Art Week 2015- Recycled Vinyl Record Bowls

Art Week 2015 has come and gone.  As always, it is a hectic, but rewarding week where the students get a chance to work 2 artists a day for the entire week.  I love that the school makes art a priority even if only for an intensive week.  I worked with two groups of 3rd-5th graders for 1 hour and 15 minute sessions each day.

This year the project was recycled vinyl record bowls.  I had just finished the same project with classes of 4th graders at a different school and loved them so much that I wanted to try it again.  Since I had much more time with this group of kids, I expanded the lesson and devoted more time to exploring the artists who inspired this project.  We started by learning about Australian Aboriginal dot painting.  Students painted Australian animals with tempura paint on card stock, concentrating on brush control.

Next we learned about color theory.  Students used paint chips as we discussed warm, cool, primary, secondary and analogous colors.  They were asked to choose either warm or cool colors to use when designing their record bowls.  The students came up with at least two designs and chose the one they liked best to paint on their record.

The students drew their designs on the prepared records, then spent two days using acrylic paint to complete their designs.  The goal was to complete at least one coat of paint on the first day since at least two coats are needed.

I introduced the kids to the work of artist Bill Oyen (my dad).  His work in inspired this project.

The final step with the students was to add the dots on their records.

I brought the finished projects home to put them in the oven to slump into bowls.  I love how these turned out.  This has become my favorite project!

Recycled Vinyl Record Bowls

I just finished working with the 4th graders at Westside Elementary School.  The students worked in groups to paint vinyl records that had been discarded from their school library.

We talked about Aboriginal Dot painting and looked at original paintings done by my dad, Bill Oyen.

The students designed their paintings then worked in groups to paint the records and finish by adding dots.

Once the students finished painting the records, I brought home them home to slump over a metal bowl in my oven.

To do this at home, set the oven to 225 degrees.  Place the record painted side up over a metal bowl.  Put the bowl on a cookie sheet to easily put it in and take it out of the oven.

Let the bowl heat for about 5-7 minutes.  It may not slump on it's own, but it will be pliable at this point.  The metal bowl and cookie sheet will be hot to the touch, but the record will be warm.  You can use a pair of tongs, or even use your hands to push the record into the metal bowl to form it.  It will cool   and re-harden within minutes.