Tag Archives: clay

Prang Watercolor Review

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The folks at Prang/Dixon Ticonderoga just sent me a big box of back-to-school supplies to test out.  First up: Prang Oval-8 watercolors.

I have used these watercolors for the past nine years. You know what I love about them? You can pop out individual watercolors and replace them with fresh pans.

prang watercolor collage

Customizable

I love to customize my Oval-8s. I prefer to pop out and remove the black, and replace it with a pan of special ordered  magenta oval refill pans. When the blue gets used up, I replace it with a pan of special ordered turquoise. You can get lots of tertiary color pans for your Oval-8s and customize your watercolor palette.

If you want the whole range of colors, try Prang Oval-16 Pan Watercolor Set, with primary, secondary and tertiary colors (includes the magenta and turquoise).

(note: this post contains compensated affiliate links)

Less waste

Refill strips and individual color pans are available. You generate less waste because you don’t need to replace entire white plastic case, when you run out of watercolors. In addition, the white plastic case is recyclable.

Great for creating mini-palettes for special projects

I use my refills to create mini-palettes of cool colors (or warm colors), especially when I’m working with kindergarteners. For this Rainbow Fish project, I set out individual pans of just the cool colors in small trays.

cool color palette

Great on Bisque-fired Clay

Have you ever tried watercolor on bisque-fired clay? Prang Oval 8s look great on our Clay Sea Rocks. So easy!

IMG_3547

Bisque-fired clay painted with Prang watercolors (including that magenta!)

Bisque-fired clay painted with Prang watercolors (including that magenta!)

 Available in class packs

Prang Oval 8s are available in class packs from Amazon, Blick, and many other art supply (and even office supply) catalogs.

Prang also offers ‘Prang Power’ – a frequent buyer program that lets you save points towards school supplies.

Have a great school year!

Enjoy!

 

 

Rainbow Fish: Glazed Clay Fish

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rainbow glaze clay fish

So many fish in the sea!

Our sixth grade finished the slab clay fish project. Although I provided a choice of  just three templates, students were able to customize them through re-shaping, texture, and glaze. We ended up with a wide variety of fish.

These three rainbow fish started from the same template. Artists scratched lines into the wet clay to make stripes. Later they painted these defined areas. Students who did this technique ended up with neatly glazed fish. Caution: avoid scratching a line across the narrowest part of the tail – it will be more likely to break.

mariel's fish

Want to make a rainbow fish? Make shallow lines in wet clay with a skewer. Glaze fired clay – try to stay inside the lines!

 

Morgan's fish

Here is a different rainbow fish.  The artist used a different template, then created texture with tiny balls of clay and the eraser tip of pencil. The fish is trimmed with a thin clay coil, which the artist later glazed shiny black.

NICE WORK SIXTH GRADERS!!!

I wrote how to roll and cut the fish here and here. More glazing examples here. More examples next week!

The Jackson ‘Pollocks’: Glazed Clay Fish

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Jackson Pollock glazed clay fishSixth grade just finished the clay fish project. The students had open use of my glazes – some chose to do an ‘Action Jackson’ Pollock-inspired pollock.  The fish were base coated with a solid coat of underglaze, then splattered with a variety of underglazes. No clear top coat necessary.

This technique worked best on untextured clay.

The entire project took three class periods. You can read about the entire clay fish process here and here.

More glazing techniques next week!

Glazing Made Easier

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I saw a great post on glazing over at The Art of Education. I tried some of their tips today on our second grader’s melted marble pinch pots. They worked so well I just had to share.

glazing made easier

 

In a nutshell:

  • Put one color of glaze on each table
  • Match the glaze color to your table color if possible
  • Put brushes directly into the glaze (genius!!!)
  • Keep a piece of paper under your pot at all times – even when switching tables. This keeps your hands cleaner.
  • Carry pot from table to table to change colors
  • Brushes stay at their tables

In addition to the brushes, I put skewers directly into the glaze bottles. The students used the skewers to dot eyes or spots onto their animal pots.  Skewers allow more control than my brushes. I have also used the skewers to scratch lines into the glaze.

use skewers to dot on eyes

 

The result?

  • Easy set up – no water! No little cups of glaze.
  • Easy clean up – wipe the glaze bottle rims and recap.
  • No color contamination (note – I was anxious and kept a sharp eye on the white glaze. It stayed clean through three classes!)
  • No waste!!!!

Thanks so much to The Art of Education for sharing all your tips!

Enjoy!

Do you have a glazing tip to share?

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