Debra Disman

Artist

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Children's Art Classes

The Work of Our Hands: Hand Building with Clay 1

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Creating masks in our Hand Building with Clay class at McKinley Elementary after school with the CREST Enrichment program has been a joy. With majority boys in the class, the tempo had to be high energy.

Students learned how to “pound out” slabs (flat) pieces of clay the week before, then created “armatures” (support structures) of newspaper, over which they stretched their slabs, so that their masks would be three dimensional.

It was exciting to watch the students develop their mask characters, inevitably thinking in terms of story…inspired by characters from film, television, and books, but always their own. Students used coil, scoring, incising and even pinch pot techniques to create their mask characters.


Creating detail.

 


Two faces, in one?


Creating texture!


Inspired by the zombie craze.


Our one young girl in class that day created…a self-portrait?


Creative use of coils…


Figuring it out…


A very coherent expression.


Tattoo?


What is going on here? Perhaps this young maker is working out his feelings through creating.

It would not be the first time…

All hail, the healing powers of Art.

Arts Instructor at the Marlborough Summer School

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Arts Instructor at the Marlborough Summer School

I will be teaching a range of classes for the Marlborough Summer School this summer, including “Creating Unique Handmade Books”, “Art and Writing”, “Building A World”, “Red Yellow Blue” (all about color!), “Fairy Tales” (fanciful bookmaking for young children), and “Make Your Own Books”.

This is an intensive, daily, five week program, which draws students from all over Los Angeles County. Follow the link to find out more!

enRICHment IV

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enRICHment IV

Kindergartners have a blast making their own books in  Santa Monica’s CREST Enrichment program which provides a variety of after school classes in Santa Monica Public Schools.


Which is more adorable, the book, or the dimple?!


What will happen with “The Three Kittens”?


The smile is the winner, and this little maker is a wonderful writer and visual artist too!


Peruse, cut, paste…


Draw draw draw…one of our most immediate visual art forms…make your Mark!


Industrious and serious writers.


What shall I choose?


Combining the visual and the written…


Kindergartners learning to write, and spell. Impressive.


They create the pages, they fill the pages.


Working with accordion fold / concertina books.


Influencing each others work?!


“Folded Fan Book”: accordion fold spine, with covers and pages attached.


Layering texture, shape and color.


Robert helps us out. Thank you, Robert of the CREST Enrichment program Staff!


An elaborate fairy tale…involving a path, a house, and fairies.


Working side by side, two creative solitudes in community.


This maker has a fascination and love of Mythology…and the Greek gods.


Checking out each others’ work. And each other.


The magic of Washi Tape!


One of our student’s Dads, a fun-loving dentist, joined us for this class…and made his own book


Students thrive in a supportive environment filled with materials, laughter, learning, and patient adults.

We were so fortunate during this class to have both CREST Enrichment program Staff Diana and Michelle be with us, as well as our dentist Dad, and a CREST  staff trainee. The students really felt the support!

To. Be. Continued. It is the Story that never ends…Creative Expression.
Let’s keep starting the process young!

 

enRICHment III

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enRICHment III

First through fifth graders have a blast pinching, coiling, flattening, carving and incising clay in  Santa Monica’s CREST Enrichment program which provides a variety of after school classes in Santa Monica Public Schools.

In this class, we invited parents and siblings to join as, as students painted their clay projects from the past month. A wonderful time was held by all!


“Here’s Lookin’ at You, Kid…”….


Laying out the work…pinch pot, coil and slab techniques.


Getting messy and loving it!


Careful work done by all three.


Painting mask faces.


Primary colors red, blue and yellow are laid out on one plate/palette, while new and inventive colors are mixed on another.


Little brother gets into the act too!


Sad? Mad? Bad? All three?


Sharing a palette.

A rich and colorFULL way to wind down our class, and wind up for summer.
The creative juices are flowing, and ready to take on more challenges.

enRICHment II

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enRICHment II

Working in clay with Kindergartners…through Santa Monica’s CREST Enrichment program, at Santa Monica Public Schools…after school.

Students “gently pounded” out slabs (flat but not too thin pieces, in this case disks) of clay, and used them as surfaces upon which to create.

They drew into, wrote upon,  incised, built onto and punctured the clay to create faces and designs.
Pencils, paper rolls, wooden sticks and of course hands, became their tools of engagement.

The clay is magical earth, which rocks and rolls, and finds expression, or gives it, to the young makers.

enRICHment I

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enRICHment I

Working in clay with first to fifth graders…through Santa Monica’s CREST Enrichment program, at Santa Monica Public Schools…after school.


We started with pinch pots.


and then moved on to coil pots, using small balls of clay to roll the coils,


and spiral them into the bottom of the pot.


Some chose to smooth out their coils, so that the beginning or bottom of their vessel looked like a slap, or flattened piece of clay upon which curving coil walls could be built.


As more coils were added and gently pinched together, the pots grew.


Focused work for busy hands.


Here a group at another school creates faces carved, incised or built upon slabs of clay “gently pounded” into flat slabs, a second experience with slab technique, now combining slabs and coils.

The clay, magical earth, which rocks and rolls, and finds expression, or gives it, to the young makers.