Hello everyone and welcome to 3-D Design.   I am very excited about this year, and have a fantastic year planned, full of interesting art making and powerful learning experiences.

There a a few important things you need to know both as parents and students  coming into the course.

You can Read a copy of the 2010-2011 Expectations here

You can download The Grossmont High School 2010-2011 Student Handbook here

Each student will receive a printed copy of the expectations.  There  is a signature sheet on the last page along with a student work release form.  Please go over the expectations with your students, and fill out the information on the form.  This allows me quick access to the most current contact information if there is a need.  I prefer to communicate via email for regular business, as I do not normally answer my phone during class time.  I prefer to focus on your students.   My email is pspiller@guhsd.net.  The release form will allow me to photograph the fantastic work my students are doing, and feature them here on mudandmetal.net which is the Grossmont 3-D Design Website.

The first homework assignment of the class is due on Wednesday September 15th.   This homework assignment is an located online.  You can access it from here: Introduction Homework

I keep a running list of the Fall Homework assignments on the Homework-Fall Semester page which has a link under pages to the right of this post.  All relative documents for the fall semester of the class are located on the 3-D Design Documents (semester 1) page which also has a link to the right.

Thank you for choosing 3-D Design at Grossmont High School.  It is going to be a year full of fun and exciting challenges.

We are busy getting down to work in 3-D Design.  Grades as of Feb 22nd are posted online.  Be sure to add 2  zeros to the front of your student number to access your grade.

We are slowly working our way through the great PBS series called Crafts in America, which provides an interesting and profound view of why crafts are such an important element in the American Culture.

Crafts in America

The final grades for the fall semester have been posted online as well as in the window of the outside  door of my classroom.

To access grades online, please click on the “GRADES” link above.  You will then need to select you period in the drop down box.  Type in your last name in the appropriate box, and then your student number preceded by two zeros.  for example:

your student number is: 123456

type in: 00123456

Please email me with any questions, and I will see you all on monday.

The first part of the projects are wrapping up for the beginning 3-D Design students, and they are headed to the kiln for a bisque fire.  The students have worked hard on their pinch pots, and effort shows.  These pieces will be fired late this week, and ready for preliminary grading next week.

I will post grades online today, but please be aware that they reflect a very limited amount of work, and are not the best example of how your student is doing.  Please email me if you have concerns.  pspiller@guhsd.net

To access your students grades you will need your students period, as well as their student number as the password.

The new Syllabus for the 2009- 2010 school year is available online now.  Please use the this link to read the syallbus:

2009-2010 Class Syllabus

The first progress report grades are posted online.  You can click on the grades link on top of this page to get to the grades program.   You will need your students last name,  and their student ID to see their current grade.     Contact me if you have any problems.

All classes are now underway in the exploration of ceramic materials as an art medium.   We are loading our first bisque fire into the kiln, and I am excited about what I see. Next week we will begin learning how to throw on the potters wheel,  and things may get a bit messy.

In addition to wheel throwing and hand building, we will begin with the elements of art and then continue on to the principals of design.

I will be posting initial grades early next week.  Please be aware, that these may not be a great indicator of your students progress, as it is based on just a quiz.  After the first projects are graded we will have a better understanding of everyones progress.

Welcome to the 3-D design Class at Grossmont High School. I am very excited to have you involved in our class. The first week of school will involve getting the procedures in place that we will use to keep the 3-D design classroom going.

We will begin by Exploring the California Visual Arts Frameworks, which are the foundation of what we learn in this art class. By basing my lesson plans on these standards, I can be sure you receive a useful and thorough arts education. We will then begin preparing for our first project.

Each student will receive a copy of the class Syllabus. This syllabus contains the general information regarding 3-D Design, and my expectations. Parents, please review the information contained in the syllabus with your students, and return the information sheet by the end of the first week of class. If you have not seen a copy of the syllabus, there is an online copy located here. You can also download and print out a pdf version of it here.

I will post preliminary grades after 2-weeks, and will do my best to update them regularly. Please be aware that the initial grades are based on a very limited amount of work, and are severely impacted by not turning all work.

Congrats to the following GHS 3-D Design students who won awards in the GUHSD district art show:

Jacob Sizemore

 Advanced Sculpture: Honorable Mention

Advanced Functional 3-D: 3rd place

Daniel Santillan

Advanced Jewelery: 3rd place

Great Job!  We are proud of you.

We are currently taking the safety test for the metals classroom.   We will begin working on our first project on wednesday 1-16-08.