Only One You Collaborative Art Installation Part 4 The Finished Product

Every student and staff member from the 2013-14 school year is represented in our collaborative art installation in our cafeteria.  It is colorful and playful and is a lot of fun to get lost in when looking at it.

It is a beautiful addition to our cafe and will be in the cafeteria for all to enjoy for years to come.  I love how each tile represents it's maker with patterns, texture and color.  Read about how we made our Art Installation come to life, in Part 1, part 2 and part 3!

Since our original post a year ago, I have been asked many time what is the product that I used to adhere the fish tiles to the wall. The product below is the amazing substance that worked for us. A year later, we have had six fish swim away due to curious hands.

Willow Brook Art Installation in the Cafeteria Part 3 Glazing and Painting

We used a special glaze called Stroke and Coat by Mayco which allowed us to paint directly on the greenware. Students were particularly excited about this process and were very meticulous when it came to their artwork.

Ready for a firing.  It is amazingly exciting how these will turn out!

I prepped the wall with two coats of paint.

The waves were cut with templates by our awesome district "you can do it" guys.

Each wave got 2 coats of paint... 

Collaborative Art Installation in the Willow Brook Cafe Part 2

After our students brainstormed and designed their fish tiles from the book, "Only One You"... we started to work with modeling clay.  I created bisque stamps for students to imprint patterns and fins if they chose.  We practiced and played with different ideas.

Once we practiced... we were ready for the real clay! 

Everyone started with a ball of clay.

Stamps were used to make imprints in the clay for eyes, lips and patterns on the body.

Those Wildcats make my heart soar with all those creative juices flowing!

Here is a link to the video that students and staff watched on how to decorate their tiles.

Check out the other posts on how this comes to life.

Part 1, Part 3, Part 4

Only One You Collaborative Art Installation Part 1

Inspired by the book, "Only One You" by Linda Kranz... our staff and students participated in a collaborative art project that is beautifully installed in the school Cafe.

As our school continues to grow, the cafeteria windows were lost in building an addition for 4 classrooms... we had a blank "canvas".  My principal approached me with the book and I tried out a few ideas... the one concept that really worked was creating waves and having them installed on the wall at different dimensions and applying the fish tiles to the waves. So we got work with a goal in mind.

Our school LTA and students created a movie of the book, "Only One You" narrated by students and staff. Once we watched the book, we got to work drawing ideas of designs for our very own fish.

Aren't our WB Wildcats creative!?? I love them!  Just wait until you see how our installation turns out!

See what happens as the cafeteria art installation comes to life... Part 2, Part 3, Part 4

First Grade Meets Monet

Monet has been called the Father of Impressionism... First graders learned about his love of nature and his gardens.  We painted like Monet in these bridge creations. They are beautiful!