7th Grade Skill Building 

Self-Portrait process steps

Until the end of the school year, 7th Grade students will be working on a self-portrait drawing. Students are developing and using many skills and disciplines as they tackle the difficult possibilities of the self-portrait. 7th graders will consider not only the technical steps necessary to complete a portrait drawing, they will also consider composition and style as a means of conveying a sense of themselves to the viewer.

Today, 7th Graders created a grid on a black and white copy of their original photo and received a transparency print out of their photo, both will be used as accuracy tools during their self-portrait process.

Continuing  steps for this project include skill development in areas of line, shading, and observation when drawing, accompanied by taking photos of each other that act as the "subject" for their self-portrait drawing. 

7th Grade Skill Building

Water Color Pencil Exercise for use in Self-Portrait Process

7th Grade students are beginning their self-portrait process that will last the next couple of months. Students will be developing and using many skills and disciplines as they tackle the difficult possibilities of the self-portrait.

Today students created a small watercolor pencil drawing. Watercolor pencils and paints will be used on the final self-portaits, so today students experimented with the parameters of this dry/wet material. Watercolor pencil pigment was applied dry to watercolor paper, creating the foundation for the watercolor; next students carefully used wet paint brushes to blend and move the dry paint lines across the paper. Student expectations included the creation of a complete composition (filling entire paper) including the exploration of color, and use of varying line density. This mini exercise is meant to increase student focus for the prolonged drawing project beginning after Spring Break.

April 10

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you to everyone who was able to donate clothing to the 8th grades Refashioned Fashion Show project. 

All of the 8th graders gathered in the studio Wednesday morning to select items from the donations. Normally 8th graders are not in the studio as an entire group, but to make the selection process fair for both 8th grade groups we all met early. After consulting as a group, one representative from each design team began the selection of items on behalf of the group; team representatives were free to consult with the group about selections during the process, but to avoid a mob approach only one team member could be on their feet at a time.  Afterwards, we met in our ususal class groups and students began to edit, finalize, and construct, their outfits.

Outfits and accessories will be constructed by altering/sewing unwanted clothes and using unconventional materials (metal washers, paper, wire, etc.). Students are required to created their outfit using repurposing techniqures and basing the design on their current style preferences (preppy, hip, casual, sporty, etc.), drawing from a historical era of fashion (e.g. the renaissance, the roaring 20's, disco 70's, etc.), or costume (knight, animal, nature, etc.). Design groups will receive certificates for attending to assignment parameters and achieving group goals by considering each members ideas and strengths when making decisions.

6th graders  continue developing skills using one point perspective in their drawings. Students viewed demonstrations of the technique last week, learning the steps and rules necessary to transform a 2D surface into a 3D space. 

Most valuable rule, all vertical lines are drawn parallel to each other at 90 degree angles; otherwise the drawer finds that all of their objects are leaning to and fro.

Students who have completed a room with a minimum of 1 window, 1 door, and 2 pieces of furniture, moved onto 3D words using one-point perspective.

One parameter for this assignment is to "finish" the drawing, giving consideration to detail, line, and color. This mini exercise is meant to increase student focus for the prolonged drawing project beginning after Spring Break.

7th Grade Skill Building

Transparency drawing of self-portrait photo

7th Grade students are beginning their self-portrait process that will last the next couple of months. Students will be developing and using many skills and disciplines as they tackle the difficult possibilities of the self-portrait.

Beginning steps for this project include skill development in areas of line, shading, and observation when drawing, accompanied by taking photos of each other that will be used as the "subject" for their self-portrait drawing. Over the next classes, students will continue to sharpen their drawing skills through small exercises, in addition to printing a transparency copy of their photo and measuring out and drawing a grid on another photo copy, both for use as accuracy tools during their self-portrait process.

Today students created a transparency version of their photos, tracing their photo onto a transparency sheet using pen, sharpie, and/or ebony pencil. Students where encouraged to experiment with line and color allowing the transparency drawing to become a self-portrait of it is own. This mini exercise is meant to increase student focus for the prolonged drawing project beginning after Spring Break.

8th Grade Is Refashioning Fashion!

Handmade earrings made from embossing metal (left), one design team creating a unique repurposed dress (right).

The 8th graders are embarking on an end of the year fashion adventure via their creativity, the art studio, and community donations of clothing. Students will be working together in groups to create a "fashion forward" repurposed outfit to be worn by the group's model in an end of the unit Fashion Show on May 29th. 

Outfits and accessories will be constructed by altering/sewing unwanted clothes and using unconventional materials (metal washers, paper, wire, etc.). Students are required to created their outfit using repurposing techniqures and basing the design on their current style preferences (preppy, hip, casual, sporty, etc.), drawing from a historical era of fashion (e.g. the renaissance, the roaring 20's, disco 70's, etc.), or costume (knight, animal, nature, etc.). Design groups will receive certificates for attending to assignment parameters and achieving group goals by working together, considering each members ideas and strengths when making decisions.

7th Grade Takes a Good Long Look at Themselves

7th Grade students will be working on self-portrait drawings over the next couple of months. Students will be developing and using many skills and disciplines as they tackle the difficult possibilities of the self-portrait. Self Portraits have a long history, and many great masters have tackled the challenge of representing themselves via a 2D surface. Like these artists, 7th graders will consider not only the technical steps necessary to complete a portrait drawing, they will also consider composition and style as a means of conveying a sense of themselves to the viewer.

Beginning steps for this project include skill development in areas of line, shading, and observation when drawing, accompanied by taking photos of each other that will be used as the "subject" for their self-portrait drawing. Over the next classes, students will continue to sharpen their drawing skills in addition to creating a transparency drawing from their photo and creating a grid on another photo copy, both for use as accuracy tools during their self-portrait process.

6th Grade Looks for the Vanishing Point

6th graders applied their minds and mark making skills to the technique of one point perspective drawing. Students viewed demonstrations of the technique, learning the steps and rules necessary to transform a 2D surface into a 3D space. 
Most valuable rule, all vertical lines are drawn parallel to each other at 90 degree angles; otherwise the drawer finds that all of their objects are leaning to and fro. 

One Point Perspective Basics using a computer.

One Point Perspective Video using pencil, paper, and ruler.

8th Grade Embarks on a Fashion Journey

The 8th graders are embarking on an end of the year fashion adventure via their creativity, the art studio, and community donations of clothing. Students will be working together in groups to create a "fashion forward" repurposed outfit to be worn by the group's model in an end of the unit Fashion Show on May 29th. 

Outfits and accessories will be constructed by altering/sewing unwanted clothes and using unconventional materials (metal washers, paper, wire, etc.). Students are required to created their outfit using repurposing techniqures and basing the design on their current style preferences (preppy, hip, casual, sporty, etc.), drawing from a historical era of fashion (e.g. the renaissance, the roaring 20's, disco 70's, etc.), or costume (knight, animal, nature, etc.). Design groups will receive certificates for attending to assignment parameters and achieving group goals by working together, considering each members ideas and strengths when making decisions. 

March 26, 2013
Set Design - Middle School Performance Exploratory

Performance of Small Actors, March 22, 2013

Preparing emotions for the backdrop.

For this year's Middle School Play, Set Design was challenged to create a single backdrop that could embody a range of stage performances and convey a conceptual interpretation of the content in this year's play Small Actors. After reading the entire play as a group, set design brainstormed and discussed the complex feelings of identity, family, love and loss explored in the play. 

 Ideas for the backdrop revolved around quotes and the play excerpt below and led students and I to develop a conceptual backdrop meant to convey/represent that internal "audience" we all carry around inside our minds. 

“There are no small parts, only small actors” -Konstantin Stanislavisky  

"All the world's a stage,

And all the men and women merely players:They have their exits and their entrances;

And one man in his time plays many parts," - William Shakespeare's As You Like It

Small Actors by Stephen Gregg:

MR. PHELPS. There are no small parts, Emily.

EMILY. It's not even that it's small. It's just so...It's ex-actly the kind of part you'd expect a person like me to play.

MR. PHELPS. I'm sorry?

EMIL Y . You know. You look at  her, (Referring to WENDY.) and you think, "Oh, Juliet." Of course. Of course she's the lead. She's never in her life going to have a part that consists of four one-syllable words.

WENDY. How do you know?

EMILY. I just know. And then you look at me, you look at my life, and you think, ''Oh, crappy little walk-on." And, I mean, if you were me, wouldn't it worry you that that's going to be it, your whole life? Like your whole life is going to be the equivalent of this four-word role?

MR. PHELPS. People play all sorts of roles.

EMILY. I don't think that's true. I think if you play the second servant in Romeo and Juliet, you end up playing it your whole life. (ALL stare at herfor a moment.)

Students contemplated the emotions they felt reading the play, and those they feel daily and created a color coded system that would link the color of each face on the backdrop to the emotion it is meant to represent. The ultimate design consisted of a thought bubble containing a cropped section of stadium seating in a theater, showing a multitude of faces and emotions extending off into the distance.

Students utilized drawing sheets, themselves and each other as inspiration for the eyes, mouth, etc. drawn to convey each emotion; Pink = shy, embarrassed, Yellow - Happy, funny Orange = strange, weird Green = Envy, Sickness, Purple = suspicious, guilty, Blue = Sad, Sleepy. 

Great Job Glee, Band, and Drama on your performances and thanks for giving our back-drop context.

Middle School Student Art Show

More photos will be updated to this post in the future, but this snippet represents a great success for Middle School students. Every student in grades 6-8 have completed a long term (15-20 hour) explorative, skill-building, multi-discipline unit in the TBS Art Studio and the project results are stunning. Student focus pages will contain documented photos of these works in the next month, please come back and enjoy the online Art Show.

And because it can not be said enough...
Art Show Thanks

Our many heartfelt thanks to all of the people who gave their time and talents to make the 11th Annual All-School Student Art Show a celebration of our children’s art a success. First, a big thanks to Head of School Mitch Bostian and Associate Head of School Zachary Roberts, who value and support art as a way of learning.

With gratitude,
The Berkeley School Teaching Artists
Julianne Hughes, ECC – 5th
Benicia Hill, 6th – 8th

Teaching and installation:
Julie Walton – Teaching Artist
April Netzer (Gabriel 8th)
Nicole (teaching K/1 Laurel)

Building and Installation:
Yu Ren Lin & Randy Yee

Moving, building walls, and all-around physical plant support:
James Mandel (Brian 4/5 Strawberry)
Blue Camancho (Josephine ECC Cedar & Dylan 2/3 Sweet Briar)
Charles Gibson (Clara K/1 Laurel) – shelves construction & painting
Jim Bruce (Gabriel 8th)
Catherine Buchanan (Michael K/1 Laurel; William 2/3 Temescal; Alex 4/5/Cerrito)
Kim Headlee Swisher – TBS Teaching Musician
Danette Swan – TBS 2/3 Sweet Briar teacher

Volunteer Organization:
Gina Tega – TBS Family Association (Jude 2/3 Temescal, Soli 4/5 Strawberry)
Jean Littlejohn (Anna 4/5 Cerrito)

Balloons:
Sarah Hendlish (Benji ECC Magnolia)

Food and Opening:
Kim Andersson (Jasper, ECC Cedar and Will, 2/3 Sweet Briar)
Joan Bostian (Amalia, 4/5 Strawberry and Roxy, 2/3 Temescal)
Wil Burns (Shira, 4/5 Cerrito)
Keiki Fujita (Sunny 4/5 Strawberry, Star Middle School)
Elizabeth Grimes (Ethan, K/1 Blackberry and Emily, 4/5 Cerrito)
Tamar Meidav (Shira 4/5 Cerrito)
Alyssa Levy (Kiara, K/1 Laurel)
Jean Littlejohn (Anna, 4/5 Cerrito)
Barbara McDonald (Frankie, 4/5 Cerrito)
Willie Pettus (Charlie, Middle School and Sam, 2/3 Sweet Briar)
Dobee Snowber (Jesse, Middle School and Michael, 4/5 Cerrito)

Extended Gallery Hours, March 2, 2013 from 10:00 am -2:00 pm:
Suzanne Guerlac (Maquel, K/1 Laurel – grandmother)
Lisa Thompson (Nina K/1 Blackberry)

March 6, 2013

Annual TBS Student Art Show is a Huge Success 
for Students and Families!

(More Photos Coming Soon!)

Last night's Student Art Show was a hit! 

 From the moment the University gate swung open, the campus was filled with children and adults looking carefully -- and admiringly -- at student art.  A large number of ECC families made the trek over, and many grandparents and special friends were in the mix:  the buzz was positive and excited, and that didn't come from the sparkling apple juice:  it was the art.

The art!  

Self-portraits; puppet shows; a Calder circus and tipis destined for the playscape; lamps of all descriptions and lighted works of fused glass.  Folks circulated back and forth from the Depot to the Art Studio, and all were justifiably impressed by the scope of the projects, the clear agency that student artists were displaying, and the range of ideas.

Major congratulations and appreciations to Julianne and Benicia for translating their classroom work into a show that everyone could appreciate and enjoy.  Putting this many hours into something that will "live" for a few days and then come down is a labor of love -- with emphasis on both "labor" and "love" -- and The Berkeley School really benefits from such dedication.  Thank you both!

- Mitch Bostian
     Head of School
             The Berkeley School

8th Grade Prepares for the Light

8th Grade students have been developing their image transfer skills over the past few months. Working through a variety of techniques and materials, students are now creating final collages for a gel medium photo emulsion transfer onto a tyvek hanging lamp shade. Utilizing, magazine images, photo copy prints, and hand drawn designs, 8th graders have made an original 11"X34" design for their own hanging lamp. Students will be adding color using transferred color, and added color (sharpie, paint marker, watercolor, etc). The lamps will be alight and on display at this year's TBS Student Art Show.

6th Grade: One-Of-A-Kind Hand Made Table Lamps

Over the last few months, 6th Grade students explored multiple materials that can create layers of color and design, and the effects of light and shadow on the layers they created. 

6th grade students are making a lamp from "scratch" (cord is included) using tyvek, watercolor, silhouettes, and other materials for the lampshade. The explorations students engaged in strengthened their overall understanding of the materials they used to design and make their lamps. Students used hand building techniques to construct the base for their table lamps.

All 6th Grade table lamps will be alight and on-view at this year's TBS Student Art Show.

7th Grade Final Fusing

7th Grade students have explored the technique of fused glass over the last couple months. Students previously learned about the nature of glass and the chemical process that occurs when heated to high temperatures. After creating holiday decorations, personal designs, and "puddles," students focused their design skills on constructing a final single piece. Students were supplied with a plethora of glass in different sheets, colors, and sizes. They learned how to use a glass cutter, wear proper eye wear, and how to place the glass in their design to create colorful fusion effects.

Students are constructing simple frames for their fused glass artwork so that it may sit upright on a windowsill with sunlight, or on a tabletop with a battery powered/low watt light source. These art pieces will be on view at this years TBS Student Art Show.

7th Grade Fuses Glass Using the Studio's Ceramic Kiln

7th grade has been exploring the world of fused glass in the Art Studio. With careful attention to detail and safety, students learn about "cutting" glass through scoring and cracking and how glass has a surface tension that causes it to always melt to a height of a 1/4", unless contained within a mold.
Students will create a finished fused glass lighted art piece for this years TBS Student Art Show.

Students enjoyed learning about and exploring this technique from Helios Glass Studios in Austin, Texas.

Fused Glass "Puddles"

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What’s a “puddle”?Component making is a big part of working with fused glass.  Pot melts, pattern bars, and powder wafers are just a few of the things we make that become parts of bigger projects This tutorial shows you one of the easiest to make and most useful components, something we call “puddles”.

The technique takes advantage of two of the most important glass properties:

1) Surface Tension:

When glass melts it seeks a height of 6 mm (1/4 inch).  You can thank surface tension for that. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surface_tension)

2) Gradual Melting

As glass is heated, it melts - and softens - gradually. This allows glass to fuse together without colors mixing completely (the way ice cubes made from colored water would mix if allowed to melt together in a drinking glass).

Click here to link to the full tutorial.

© Helios Kiln Glass Studio. All rights reserved. • Privacy Policy • Site design based on RoopleTheme

6th Grade Coils Clay; Building a Strong Lamp Base

6th Grade students have explored multimedia construction (art cards), paper and light creations (shadow plays), and are now building with clay coils to create sturdy forms for their lamp bases. 6th grade students explored color and pattern with light during their shadow play experiments and productions; now they will be designing table lamps that contain an illuminated surprise. During and prior to the shadow plays, students worked with tyvek and paper silhouettes to explore the element of surprise when an image is placed inside a lamp shade versus being a decoration on the outside of the shade.

For now, students concentrate on scoring and slipping each coil to the one before it while keeping an artist's eye on their construction and their design goals

8th Grade Collages, Copies, and Transfers Images Into Lamp Shades

8th Grade students have been developing their image transfer skills over the past few months. Working through a variety of techniques and materials, students are now creating final collages for a gel medium photo emulsion transfer onto a tyvek hanging lamp shade. Utilizing, magazine images, photo copy prints, and hand drawn designs, 8th graders have made an original 11"X34" design for their own hanging lamp. Students will be adding color using transferred color, and added color (sharpie, paint marker, watercolor, etc). The lamps will be alight and on display at this year's TBS Student Art Show.

7th Grade Makes Glass Fusing Slump Molds

7th grade students have been exploring the world of glass design over the past month, contemplating arrangements of shapes and colors to create pleasing patterns and images.
Today students learned the fundamentals of glass fusing, and began creating their own ceramic slump molds for their own glass bowls. Students will work to finalize and perfect these molds and will revisit their fusing skills as 8th graders when student materials are renewed and their glass bowls can be made.
Students will create 2D imagery using fused glass for this years TBS Student Art Show.

This video demonstrates crushing glass bottles to create recycled fused glass bowls.

This video is a great demonstration of recycling glass into new shapes and colors, and also shows the necessity for a mold if you want your melted glass to retain a width of more than a 1/4".

This tutorial shows a unique way of creating new fused glass to create a new colorful design.