Franklin Middle School, Melodee Strong, 6-8th grade, 5 hrs

On Wednesday, I helped Ms. Strong with clay projects for all of her classes. Seventh grade continued to work on their clay monsters, working with pinch pot heads and bodies, and adding legs and arms. A few of the students were trying to support their monsters with thin legs, so we worked together to make their monsters have shorter legs or feet that stick out. I believe this was helpful for the students to understand the limitations clay and their designs may have.

Sixth graders were starting their bases for their luminaries, working with either pinch pot or slab. Many students were at the beginning stages of their projects, so we were working together on creating a strong base. Eighth grade was working with slabs for their shoe projects, which were impressive - a few students were making high tops and one student was working on a platform shoe. The advanced students were in the middle of their gnome projects, with a few projects finished.

In addition to visiting Franklin on Wednesday, I have been preparing for my cross-stitching lesson and putting the finishing touches on the library show I have been curating. The opening is on Tuesday at noon, and I am quite happy to be almost done. I have also been in the studio working on ideas for final projects, and focusing on an iron pour my Casting and Mixed Media class is participating in at U of M. I am casting a 1:3 scale weathered cowboy hat as a part of a larger installation as a final project.