Alternate Endings

Students in Art Exploration were given the challenge to design a theme for a set of ceramic bookends for functional use.

As they researched their concepts, students sketched their ideas with different points of view to incorporate three-dimensional sculptures with details on both ends.

Students learned the fundamentals of slab-building and the pinch and hollow technique in the construction phase of their clay project.

Each person had to problem-solve how to create a hollow structure that was freestanding with even walls to create a functional set of bookends.

Each individual piece of clay had to be properly attached with the Slip-Score-Smooth method so that the sections would join together before carving details into the surface.

After the bisque firing, students sanded down their pieces and revisited their original sketches to plan out the colors for the glazing process.

Unloading the kiln is such an exciting moment to see the artwork all come together!

The students each photographed their pieces and documented their work on their Artsonia accounts, reflecting on the process by writing artist statements.

In celebration of National Reading Month, the Art Department hosted a book exchange for a staff appreciation activity. Each set of bookends was displayed in the office and teacher's lounge with a starter set of books from New Buffalo's local bookstore, Flourish Books & Plants. Staff members were encouraged to take a book that sparked their curiosity and then swap it out by donating one of their own books for others to read.

This gave students the opportunity for their work to be engaged with in a functional use while on display. A new set of student bookends was swapped out daily so that each artist had a day to be exhibited in the school during National Reading Month.

At the end of the staff exhibition, all remaining books were donated to Flourish Books & Plants where a selection of bookends was curated for a public display in the bookstore!

Thank you, Flourish Books & Plants, for supporting our students with a public exhibition for their ceramic bookends. Stop by the bookstore to browse the books and see the artwork on display through April 18, 2025!