The first project was a soap dish and a candle holder. Various small sculptural surprises appeared as warm ups for a larger sculptural project to come.   The next more difficult project was a mug.  Students were encouraged to personalize their mugs with texture and/or imagery.

The final project was “the orb.” Students began by making two pinch pots. These were then joined together by scoring and moistening their rims.  A coil was added over the join for reinforcement.  Once the orb was sealed so that it was filled with air and allowed to firm up a bit students could pound and paddle the orbs into a desired shape.  They had four requirements to complete the project:

1. It had to be completely covered with texture and embellishments.
2. It must have some kind of attachment(s) on it.
3. It must include some use of a contrasting color of clay.
4. Any large additions to it must be hollow as well.

Beyond that there were no restrictions. Some made their projects abstract and some went with realism. When given the opportunity there is never a lack of ideas with Linscott students. Such an abundance of creativity!

And here are the fabulous final projects glazed!

Rainbow Room made tie dye T-shirts in September.  They learned about the color wheel, primary, and secondary colors, and how to make yuck when you mix them all together! The kids were soooo much easier to keep track of on field trips in these shirts!



In November the sixth graders in Fox Landing made paper mache globes out of punch balls to understand world geography up close and personal. Now just how DO those continents fit together and what oceans are between them??

Next the sixth graders made block prints using styrofoam and printing them on thin slices of the cross sections of branches. They focused on the marine food chain. The class was divided into three groups: producers (plant plankton, plant life which other animals feed on), primary and first level consumers (animal plankton, crabs, small fish, etc.), and upper level consumers (sharks, whales, birds, etc.).



For holiday gifts the kids in Rainbow Room made clay luminarias.  They contained candles which glowed through the holes when lit.



More marine life was created in sixth grade. This time they created mixed media fish emphasizing the difference between warm water and cold water fish in color and form.



As part of an experiential unit on ancient Egypt sixth grade students made khats and salt dough jewelry. First teacher Seth divided the students into groups representing nomes (city states in ancient Egypt). He had them make fabric khats for their heads which they decorated with symbols referencing their nomes. Traditionally khats were worn by nobility in ancient Egypt. Next each group chose a central symbol for their necklace which characterized an important concept or religious belief which was held by their nome. Each nome had gods and beliefs which held special significance for their region. Many more “lesser beads” were made as well, followed by painting and stringing.



Rainbow Room made clay masks this spring. They have been “traveling the world” studying different continents. They were shown examples of masks from Indonesia, China, and Africa they learned about their significance in different cultures.

bowls and mug made by a talented slab builder

Great pots and great workshop participants.   A grand time it was!

talented slab builder Margaret

Shirley appearing to have already filled her mug with wine

talented slab builder Katherine

Elaine impersonating a rat

Oh thank God, finally a decent picture

It is virtually impossible to capture the teacher looking intelligent.  Damn we have a good time and learn a lot though.