Egg Drop 2012

This year’s egg drop contest was a hoot. There were so many laughing-to-tears moments when function lost the battle to form in a resounding, messy splat. Students developed a variety of creative ways to protect the fragile egg:

One of the funniest moments was when Waffles’ sculpture landed and the egg shell cracked but stayed inside the rubber bands while his entire egg fell out totally intact – first time in the long history of our annual egg drops that a yolk wasn’t broke, sunny side up.

This year, the winners from both classes designed ingenious rotating forms that slowly descended in a spiral to the ground.

From period 3, the strongest design was by India A; her petite but powerful egg helicopter surprised everyone, when, without a seat belt for the egg, the structure remained upright through four floors of throws, finally succumbing to a tiny surface crack in the fourth floor drop.

From 7th period, Steph M.’s tall cardboard and foil spiral made it through four stories of launches without any damage to the egg. We’ll need a field trip to the Willis Tower to test its ultimate potential.

Portrait Sculptures

Sculptures in the City

Over the summer, students from AP 3-D made some fantastic sculptures, and then took them around the city to find the best spot where they belonged.  (Works in order by Javier R, Rachel K, Steph M, Piotr J, Robin H, Joanna K, Nicole H, Mayra V, and Rosie R)



Ms. Moore's Summer Trip to Ghana

This past summer, I traveled to Ghana for an amazing three weeks of studying pottery and art. In the experience of a lifetime, I learned so much more than I could have imagined, and met incredible artists and children. A big thanks to Fund for Teachers and Chicago Foundation for Education, two non-profit groups who fund teachers in fulfilling their dreams to travel and learn, bringing their knowledge back to the classroom. 

Throughout this year we will be doing several exciting projects connecting our students at Lane to the artists of Ghana, including:

1) conducting firing experiments where we mine our own clays and fire them using Ghanaian techniques practiced today (barrel, open-air, pit, and wood firings).

2) collaborating with Mr. Flygt's percussion classes to make wheel-thrown drums, sewing on the skins, and learning Ghanaian drumming, along with  a workshop and performance by a visiting artist from Ghana.

3) studying the relationship between Ghanaian/Gold Coast traditional sculpture and American slave pottery from the Carolina coasts, then creating inspired works and face vessels.

4) selling art from Ghana and Lane to raise funds for programs that help children in Ghana go to school.

5) "traveling" around the world as we investigate world pottery traditions from our heritage, to map the world of ceramics as it relates to the diverse population of Lane, and to create large-scale works inspired by our research. 

Here are some pictures from my travel. Click here for a complete online photo journal: Ceramics in Ghana

 

Photos from Clay & Arts Festival 2012

Click Here to See More Photos from the Clay & Arts Festival

Lane Tech Clay & Art Fest

May 25th, 2012 3pm-8pm
Please join us for Lane Tech's first-ever Clay & Art Festival! It is going to be a fun, hands-on event for all ages. Here are some of the great things happening:

ART ACTIVITIES
Tie-dye, photo booths, try the wheel, air brush tattoos, face painting, button making, mosaics, jewelry, drawing and painting, spray paint art, mud masks/spa, henna painting, make a mug, & kids’ art booths!

RAFFLE
Win a Brent pottery wheel, ceramic equipment, a free class at Lill Street, an easel, and more great prizes!

CLAY OLYMPICS
Blindfolded wheel throwing, cylinder stacks, foot & elbow-only pottery, tallest cylinder, mud arm wrestling, “pot shots” and more!

SLIP DUNK TANK
Sink administrators, teachers, and students in a mud pit! Featured guests: Mr. Milsap & Mr. Jarka

ENTERTAINMENT
An awesome array of student musicians and performers!


FOOD
Kiln-baked cookies & mud pies

ART AUCTION
Professional, teacher, and student work for sale Student

EXHIBIT
View the amazing talent of Lane Tech art students

Thank you to our generous sponsors:
Ceramic Supply Chicago, Amaco/Brent, Lill Street Art Center, Genesis Art Supply, Oppenheimer Family Foundation, Lane Tech Alumni Association, the Lane Tech Century Foundation, and Delphi Glass

Current Student Work

Drawing on Clay

The students have been working on different decoration techniques in wheel throwing, including sgraffito (from the Italian word graffiare -"to scratch"). I scratched away at some bowls myself.

Team Cold Cuts Carves "Da Bears"

This winter has been so warm, we were seriously worried about pulling off the snow sculptures at Navy Pier for this year's Snow Days event. But miraculously, we ended up with just the three days we needed of subfreezing temperatures. Lane's team was the Cold Cuts, with captain Amanda, and her dedicated crew of Richard, Steven, Sophie, and Rebecca. Using giant saws, pickaxes, and shaving tools, they managed to transform a six foot block of solid, packed snow into a hollowed-out Chicago Bears helmet. Amazing!!!

Raku!

Raku vessels by Patty, Nicole, Rebecca, Madeline, Sean & Sophie


Thanks goes out to Carl Mankert for offering us another awesome raku-a-thon workshop this year. His expertise and energy provided us a fun experience with amazing results on our pots. We also enjoyed working with Mr. Reid's chemistry classes, making ceramic works and then watching reduction and oxidation in action. Mr. O'Donnell captured some highlights of the day in these great photos.