Fifth Project - Open Stained Glass Panels and others

We made a very short foray into hot glass with a few items of fused glass jewelry.  This project got sandwiched in between the mirrors as students were finishing and did not have a lot of time for another big project.  Several sets of earrings were created and some test items for tack, contour, and full fused samples.  We will come back to the hot glass work after we finish with the FCAT testing over the next few weeks.

The stained glass open panels are small airy panels that are delightful little suncatchers.  The criteria was that the panel could not exceed 12"x3", had to have 10 pcs. of glass and 2 bevels, had to have open spaces and at least 2 wire curls.  As you can see from the projects in process, there are some interesting pieces being created.  We may not be able to finish these for the next 2 weeks due to testing schedules, but we hope to have them finished by Mother's Day.

The last few photos are of the Emerald Awards that are given out by the Broward County Board of County Commissioners for the best landscaping or environmental contributions in the county.  This year, there are 7 awards being awarded.  Our students have had the distinct opportunity of creating these garden award stones since 2006.  We are honored to continue to support the environmental greening of our county. This is just one of the ways we try to have our students become involved in their community.   Good luck to those who are pursuing this award.  The ceremony is next week.

Update on the Mosaic Mirrors

We have almost finished the mirrors!  The snook and the tarpon are still waiting to be grouted.  All in all, the students were able to express some creativity with the mirrors.  We hit some snags with the power tools in that the router cowling screw stripped and we did not have the funding to purchase another.  So I had to do all of the routing for the mirrors.  Most of the students cut their own wood shapes and drilled their holes so they were able to work with some of the power tools.  All of the mirrors were sold with one exception.  Overall, the response to the mirrors was excellent.  These were part of the midterm practical exam and students were given a 2 week period to complete them.  This was a good project to judge creativity, skills sets, independent work, and grouting skills.  This is a keeper lesson that can be incorporated into Environmental Science, Earth Science, and Biology or Marine Science.