UNIT 4: HUMAN RIGHTS INSPIRED SCULPTURES

On Thursday, 3/23 and Friday, 3/24 Ms. Held introduces our 4th and final unit:

Human Rights Inspired Sculptures. Ms. Held started off the class with a Do Now assignment that asked the students to:

-Define human rights.
-Identify current events that connect with this theme of human rights.

-Attempt to explain what the United Nations is and identify the ways in which the United Nations promotes human rights.

-View and image of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Washington D.C. and analyze what they think this sculpture symbolizes.

Here is the link to the Human Rights Introduction Survey: Human Rights Intro Survey

We then had a discussion about the students' responses. We watched the following two videos:

The History of Human Rights & The United Nations 

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

An Overview of The United Nations 

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

For a more information and a complete list of the 30 articles from the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights: UDHR

Next week we will explore the UDHR document further with a Kahoot Human Rights Trivia game and a group activity that encourages the students to look at contemporary works of art that connect to this important historical document. Students will then be asked to develop, via drawing and writing, their own idea for a human rights inspired sculpture.

UNIT 2: MONOPRINT MUGS WORKS IN PROGRESS

Monoprint Mugs
"Nature Inspired"

Ms. Kearney

Students constructed mugs using either the coil building or wheel throwing method. Students created interesting forms varying in size and shape. Students learned how to trim/attach foot-rings and pull handles to complete their functional mug forms.

Students sketched designs intended to decorate their mugs’ surfaces by using a unique printmaking technique called monoprinting in which the print is only produced once. These designs represented inspirational elements or experiences in nature that students personally shared a connection with. Students’ sketches were then photocopied and scaled down in size to create four prints on one page.  

Students began the monoprinting process by first adding a colored background layer of underglaze to the mug’s surface. Using underglazes, students then painted directly onto the photocopied sketches. After the underglaze dried, students then applied their monoprint to their mug by using a process very similar to giving a temporary tattoo! By using a damp sponge, the dried underglaze is able to transfer onto the leather hard clay surface. This transfer results in a monoprint!