Darlene Crain’s second grade class from Bret Harte Elementary, have created clay monster mugs which are on display at the Ugly Mug Coffee House until Halloween. Owners of the Ugly Mug Coffee House, Steve and Emily Nalbantian, had children attending Bret Harte when their coffee shop first opened. “I remember thinking how it was such a great name for a coffee place and the idea just came to me,” said Crain, who tries to do this art project each year with her students.
The mugs are made out of clay, painted, glazed and completed in the school’s kiln. “One of California’s art standards is under the topic of creating from conceptualization to completion. I wanted the children to create something fun while they learned about the process of clay art, said Crain. “I wish we had more art programs in public schools. Watching the children work with clay gave them such confidence to express themselves and their imagination. This project showed them that it is okay to make mistakes and to not be afraid to make them while learning basic clay techniques.”
Each student made their own monster mug and they can be viewed inside of Ugly Mug Coffee House located at 3112 W Burbank Blvd, until Halloween. The mugs will be picked up on November 1st by Crain and given back to the kids so they can take them home and enjoy them.
