.

“The design is based on the behavior of a small water insect which is usually found swimming zigzagging on the surface of standing muddied water. While it may appear the insect is muddying the water, it would rather be purifying it.  The design expresses the Akan code of conduct that warns against making judgment about others based on superficial knowledge of them. The cloth symbolizes a warning against rash judgment based on misconception.”

 

The Royal Family

 

Kente cloth is traditionally woven by men.  The cloth is narrow about four inches and is made in long strips.  The men sit on the ground at simple looms and use their hands and feet to weave the cloth. The women make the thread, growing and picking the cotton, carding it, spinning the tread and then dying the thread different colors. Hard work.

 

Ghanaians enjoy making music and use a variety of instruments made from wood, gourds, shells and other natural and recycled materials. Cannon played the Ghanaian version of a xylophone made of wood, gourds and twine.  It had a nice tone when he struck the wooden “bars” with the rubber (tire) tipped sticks.

We enjoyed the day, reading stories from Frog and Toad and the adventures of Captain Underpants. We painted papers using the new printing inks and the brayers.  We took time out occasionally to return to music making, something Cannon really enjoyed.

March 6 2013

Ceramics at the Indianapolis Art Center

Getting in line and waiting our turn at the slab roller.

Cannon was eager to get started and was the first one into the studio. We started by “wedging” clay for the day’s projects.  We kneaded and the slammed the clay on the table.  Then we took our clay pancake to the slab roller and turned the big wheel to roll out the clay.  We took the clay and cut out the shapes for the wall pocket project. Then Cannon added texture and pattern to the surface before using the slip to add the pocket.

Cannon takes the wheel.

Then it was Cannon’s turn to work with Gina at the wheel. She centered the clay and then Cannon helped form the cylinder. Independently he shaped the bowl by pushing in the sides.  We watched Gina shape the foot of the bowl and we set it aside to dry.

 

 

 

 

 

Then Cannon and his classmates had time to make their own experiments. Cannon wedged more clay made a pancake and headed for the slab roller again. Back at the table Cannon selected the heart shape and cut it out and added texture from one of the clay stamps. Mom and Avalon stopped in to see Cannon in action at the clay table.

It was a good day.

 

 

Ceramics at the Indianapolis Art Center

March 6 2013

Ceramics at the Indianapolis Art Center

Getting in line and waiting our turn at the slab roller.

Cannon was eager to get started and was the first one into the studio. We started by “wedging” clay for the day’s projects.  We kneaded and the slammed the clay on the table.  Then we took our clay pancake to the slab roller and turned the big wheel to roll out the clay.  We took the clay and cut out the shapes for the wall pocket project. Then Cannon added texture and pattern to the surface before using the slip to add the pocket.

Cannon takes the wheel.

 

Then it was Cannon’s turn to work with Gina at the wheel. She centered the clay and then Cannon helped form the cylinder. Independently he shaped the bowl by pushing in the sides.  We watched Gina shape the foot of the bowl and we set it aside to dry.

 

Then Cannon and his classmates had time to make their own experiments. Cannon wedged more clay made a pancake and headed for the slab roller again. Back at the table Cannon selected the heart shape and cut it out and added texture from one of the clay stamps. Mom and Avalon stopped in to see Cannon in action at the clay table.

It was a good day.

 

 

March 3, 2013

Mauritania was our destination this week. Cannon found the West African country on his globe and then he found it on his new “flat map” of the world.  Most of Mauritania is covered by the Sahara Desert – the largest desert in the world that extends across North Africa, and the Middle East. 

 

We found where other deserts are located around the world; South West Africa, Australia, the United States. Next week we will look up the word “desertification”.   In 2007 Mauritania was the last country in the world to abolish slavery.  However, slavery is still a common practice. The country is very poor and has many problems.

 

We looked at images of the Sahara Desert.  In Arabic, Sahara means, “The Great Desert”. The wind moves the sand and makes different patterns, which change as the wind changes.

Mauritania Desert by Cannon Hoops

 

 We made a desert landscape, using dry pastels, torn paper and tissues.  First we picked out different shades of brown for the sand and colors of blue of the sky. Then we tore strips of white drawing paper.  We filled the edge of the paper with about two inches of pastel color.  Then we laid the strip on another piece of drawing paper and used the tissue to brush the dry color onto the paper.  Cannon continued this process with different colors and with different strips of torn paper until the desert landscape was completed.   

 

 

Exploding Colors I by Cannon Hoops

We went from dry to wet and got out the liquid water colors for some painting time.  Painting is Cannon’s favorite art activity. He filled several papers with colors and brush work that was full of energy. He has developed a variety of brush strokes to fill the “picture plane”.  We switched brushes and tried out a bamboo brush to get a different effect.

 

 

Cannon used the bamboo brush to get the "dry brush" effect. He created interesting textures as he lifted and moved his brush.  

 

Between art activities we read several chapters from Captain Underpants and from Super Diaper Baby.  We pointed out all of the spelling mistakes that George and Harold make in their writing and all the new words to add to his vocabulary.  We played an addition game using dice and a quick “facts” chart.  We played a round of sight word Bingo and constructed some silly sentences.  The we finished our session with the Banana-grams and when Cannon spelled out “ping-pong” it was time to shift to the Wii for a lightning round of the game. Cannon demonstrated his skill winning two games in a row.