Thanks for visiting the Pierz High School Art Blog! This blog was edited by Sara Underhill - who has taken a new position at Little Falls Community High School. This site will no longer be maintained and you may or may not have access to the files linked on the other pages. Hope you found this website helpful at some point! Mrs. Underhill will probably be starting another blog for her students at Little Falls. Maybe our paths will cross again in the future. Until then, take care and MAKE GOOD CHOICES!  ..read more

We always start the week off with something positive on Mondays. I call it Motivation Monday or Mindset Monday. Monday means new beginnings. All sorts of possibilities! You never know what GOOD might happen!  So... Sometimes I share a motivational quote or video, like this week. Here's the link to the video if you want to watch (I think he's even more excited than I am!)  ​ Or sometimes I start with a silly question to answer. This way, students start the week thinking about something that makes them feel GOOD or ponders the possibilities of what might happen if they ..read more

Ceramics students start out with a bunch of simple hand-building projects. Art students explore clay techniques in Art 8 and Intro to 3D, but are able to go more in depth if they take Ceramics. They also created signature stamps to "sign" each of their clay works.  Here are some of their first creations. ​Pinch pots (above) Ceramic Spheres (below) Mrs. Underhill's pinch pot Slab Box with Texture ​ Students created their own texture rollers with PVC pipe and hot glue. ​​ Coil Vessel (these are still in progress but looking good!) ​ Next up is a Relief ..read more

At Pierz High School, we've been in Distance Learning since the beginning of November and we were in Hybrid learning starting in early October. Other than the noise from the construction going on in the art room, it's been a quiet place!  But, not now! Students have been invited back to the building for a short semi-hybrid learning model. Some worked on holiday themed art projects. Some brought current artworks from home, but everyone created in the upgraded art room for a few days. It was good to see students.  When we return after winter break, we'll still be in distanc ..read more

The Healy High School art room underwent a transformation this past month--complete with new flooring, tables, storage, and sinks. Prior, the 1968 art room was in its original form and function. The remodel will allow students to have their own storage areas, more spaces for seating, and options for flexible work spaces.  ..read more

Our goal last week was be to create some environmentally friendly art. Students had multiple options that included:  - Natural materials  - Repurposed or recycled materials  - Spending time in nature As always, students were encouraged to make their artworks original and meaningful. Make something that means something.  We started by looking at the history and purpose of Earth Day:  ​Earth Day is an annual event celebrated around the world on April 22 to demonstrate support for environmental protection. First celebrated in 1970, it now includes even ..read more

Because artists steal, I decided to steal an idea from the NCAA but switch it up. March will now be for ART MADNESS!  My goal was to introduce students to a variety of artists working in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. ​ ​We started with 16 contemporary artists. By contemporary art, i mean artists living, working, producing meaningful art today. Ok, so one of the artists on the list is deceased, but still meaningful.  The first round of voting saw these artists facing off: ​ Damien Hirst vs Jeff Koons Jean-Michel Basquiat v ..read more

Intro to 3D Art students just finished a unit on Architecture. We started with the definition of architecture: ​ And then we talked about what they think of when they hear the word "architecture." ​- their own homes - cabins - fish houses - fairy houses - dream homes  Next, we looked at some famous and local architects and some artists who create artworks based on architecture:  Frank Lloyd Wright, Charles R. Stinson, Hema Upadhyay, David Umemoto, Beverly Buchanan, and Do Ho Suh The artworks students created were as diverse and unique as the individuals who created them.&n ..read more

Art 8 grade is the first official art class for students at Pierz. It's also their only required visual arts class. With that in mind, my goal as their teacher is to get them making art right away and to expose them to as many materials and artists as I can in a semester. First thing, 8th grade artists start by exploring drawing materials with an activity called Draw Around the Room (which I adapted from Cynthia Gaub at Artechtivity.com - she's awesome). I had to make some changes due to Covid, but students learned vocabulary and practiced techniques using colored pencil, crayon, marker ..read more

​The start of this semester is like no other. There's still much uncertainty - will students be in person at school? Will students learn from home? The one thing that IS CERTAIN is THERE WILL BE ART! Much of first semester was spent in distance learning. Art students were persistent and demonstrated innovation with ideas and materials, but for some it was quite a challenge. For others, art is what got them through working at home. Because, like the quote in the picture says, "The 'Earth' without 'ART' is just "EH!" Knowing the students are coming back to school slowly by grade level ma ..read more