PD Day Projects: "The Pout Pout Fish" Inspired Craft Wars

Have you seen Craft Wars?!?  I really want to be on it!!  We have decided to do a one hour Craft Wars at the start of each PD Day(we have 5 this year).  We have random supplies laid out...and give the teachers a few objectives that must be accomplished in their creation!  My wife actually gave me this idea!! The teachers that attended our PD Day on Assessment/Grading yesterday created these beautiful works while listening to The Pout Pout Fish.  My friend Janet and I were leading the workshop..and we had to find a way to work that into the day!!! ha ha  Every elementary art teacher should have this book in their classroom library! I did a dramatic reading(really..just how I normally read..ha) while teachers were getting underway with their project.  We only told them that their must be a fish...there must be an environment...and craftsmanship must be excellent!  I know that the images you are looking at do not look like The Pout-Pout Fish.  HOWEVER...I am not really a fan of copying images from other artists.  So this is inspired...not a copy.   This work was later a part of the grading/assessment portion of our day.  

MNPS ART INSERVICE 2011

This is Janet(Ms. Malone) & I at inservice today!  We always help out in the morning with registration....and like to "dress up" to bring a smile to people's faces.

Art teachers really have a hard time just setting there listening!  Though..to be fair...there was a lot of setting there listening.  BRING ON THE CLAY!!!!!!!!!!

We created clay fish & used slip to paint them.  Take a moment to look through the pictures...there are some awesome fish!!!!! 

This is my fish!

This was at The Frist Center for the Visual Arts.  We were listening to a presentation on the Egyptian exhibit that will be arriving soon.  It was interesting, but we were all wanting to get to the gallery to see the Warhol exhibit(AND WAS IT EVER AMAZING!!!!!!). 

Second Day of Two Day Inservice

You want to see how different art teachers are...take a look at the projects they did today during our second day of inservice!!!  We had 50+ art teachers...with the group split in half.  Both days the groups did studio projects, did reverse unit planning(off of the studio project...placing it in the new curriculum), as well as worked on another unit for another grade level off of the new curriculum.  I believe most teacher enjoyed the 2 days & what we had planned.  However, it was what was not on our schedule that made the time so wonderful & rich!  You get that many art teachers together(which happens too little)...and the ideas that start flying around are enough to make your head spin! 

We are going to start meeting once a 9 weeks in a general session, try to have professional development days at least once a 9 weeks, and encouraging using some of our 5 professional days given us by the district to visit other art teachers!!  So hopefully...connecting will continue throughout the year!!!