So, a few weeks back I was on a nature hike and I came across piles of slate slabs… I took a few and they have been in my garage since. I am always curious about materials and their natural properties, honestly these works began as an experiment. The bear slate is unfinished. It was my first experiment, I had it in mind for a Christmas gift actually. I sanded “Welcome” off the top portion, in doing this I discovered that the slate is actually quite flaky, but low grit sandpaper removes acrylic paint very easily. I plan on stenciling the word later on, I am terrible at painting fonts! The house on the left ,I painted after I was inspired by a “thatched roof” book I was reading recently. For future reference, I am wondering if a layer of polyurethane would possibly protect the slates as they are very fragile ( also very heavy ). I have more also slate pieces- Jenn, Taylor?

 

After reading Lindsay’s post in regards to the recent artist, Courtney Mattison, I made connections to the art of paper quilling. Here are student works from previous years. Although we explored various forms of type face within this unit, I am now thinking that are some amazing possibilities to further explore with the art of paper sculpture . Mattison creates complex sculptures using clay and various glazes inspired by her interests in preserving and also advocating for unique sea lifes. My students could design three dimensional sculptures within the parameters of quilling, but also learning about aquatic culture ( STEAM! )  Mattison states, ” the brittle porcelain anemone tentacles and coral branches break if improperly handled, similar to the delicate bodies of reef organisms”… as paper quilling is a delicate process also.  What a great resource to include in instruction- this artist rocks! Thanks for the ideas Lindsay!