3D Printer = Excitement!

Last year my superintendent handed me a grant application for $500 and asked me if I wanted to try for a 3D printer. Of course I said yes! Once I started pricing them I started reconsidering, but then came across the micro printer. As luck would have it the printer & two class packs of ink filament, plus shipping would come to $508. I wrote the grant with the idea of collaborating my Graphic Arts class with one of my intermediate classes to create a game board & pieces based upon what the elementary students were studying in social studies. I was super excited when I got the grant! It came in the mail and despite my best efforts I just could not find the time to get the printer out & figure out how to use it. Then last Friday there was a full moon, it was raining & the students were bouncing off the walls. I went into my classroom, grabbed that 3D printer, handed it to my Graphic Arts students and told them to figure it out. I could not believe how engaged they were! They figured it out & printed a tiny little form. I think we're ready to start working on that game board!

 
 

School Instagram!

I started an Instagram account for my art room, & it is crazy how my students use their crazy mad detective skills to find it and start following it before I even had a chance to advertise it. It doesn't have a lot of artwork on it yet, but the students sure like it when I post their pictures. Since several of them already know about it I guess it's time for me to advertise it. Sooooo, follow me on Instagram & see all the cool stuff my students are doing!
Flinthills Art Room

Crayons!

I am SO excited to see how the students react to these fun recycled crayons! I used a Jello mold & all those yucky crayons that needed pitched. I can't wait to see what artsy goodness the students create with them!

State Placers!!!

AJ

I am the TSA advisor (Technology Student Association). My TSA members competed in two state competitions recently and I couldn't be prouder of them. TSA state AJ placed 2nd for his Music Production where he wrote a song on GarageBand. This qualified him to participate in the National Competition in Nashville TN the last week of June. I am SO excited! Seth placed 5th for his PSA video "Be the Change" at the KSTL state competition (Kansas Student Technology Leaders). Awesome job guys!

Seth

How Germs Spread...

Check out this awesome video my computer kids made! It utilizes keyframes and LOTS of patience!

Space Rocket Project

Last fall I came across a site that was promoting art by having students K-12 create 2'x2' paintings based on specified themes. These artworks are going to be turned into wraps and put onto a REAL space rocket that will tour the USA! The topic I chose was inspired by Brown vs Board of Education and the theme was "Expressions of Freedom & Equality". After prepping our 2' canvases & talking about the history of this topic my students were ready to begin. I had two high school groups and 4 5th grade groups. They rocked this project!

Flinthills Broadcasting

 We started a brand new program this year - broadcasting school events live! I visited a nearby school with my principal & an interested student to see if we could figure out how to do this. There is a huge learning curve and I spent most every spare moment figuring out the technical aspects on how to do this. I about cried when I finally got it all to work! Then I wrote a grant (and was funded!) through donorschoose.org for some additional equipment (extension cord, portable table, & hardshell suitcase) so my students could take their newfound skills on the road. I can't wait till next year when this opportunity will be available to more students!

Giant Paintings

My school went through a giant renovation/remodeling a few years back, connecting our high school & elementary buildings with a new wing housing our middle school & library. The hallway through this area was boring (art teachers don't always do will with blank white walls!). I had my 5th hour HS art students and a group of my 2nd hour HS students paint these giant 3'x6' or 4'x8' paintings with the theme "Student Life" and including a suitable quote. We built frames, stretched canvas, & then I turned them loose. The results were incredible!

Trading Cards

So this project totally grew from a small idea into a great one! Our HS boys basketball coach had this idea to have giant posters made of his senior boys in action. I had the boys all come into my room where I photographed them in a variety of poses, then took my favorite & Photoshopped them into these posters. I included our one senior wrestler as well (we didn't have any senior girl athletes this year). I got them all finished and printed them onto one sheet for final approval from the coach before sending them off to be printed. When I saw them printed I realized they looked like authentic trading cards, so I printed off 150 of each boy. After a pep rally each senior athlete went to the lunchroom, sat at a table, and we had an official autograph session for the elementary students. It showed the seniors that they are role models, and that the elementary students DO look up to them. The elementary students were able to meet their idols and begin dreaming of their own athletic stardom!

Kindermonsters

My Graphic Arts students seem to only really get into a project if it has real-life applications. So we brainstormed what sort of projects would inspire them, and one was to work with our elementary. So I contacted our kindergarten teacher, who had just created these incredible monster collages with her class.

I printed out images and had my GA students start by recreating those adorable monsters out of modeling clay.

 

Then my GA students created packaging for these cuties! The students quickly discovered how teamwork was going to be vital for making these creatures look like they were a cohesive project, as they wanted them to look like they were part of a collection. The students settled on similar packaging, including the back story of each creature and giving it a name, and using the same logos in the same locations.

The final step was to give them to the kindergartners! The kindergartners were estatic, and the high school students were thrilled with the results! Winning project all the way around!

 

Scorer's Table

Check out this awesome paint job created by one of seniors! My teeny tiny school has 3 gyms (crazy, I know!). When we added on our great big new gym our "old" gym seemed to lose all appeal for it's upkeep visually. The score table was a prime example. It was just this ugly white box, which was fully functional but boring. So I asked one of my super talented, creative seniors if he wanted to take on the task of beautifying it. He did an amazing job!

The artist and his helpers