Spartan Spikes in Art 2

Hey, my name is Amanda Shahan, I'm in the 10th grade, and I'm in Mr. Davis's Art 2 class. I named my piece "Spartan Spikes." We were given the assignment of making face jugs and my mind began to think creatively. I love medieval and dark clay pieces so i wanted to relate my face jug to that. I want to thank Mr. Markievich for helping me throughout the assignment. Without him this wouldn't have been possible. I first made two pinch pots that were close to being the same size, and then placed them together to make the head. I wanted to find a way to make a Spartan helmet hanging down off his face. So I then made a neck by making a coil pot, and then smoothed the pot into a triangular form. To make the helmet possible, I made many slabs of clay that I combined to make a helmet. A lot of slip was involved to keep the heavy slabs on. You can't really notice the spikes in his mouth due to the picture being so dark, but I cut small pieces of paperclips with a wire cutter and pierced them through the clay inside of his mouth. I myself thought that the eyes were a challenge because I wanted them to bulge out to make him more medieval scary. I first took a clay tool that looked like a tiny hook and scraped away the clay to make the eyes sink in, but then I placed the excess clay to make the eyes bulge out and give it the look of a medieval scary face jug.  The one thing that you might want to watch out for while doing this process is to be mindful of how much you take away because of cave-ins. To make the eyes bulge I took a slab the size of my pinky finger and made that the white part of the eye. I then took another tiny slab half the size of the first one and made that the iris. To make the pupil I simply took a detail paintbrush and spun it smoothly on the tiny slab. You could also use a tool to get the same effect. When it comes to the magnificent color of my clay project, I used a glaze called "Black Ice".  This glaze is a lot thicker and usually only needs one coat. Compared to last years clay pots in Art 1, I think I've improved astronomically. So far I can honestly say that this is my best piece of art this year, due to the fact I spent an extreme amount of time on it.

OH NOES!!1 I CAN HAS SCARY FACE JUG!

I'm Maddie Fuller and I'm in the 11th grade. I took Ceramics last year, and am taking Art 1 this year. I really enjoy ceramics, but I also love sketching and painting. I'm going to take Art 2 next year.
For this assignment, I took a huge chunk of clay and made two pinch pots of the same size. Then I attached the pinch pots to make a hollow globe. I wanted my face jug to have a tongue spout, rather than a regular spout. I tried to incorporate the spout into the face of the jug, so I decided a tongue would be the best way to do that. I kind of accidentally slammed it on the table, and it made the bottom slant. I noticed that this made it look like a slug, so I decided to make the top of the jug into the face. Mr. Davis suggested that I add horns, and I liked the way they turned out. The teeth are made of broken white ceramic tiles.
For the glazes, I decided to make it look as realistic as possible. I used natural colors for the skin and tongue, and painted in the eyes so it looks like it's staring at you. This assignment was a really good way to start with clay in Art 1 - it teaches you all of the basic techniques, and they're really easy. I think this is one of my best pieces.

Face Jugs in Art 1

Hey, my name is Aden Johnson. I'm in the tenth grade and am taking Art for the first time. I don't especially like to paint and draw, but I really like working with clay - anything hands-on. I go to Donaldson Center in the afternoons to take welding classes, and I'm going to be a certified welder and go into the Army after I graduate.
For this project, I made two pinch pots, then I slipped and scored them together. After I attached them, I cut a hole in the top and made a spout out of clay coils. For the face, I stuck two teeth made out of clay tile pieces, and made a moustache and eyebrows. I added three legs and handles for ears, then cut a nose hole and a mouth hole so the piece wouldn't explode. The legs came off in the first firing, but Mrs. Cauble showed me how to slip and score them back on with kiln cement. After it was fired, I picked green for the glaze - it's my favorite color. I liked this assignment - it kept me busy and I never got bored. I want to take Ceramics next year so I can do this stuff all semester.

Musical Abstract Findings

Aloha, my name is Chad Wise and I am currently in International Baccalaureate Art. The picture you see on the left is my latest studio. You may be thinking, "What is that?!" Well, to answer your question, it is an abstract drawing with different shapes and shading. I used a pen on the entire work. The 'pattern' that you see is a bunch of shapes that look like blades of grass overlapping each other. The three black zig-zag type shapes that you see are just random lines I drew and then connected. I shaded them in twice; the pen strokes went in different directions to make it darker. Another shape that is pretty interesting is in the top left-hand corner. Instead of connecting straight lines like the black shapes, I connected rounded lines. I then filled it in with dots, which gives it a contrasting look from the rest of the work. I believe this studio took me about two weeks to finish. None of it was really planned, it happened randomly. Of course, I knew the type of shapes I was going to use, but the placement was random. I worked on this while listening to music, and I can tell what type of music I was listening to when I worked on certain parts of it. Near the bottom-left, the blade with the black blade on the inside of it was the first one I drew. I used the darkened blade to remind me how I started. I do not know what to call this yet - Untitled #3 seems too ordinary, and yet is also fitting at the same time. I had a lot of fun on this studio; I felt that I was actually doing something that worked for the class. My previous studios are not as representative of me as they should be, this one is. -Chad Wise

Time Explosion in IB Art

Hi, my name is Masha Harley. I'm in Mrs. Cauble's IB Art class. I started this painting when I was sitting at home being bored, but I never got to finish it. So I brought it into class, and Mrs. Cauble and I came up with few ideas. She suggested that I smear embossing powder on the painting and heat it with a heat gun. I thought it was a good idea - I tried it and it looks good. This painting doesn't really represent anything in particular, but time is definitely important to everybody and most people need more time. The powder expresses like an explosion of time, where everybody gets more time. The numbers in the background represent more images of time, and just give the painting more interest.

Welcome Mr. Markievich!

Hello parents, caregivers, students, educators, administrators, and employees of Woodmont High School.  I would like to introduce myself, as I have been granted the opportunity to complete my internship in this excellent school.  My name is Eric Markievich, and I am currently attending a graduate program at Lander University for the Master of Arts in Teaching degree, and initial teaching certification.  I received a BA Art from Penn State University, and am grateful to be furthering my education here in South Carolina. During my free time (which I have very little of these days!), I am involved in studio arts such as painting, drawing, and sculpture.  I am also a musician and creative writer, and enjoy spending time in the great outdoors. I certainly look forward to this experience, and thank y'all for having me.

Welcome Mr. Moore!

Hi, my name is Chris Moore and I am student teaching here at Woodmont High School for the spring semester with Mrs. Cauble. I am a Master's in Art Teaching Student who is also an active artist in South Carolina. I am currently a acrylic and encaustic painter whose work seeks to visually record the layers of information we experience daily. I feel that art education is a opportunity for students and individuals to create new appreciations for the craft and skill it takes to create the world we live in. I would like to extend my thanks to Woodmont's faculty and students for the opportunity to observe such exemplary educational standards and practices.

Love That Wraps Like a Vine

This is the mother of my mother, as known to everyone as my Grandmother. this painting only took me one week to complete, but I only worked on it for two actual school days. This was the first painting that I did that contained a person that wore obstructions on their face, so this was the hardest part to do for me. The background stands out the most because of the influence of the background-foreground illusion from the artist Kehinde Wiley, who paints portraits that are huge - about the size of a wall. The background was done with sponge and a point 3 brush.  The face was mostly done with a sea sponge also, but the highlights and deep-cut shadows were done with a medium 3 point brush. The shirt was the second hardest thing for me to complete because I was extremely hesitant about adding purple and blue to make shadows and folds in the cloth.  The light shadows on the shirt were down with yellows and white, then the highlights were just a lighter shade of that mixed yellow and white, or just white. I used the same concept on the earrings. This is my second painting of anyone other than me.

More Shoes in Ceramics

Hey, my name is Camille Wilkins. I'm a sophomore and am in Mrs. Cauble's 1st period Ceramics class. Our assignment was to create a shoe out of clay. I started looking up pictures of shoes on the internet and I decided to make a replica of a Classic Adidas shoe. I am very satisfied with the way it came out because I was afraid that all the details I added wouldn't show. It took me about a week and a half to make this because I wanted to make sure I that didn't miss any details. I think the hardest part of making this shoe was painting it because there were so many small creases and that made it difficult to stay inside of the lines. We have had many great assignments to work on in Ceramics class, but I think that this was one of my favorites.

Making Shoes in Ceramics

Hi, my name is Masha Harley and I'm in Mrs. Caubles Ceramics class,  first block. She gave us an assignment to make a shoe out of clay. As I was thinking about what shoe I was going to make, I realized this assignment was much more difficult then the others we had. I eventually did a flat shoe. To make it more interesting and out of the box, I took a red ribbon and threaded it through the holes I made. The ribbon definitely made it more interesting!

A Starry Night . . . Before Christmas

We won second place! 

Using the Inkle Loom in Art 2

Hello! My name is Tiana Caple. I'm in the 11th grade, and I'm in Mr. Davis's Art 2 class. We just finished a new project using the Inkle Loom. First we learned to wrap the thread we wanted to use as the warp around the machine. The warp is another word for the color of the strings you've chosen. After that that you weave the string together which is called the weft. That's definitely the easiest part. The hardest part is the warping, because you have to be very careful to do it exactly right. The picture at the bottom is the piece that i made. I think it turned out really good. It didn't take me long to do it. I used pink, purple, and blue. The weft is white. I think this is easier than painting, and much more fun. It's fun, and not that complicated.

Art 1 Visual Journals

Aloha, my name is Raquel M. Galios. I'm from Mr. Ragland's Art 1 class, 4th block. It's my first year of art and second year here at Woodmont. I'm from Hawaii, so naturally my work is going to be different. I love working with bold colors and dark outlines, so my work sticks out. Mr. Ragland has supported me in everything I've created, and made me feel like I can do anything. He is an amazing teacher, and major inspiration to my work. If not for this class, I don't think I would have explored this part of my life. I am also in his Drama 1, so most of my drawings were inspired from both classes. Soon I will have work reflecting designs on a Drama 1 project of Alice in Wonderland, both for the set and the costumes.

More Expressive Colors and Brushstrokes in Art 2

Hi, my name is Natalie Piacenza. I am from Mr. Maddux's class. This year I have Mr. Davis's Art 2 class and it is the best! My painting is about my first day at Hillcrest High School. I was very nervous and it was raining hard and lightning. To show how nervous I was, I used grays and blues and diagonal lines. I used bright red and yellow to make the school and my bus stand out. I ended up liking it at Hillcrest High, but then I came to Woodmont High in the 11th grade. I like Art class because it is fun. This painting is the best thing I've ever done. I hope people like it. 

Winter Scenes in Art 1: The Sequel

Hey, I'm Emily Jones. I'm in the 9th grade. I am in Mrs. Cauble's Art 1 class. Ever since I was little, I loved watching my uncle Nat Jones draw. I soon became interested in drawing. In this assignment, we had to choose a picture to paint and make three changes to it. I chose a bird in a pile of snow. I changed it from a pile of snow to a rock and made it a night scene instead of day. I love the way this turned out, because as I sketched it it looked awful. As I began to paint, it started to look better. ^.^

Mask Making in Ceramics

My name is Rebecca Sowers, and I'm in the 10th grade. I have Mrs. Cauble for Ceramics and she gave us the assignment for making masks. My first thought was '"Oh wow, Mrs. Cauble!" But it turns out that I had a lot of fun making mine. When I was finished, we all agreed that it looks like Mr. Smith (that's why I had him take the picture with it). Even though my clay had chunks of plaster and glaze in it, it turned out really cool. The nose blew off and there are little holes from where the plaster blew up inside the clay. I just think it makes it look that much more interesting :)

Even More Winter Scenes in Art 1

My name is Katie Wilton and I'm in Mr. Davis' Art 1 class. Our assignment was to take a winter photo that he printed out and make a painting with at least three substantial changes. I had a picture of two cows in a field of snow and I added elf ears to my cows (Bob and Joe) and Bob has antlers. Joe has a santa hat. I also changed the trees and added snow in the background. In the original picture, Bob was solid black with only a patch of white on his forehead and made him white with black spots. I think it turned out pretty good but the snow flakes should be neater.

Atmospheric Perspective in Art 1

Hi - my name is Billy Cue. I am in Mr. Davis`s 1st period Art 1 class. Our assignment for this project was to use basically a color scale that we did about a week before we started this. We marked each set of buildings, mountains, or sky a different color. There were 5 sets, with the 1st being the lightest, 2nd being a little bit darker, 3rd being the pure color, 4th being the color + a little bit of black, and 5th being black plus a little bit of color. This took me 3 or 4 days to do. I wanted to make this my best piece of art so far and I'm happy that I succeded in doing so.

More Winter Scenes in Art 1

Hello, my name is Blanca Labrada!!! I am in Mrs. Cauble's 3rd Block Art 1 class. For this assignment, we had to choose a winter picture and draw or paint it. I painted the picture and just added a little of color pencil. And we also had to change 3 substantial things about the photo. I changed the fence, the bushes, and added the trees and the houses in the background. I also added some rocks on the road. I really enjoyed doing this assignment!

Winter Scenes in Art 1

Hello, my name is Anna Dieringer. I am a freshman at Woodmont High. I am in Mrs. Cauble's Art 1 class. Ever since I can remember I have loved to draw. I started taking private art classes in Michigan, where I used to live, when I was twelve years old. When I moved here in August of 2008, I decided that I could start drawing on my own. The assignment was to choose a picture and change three things about it in the background. I picked the picture of a squirrel and I changed the acorn that the squirrel was eating into a Christmas light. Then, I drew lights "growing" on the branches. Because I wanted the lights to stand out I chose to shade the entire picture in graphite pencil. I only painted the lights. I really enjoyed this project because I learned that I can draw really well without having to ask my art instructor what to do. I did this project in two days of art class.