Amazing art

If you go on to google (under images) and look up chalk art you will see amazing art

-Zara

good books

Okay I f you dont know a good book to read over spring break then you should read the Uglies by scott Westerfeild


-Zara

i sent my history alive article to franks.core@gmail.com because it would not post on the blog.

another intresting fact

here is another cool fact a couple days ago scientists found an all black penguin in Antarctica.
-Sadie

snow in the mediterranean

I just wanted to share this, because I find it really interesting how we barely had any snow, yet the Mediterranean is receiving huge blasts of it!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8557570.stm

FS summary

On Tuesday we went to a blacksmith’s shop. It was very cool and enlightening to see how real iron work is made. I personally thought that it was interesting to see how difficult and long it takes to make a piece of art. The most interesting thing was how patient you have to be and how strong and skilled you must be to do that crafts work. When I stepped up to swing the hammer it was heavy and you really had to have good aim to hit the small piece of metal. I definitely won’t forget this time going to a blacksmiths shop and I hope no one else will too.

-Rowan

I really liked this trip. Not very often are we offered the experience to watch and join in on a blacksmith's work. To my surprise it is a lot like they show in the movies. Like in pirate movies when they have the blacksmith making swords. Although Aaron doesn't make very many swords the process is similar. Using heating and cooling to form the iron, using a forge, anvil, water and a hammer. Aaron's studio was very calm and had a earthy vibe, espically with the presence of his dog, Wiley. It felt like a spot where you could be very creative and still get a lot done. I also enjoyed hammering the hot metal, at first I was a little nervous; I dislike hot things. But as I started it was a lot of fun and I had nothing to worry about. It was intresting to see the plain iron form into a hanger in the course of 2 hours. It was a long a process and I can't imagine working with metal all day everyday, but it was a fun experience. And wow, Aaron must be strong. It's quite the workout. Overall I really enjoyed being involved with a blacksmith's work. I had a great time thanks to Aaron, Zach, Wiley, Frank, our chaperones and our class!

-Lisa

Claire's Altility Art Studios Field Study Reflection

1. After taking a nice tour of multiple Trimet bus routes, we arrived at Altility Art Studio on Mississippi (near the waffle place that sent enticing aromas over to the studio, teasing my tummy). We were welcomed by Wiley, a black, wolf-y, amber-eyed, white speckle footed dog. Aaron then introduced himself and his friend Zach. He showed us the project he his currently working on for an art series in Cannon Beach. The “canvas” was an approximately seven foot tall rock with a circumference of three feet and a shape that reminded me of the pinky finger sized crystal I got at a place I remember sold yoga movies and smelled of incense when I was four-ish years old: a rough thin main length tapering at the end, like the way my dad slices baguettes when we have guests over. The rock looked like it might be about to go rock climbing; it was harnessed and rigged so it would stand up straight, pointing to the ceiling. It looked heavy—I cannot make weight estimates but it was probably heavy enough to kill you if it fell on top of you. Winding around the rock to the top and back down were metal salmon. Aaron said he was collaborating with a Native American woman who was going to be adding carvings of the salmon life cycle to the rock. I think the end product will be riveting.

After surveying Aaron’s current project he showed us how we would make three hooks. First he heated a kiln to 2100 degrees Fahrenheit. He then balanced three two-foot long iron rods with an inch circumference inside the kiln. While waiting for the kiln to heat the rods, he explained most blacksmiths make their own tools and showed us the tools he made, describing that the circular ended hammer evenly spread heated iron when pounded and the narrow, rectangular ended hammer spread heated iron in the direction the pressure was applied. Aaron also showed us a three-foot long anvil and how pounding iron on different planes of the anvil resulted in different shapes. Once the iron rods were heated to a glowing yellow-orange much like the color of the sun when it seems to sink into the ocean at sunset or a farm-fresh egg yolk being lit from the inside by a 400 watt light bulb (using my imagination hear, wouldn’t suggest experimenting), students took turns pounding the rods with the different hammers (don’t worry parents, we wore gloves and safety goggles). I thought it was grueling and fatiguing work to pound the rod, especially because there is only a few minutes the rod can be beat into shapes before it cools too much. After each student pounded the rods Aaron and Zach fashioned the rods into hooks, the kind you might mount onto a kitchen wall and hang a tea towel from (although they looked strong and tough enough to hold a fifty pound tool belt in a dark basement). The whole process took about two hours, with the pounding and reheating repetitions. The final result was a square hook, a hook with the tea towel holding part curling inward, and a hook with the top back part curling inward as well as the tea towel holding part. The experience was interesting and I had a fresh respect for Aaron’s work after I tried it myself, especially after flipping through his binder of other projects he has done, much more complicated looking then our simple hooks.

Our class was ravenous after our laborious blacksmithing and the majority of the class snacked as we wait for the bus—bus #1. We took another tour of a handful of Trimet bus routes on our way back to SES, gobbling food whenever possible. Arriving back at SES around later-then-expected, we collapsed exhaustedly into our chairs, guzzling any leftover food. The life of blacksmithing. Ah…

2. The Steps of Blacksmithing: To shape iron, it must be heated to at least 1650 degrees Fahrenheit. When struck repeatedly, iron will become brittle and crack, so it must be heated and cooled, heated and cooled many times. This process is called annealing. Fire, water, earth, and air is used in blacksmithing: ore from the earth, fire to heat the metal, air to increase the heat of the fire, and water to harden the metal. An anvil is used to shape heated metal. Almost any iron can be used. Hammers are an important tool used to shape metal in the blacksmithing process. The striking surface of a hammer causes the heated metal to spread in different directions. The blacksmithing process is a long one, and requires patience (something I have learned personally by trying blacksmithing).

3. (My object is a teacup.) Making a teacup using the blacksmithing process would take a long time. I imagine it would take hundreds of repetitions of heating and cooling a piece of metal to form a cup—with a handle. Today, there are efficient machines that construct teacups but I have made teacups from clay before and know it is a slow process. Making a teacup from clay is not a quick project, because one must be careful to construct the cup with no holes or cracks or else a tea-drinker will not be especially pleased when their scorching tea leaks onto their fingers. Having the opportunity to try blacksmithing made me think more about the time and process it takes to make a seemingly simple object.

i decided to put pictures on other things that blacksmiths make. I found these pictures the first one is of a hook like we made on tuesday. the second one is of a horse shoe that  blacksmiths can also make. The third one my favorite is if a hook with a leaf one it that looks like the leaf has a bit of color on it. 

Spring Garden Day

Monday, March 15th
(teacher inservice day)
9am - Noon

Come on out and help get the school ready for Spring! We will be:

• putting in some new plants
• building a patio out in front of the school
• cleaning-up around the grounds
  

Join the fun - bring some water, snacks and your enthusiasm for greening our school grounds!

Questions? email: sunnysidesustainability@gmail.com