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Mrs. Caples' Classroom

  • West Side High School
  • Greers Ferry, AR
  • Nearly all students from low‑income households Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more

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Past projects 6

  • Altered Ceramic Forms

    Funded Oct 16, 2024

    Thank you so much for your help in giving my student the tools they need as they work with clay and learn to stretch their creativity by altering ceramic forms. They used the clay provided to form large bowls that they then worked to alter - sometimes cutting and curving the pieces, sometimes adding new pieces, sometimes adding coils made with the extruder, or a mixture of the above techniques. Afterward, they glazed their pieces with different designs.

    Since I was challenging my students with this project, when my student first saw the materials, they were a little uncertain, but as we looked at other artists' work and videos of their processes, they started getting excited. All of my students in my upper level art classes chose to make chip & dip bowls. Some have finished, and their bowls look AMAZING! The rest will be finished soon and will certainly be just as fantastic.

    My Art 1 students have also gotten use out of the extruder for extruding coils while making their coil bowls. The extruder helps them to create coils of a consistent thickness, which makes their pots look better and freeing up space in the project timeline to be more creative with their coil designs.

    Our next projects in my Art 2/3 classes will be creating artwork of Arkansas Wildlife, followed by glass fusing and figure drawing.

    Again, thank you so much for your help. Your support has given my students a more enriched experience in our classes.”

    With gratitude,

    Mrs. Caples

  • Making Jewelry with Glass Fusing

    Funded Feb 14, 2025

    Thank you so much for your help in providing my student with this opportunity to expand their creativity through learning glass fusing! It is unlikely that any of my students would have been able to have this experience in their lifetime without your generosity. I can’t wait to tell them that we get to do this. Again, thank you so much.”

    With gratitude,

    Mrs. Caples

    This classroom project was brought to life by SONIC Drive-In at 919 HIGHWAY 65 NORTH.
  • 3d Printing: School Spirit to Texture Tools

    Funded Nov 8, 2024

    Thank you so much for your help in getting a 3D printer for our classroom. The students were so excited when they saw the 3D printer and all the filament you provided. They were even more excited when I started printing some test prints of our school mascot and they found out that they, too, could create designs to print.

    We started working in Tinkercad, with the students learning how to combine and alter basic shapes. Most students began by creating a personalized fob for their keychain. A few students created some simple gifts for relatives, and others started branching out and trying a few more ambitious designs.

    As my students and I become more familiar with the printer and the available software, I hope that we can design texture rollers and "cookie" cutters to use with our clay projects.

    Thank you again for all your support in making this project possible.”

    With gratitude,

    Mrs. Caples

  • Empty Bowls Service Project

    Funded Jan 24, 2024

    Thank you so much for your help in providing my students with an opportunity to give back to their community. With the supplies purchased for this project, my students created ceramic bowls both by hand building and by throwing on the wheel. After the bowls were fired, they glazed each with their own designs. The bowls they made were then used for an Empty Bowls soup night during our Parent-Teacher conferences.

    With this project, my students have learned the process of making functional ware out of ceramics, created some beautiful and interesting ceramic pieces and learned the importance of taking care of the community that helps to take care of them. The funds raised with the Empty Bowls Soup Night were donated to Project Kids program that provides weekly food backpacks for needy students, as well as special meal supplies at Thanksgiving and Christmas.

    Your donation made this learning and community connection possible.”

    With gratitude,

    Mrs. Caples

  • Fabulous Art Making in 2022

    Funded Nov 15, 2022

    Thank you for your investment in my students' education! This 9-weeks, we created two in-depth projects. The first was creating still-life drawings, where we explored how to create the illusion of depth on a 2-D surface. The students learned how to draw basic 3-D forms and how to shade them. Then how to combine basic forms to create complex forms and how to shade those as well. We then discussed creating compositions and how to make them balanced or unbalanced, how to draw the viewer's eye around the composition, and how to add additional depth to the composition.

    Our second project of the 9-weeks was creating a 3-D sculpture using paper mache. I love teaching students to create sculpture with paper mache because it is one of the cheapest and most accessible mediums available to students, regardless of their economic status. We discuss the different materials that can be used as armature for our sculptures and learn how to, again, combine basic forms to create complex forms - this time in a 3-D sculpture. After their armatures are created, the students learn how to apply the strips of pasted paper in a way that edges are sealed, (with no edges lifting up) and that there are no unintended gaps or caves in the surface structure. Then, after all glue has dried, the students paint their project in a way to enhance their sculpture.

    All my students loved seeing all the new supplies we received. Getting to open all the boxes and see all the new paints and other supplies always feels like it is Christmas morning!

    Thank you again for your generosity in helping us get our supplies to be able to make all this beautiful art!”

    With gratitude,

    Mrs. Caples

  • Sculpting With Ceramic Clay

    Funded Nov 29, 2022

    Thank you for your investment in our classroom. My students were very excited to see so many boxes of clay arrive and have loved all the new bright glaze colors we received. It's always interesting to see which colors will be the "popular" colors of the year - this year they have been Blue Yonder, a lighter teal color, and Teal Next Time, a darker teal color.

    This 9-weeks, we have been learning the basic types of pottery techniques. Each student has created one sample of a pinch pot, a slab pot, a coil pot, and a thrown pot (one of which had to include a lid). In addition, each student also had to create a small organic sculpture in order to see how all these techniques are just a starting point but that artists often mix-and-match techniques when creating their art. Remembering to score and slip connections is always a challenge, but after having a few pieces fall off and have to be repaired, it starts to become more of a habit.

    We will be finishing our unit on ceramics by each student spending a couple of weeks creating a more in-depth project of their choice that will utilize more than one of the techniques we have learned. They will brainstorm ideas, after which we will conference to determine which will the best project to pursue.

    I look forward to seeing all their amazing ideas take shape.”

    With gratitude,

    Mrs. Caples

    This classroom project was brought to life by an Anonymous Classroom Supporter and 3 other donors.
These materials will help the students discover their own artistic voice and develop a sense of flair in their projects. My students will use the paints to add color to both cardboard sculptures and papier mache projects. The scissors, construction paper and glue will be use to create Matisse inspired collages. With the chalk pastels they will create portraits inspired by Silberswig. Then they will use the drawing paper as they learn to sketch the world around them. With these materials my students will express greater creativity and will develop a "visual literacy" they can use in all areas of life.

About my class

These materials will help the students discover their own artistic voice and develop a sense of flair in their projects. My students will use the paints to add color to both cardboard sculptures and papier mache projects. The scissors, construction paper and glue will be use to create Matisse inspired collages. With the chalk pastels they will create portraits inspired by Silberswig. Then they will use the drawing paper as they learn to sketch the world around them. With these materials my students will express greater creativity and will develop a "visual literacy" they can use in all areas of life.

About my class

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