Another week down… another week of Chess Camp done!
And we finished just under the wire! Without a moment to spare!
The second week of Chess Camp had fewer kids, and a bit younger too!
But the week started out as usual – with a discussion of theme ideas.
What we’re they planning on making their chess set look like.
What team is battling against what team?
One of our most ambitious themes was “DC Comics versus Marvel Comics”!
That was until he worked all day on Monday, came back Tuesday and realized
that it was “going to be too hard.” So he came back with a plan, started over and went
with “Chicago versus New York City.” Other themes included:
* Jungle Animals: Fierce vs. Cuddly
* Transformers
* Cats vs. Dogs
* Medieval Royalty vs. Dragons
* Foods vs. Drinks
* some video game… that I’m sadly too old to have ever even heard of ?!!!
* The Simpson’s: Good Characters vs. Evil Characters
So the kids worked hard all week – making pieces, painting them with underglaze
and painting their chess boards. As this was only a “morning camp,” they had
just five days (less than 20 hours) to get everything done! One day we skipped lunch,
and today it was close – as Ethan was still building his last piece just minutes before
class ended!!! Whew… another week done! But we made it.
This looks great! I am getting ready to do this same project with my 7th and 8th art class. Any suggestions as far as construction? I am not as experienced in the world of ceramics.
HEY JENNA – It’s a great project and the kids love it! I start by having them formulate their theme & plan. I give them a worksheet with a box for each piece. They need to fill in all of the boxes “thematically” with what the piece will look like. Then we discuss our creative plans as a group to help those who may be struggling with ideas. When we’re building the pieces, they need to make sure they will stand flat, stable and sit within the box size on the chess board. The boards I use are large, so the checker squares are 3″x3″ and allow for the kids to make slightly larger pieces with more details. We make all of the pieces out of terra cotta, encouraging them to work in an assembly line fashion to crank out the pawns first. Then they make all of the other pieces. As kids “finish,” I have them make a few “extras” of their more fragile pieces, or help another kid who is a little behind. The last day of camp is spent painting them all with underglaze. After camp is over, I spray them all with low-fire clear glaze and then fire them once to cone 04. Keep in mind that they are all fragile and there will definitely be breakage. And the kids need to be aware of that. You can never tell them too many times how important it is to score & slip REALLY well. Good luck with your project – I’m sure the kids are going to love it. And feel free to share my website, photos & stories with your kids to get them inspired!!! Thanks – GARY