mixed media focusing on negative space

The Wednesday afternoon class has a large number of new students and so I wanted a project that would give me a chance to learn a little more about each child.

In my mind I call it their visually personalities.

Which child is shy, insecure, outgoing, cautious, exuberant, reckless, on and on it goes, when it comes to sharing themselves visually.

You get the idea.

So I wanted the project to not be threatening for anyone. A project where the end result was wide open and definitely did not need to look like something from real life as I observed how each child took on the task at hand.

It was also great for me to see the growth of the kids who have been coming to class for some time too! How they now tackle open ended projects differently from when they first started coming to the studio.

I'm quite excited about all I learned about the students in the class when going forward to create projects.

For this project, I first had the girls just experiment with watercolor. All I asked them to do was create a wet on wet blob of colors.

Mix them together, splatter water on top of color, add some white liquid acrylic, just watch what happens and have some fun.

This showed me a lot about each child in itself. Some kids filled the page immediately and then filled it some more. Others wanted to control each stroke of the brush.

As they finished, we dried the colors with a blow dryer so we could continue on with the next step.

Which was to find object shapes in the blobs of color.

Wait. What?

The idea they could do anything was frightening to all but one artist.

And so I asked them to find some flower shapes. They didn't have to be "normal" shapes, they could be funny circles, flowers shaped from side angles, how about some leaves, could they find a vase?

(and the one child who wanted to draw what she saw in her blobs asked for confirmation she could draw anything instead of flowers and so I assured her that she could in fact draw absolutely anything)

I gave each child a pencil to lightly traces these shapes and when done, a bit of white acrylic paint to paint the negative space around the shapes.

Wait. What?

So after showing them a few times what I meant, they began to paint the negative space.

Again some of the students were "all in" as others struggled with the idea of things not looking like they should.

As the white was completed, they again took the blow dryer to the paper to speed up the drying process.

Then I gave them fountain pens and colored ink and asked them to add details to their shapes.  Line, circles, whatever they wanted to create interest.  They could paint in additional flowers and stems if they wanted.

Everything was free game.

Now this was quite eye opening for me because those children who had embraced each step before were now unsure. Fountain pens do not always offer immediate gratification. They require patience. They require the artist to take their time.

They provided me with great insight when I began to replace fountain pens with black permanent markers as tolerance for the time consuming fountain pens began to hit critical mass.

In the end, I love the finished works. Not because they are pretty pictures but because they taught me a lot about the students.

And I absolutely love how each project captures the unique personality of the child. I'm looking forward to the upcoming weeks of working with these talented students.

using photos in art

I have seen a few projects where children take a photograph and continue the drawing out from the border.

I wanted to extend this project idea with the Monday class and created a mixed media project using old family photos I have from the early 1900's.

I made copies of them on my home printer as I did not use the original photos.

I copied a variety of photos for the kids to pick from and found it interesting that one in particular seemed to grab most of the student's attention.

This waterfall.

8 year old

8 year old

7 year old

First I had the students paint the background in a variety of whites with a brayer.  I offered some different materials for stamping into the whites, but every single child declined. 

Once we had covered the acrylic paper in white, I gave a quick talk on the rules of thirds in composition and asked them to find their "sweet spot" to place the photo.  

They then used an image transfer method to add the photo to the paper.  In hindsight, I would skip this step and just have them glue down the photograph.  

Once the photos were complete, each child took a piece of sandpaper and sanded at the edges of the photos so they melded into the paper smoothly. 

From there the kids used pencil, charcoal, water-soluble graphite and black acrylic to extend the photographs.

9 year old, "war"

The above painting took on a life of it's own. He was completely lost in creating this work and it is just amazing to me to see what a very small, torn photograph of cannons on a war field inspired. The back of the photograph says, "Wow. Bora", so I'm guessing this is a battleground from WW2

From that simple torn picture, the artist created quite a story.

10 year old

The lone girl in the class gravitated to the horse monument picture. I love the way she manipulated the photograph so that it looks like a horse and rider are on a trail walk.

Once they completed their work, they had the opportunity to put an acrylic glaze on top to give it a dreamlike quality.

I am quite thrilled with the abstract quality of these works.  I think they are beautiful and am amazed at how a small photograph inspired each child to create a unique work and inspired their imaginations.

preschool 'my favorite stuffie' chalk pastel portraits

Weekly art classes are back up and running again after the holiday break! As much as I enjoy the holidays, I'm quite happy to be getting back into my regular schedule.

I have a group of three-year-olds on Monday mornings this month. I love working with this age group, as absolutely everything is new and exciting for them. 

I decided to start off the month focusing on their favorite stuffed companions. 

One of the three-year-olds drops her older brother off to class and always has her "bunny-bun" with her. To my surprise one evening when I asked how Bunny-bun was doing, I got an actual answer from Bunny-bun. And as if a three year old's voice is not high and sweet enough, Bunny-bun talks in an even higher voice that literally makes your heart melt. In that moment, I realized the magical relationship between a three-year-old and their favorite stuffed animal and a project was born.

I asked the moms to help me out by sending a simple photograph of their child's beloved. Here is Bunny-bun, taken by the three-year-old no less!

I printed these out on my home printer and taped them down to the art table.  Then I taped a piece of acetate over top of the reference picture. When the kids arrived, we first played "shape detectives" and found all the shapes that made up their companions and drew them on the acetate with water-based makers.

Why water-based? So they could erase any shapes that they wanted to try again. Once they were happy, I had them connect the shapes with a permanent black marker on the acetate, creating a line drawing of their stuffie.

We then took off the acetate and voila! they had a drawing of their stuffed animal. We placed the acetates on the table and I quickly placed a piece of silk on top and taped it down. Each child then traced their drawing onto the silk with a washable pencil, which I added resist to after class and they will use for silk painting next week. Here those are drying.

I think all of this actually took me longer to type and you to read than it did for the children to do! Because after all, they are three! And things can move quite quickly when you are three.

So now they had a great sense of how to draw their stuffed animals and it was time to put the acetates away. I had already set up some pastel paper on another table and gave each child a black oil pastel and asked them to draw their stuffed animal with it.

Then I gave each of them a box of chalk pastel to create their portraits.

As you can see they are different from the acetate drawings they used for their silks, but the kids also retained a good sense of how to draw their animals.

Jemima Puddle-duck, 3 year old

Elsa, the bunny.  3 year old

Lots of experimentation with the chalks was happening, smearing was fun, a lot of fun. I asked them to put a different color on top of their first colors to see what happened also. I asked them to color with the white chalk on top and asked what they discovered too. And when they and their papers were quite colorful, I gave them the black oil pastels one last time to go over their black lines again.

rainbow bunny, 3 year old

Bunny-bun, 3 year old

This age group finds great joy in the process and it is fun to watch them. They were all quite proud of themselves in the end. This is a 45 minute class and we still had about 5 or so minutes to fill once everyone was cleaned up until parents arrived for pick up. To fill that time, I brought out some large newsprint and gave each child a very fat water-soluble graphite pencil. 

I think these are the most favorite things in the studio for all age groups and they did not disappoint these young children either.

I asked them to show me what "happy" and "angry" lines looked like on paper. Then I gave each girl a paintbrush and a jug of water and asked them to see what happened when they added water to their lines. 

That was a hit! So then they created dancing lines, sad lines, well you get the idea, and then added water on top. Where the water dripped on the paper, they traced the shapes created with the pencils. This held their attention long enough for me to quickly step outside the door of the studio to spray their chalk pastels in order to set them.

Then moms arrived and goodbyes were said. I'm feeling pretty confident when I say they all had fun, one little girl was quite excited to tell her mom that she blended the colors with her fingers. HER FINGERS! She was quite fascinated with this discovery and it was sweet to listen to her share this newfound knowledge with mom.

I can't wait to watch them discover the magic of dye painting on silk next week with those sweet sketches they made now.  Monday morning can't come soon enough.

silk painted scarves

The last holiday workshop I ran at the studio was creating silk painted scarves.

I have found over the years that children love silk painting and without doubt, a project everyone feels successful with at the end regardless of skill level.  

Each child created their own design and transferred it onto the silk with a water soluble pencil. To save time, I already had the silks mounted, so we just place a book underneath the silk in order for them to trace their designs.

I always have a test fabric mounted in an embroidery hoop for each student.  This gives them a chance to experiment with the resist and dye prior to working on their piece. They quickly learned how much pressure to add to get the resist right and a variety of ways they could apply the dyes.

Then they got to work adding the resist to their scarves! They quickly realized that this takes a long time!  I used a water soluble resist and found that by the time they finish the entire work, the first part was dry enough for them to start applying the dye right away. I had figured I might need to use a blow dryer, but in the end, that was not necessary.

Then it was time for the fun part, adding color! It looks a bit messy at this point with the resist and the water soluble pencil in the mix, but I assured them it will look quite different once we set the color and wash the silk out in the sink. As you can see, they had salt available too to add for texture.

When working on a silk, I have found that it is best to have them work on the subject matter first. Then based on the time left, I can judge how much detail they can add to the background. If needed, like in the case of this workshop, you can just wash in a color quickly to complete the project in time and still have a stunning work.

Look at these results! I believe everyone of them was created as a Christmas gift, which is why I did not want to post them until after the holiday. 

I ran two classes, the workshop and a private group created by a parent.  

(Yes! I am happy to run a weekly class or a workshop for a group of four or more students at a time that works best for the group.)

13 year old

When the artist started this scarf, she was thinking of giving it to a friend. By the end of class, she was not sure who she would give it too. I love the leaf montage and think she did a beautiful job adding the color.

13 year old

This artist made her scarf for her mother, she loves poinsettia flowers. She was concerned her mother wouldn't like it, can you imagine something this lovely not being liked by anyone? much less her mother? No doubt in my mind it was a huge hit Christmas morning.

13 year old

I unfortunately cannot remember who this artist created her scarf for but I do love that the reference used for this design was actually a succulent plant, not a rose! Such a cleaver idea.

10 year old

This artist created her scarf for her grandmother, who is also a textile artist. Her work is on display at the Seymour Art Gallery gift shop and she creates these lovely fabric dolls and felted fairy shoes. The  felted shoes she has made special for her granddaughter were the inspiration for the scarf she in return made for her. Isn't that special? I know her grandmother will cherish this gift.

grade 3

This artist came into the studio knowing exactly what she wanted to create for her mother. She wanted an abstract design in warm colors because her mother loves the sun and warmth. After a discussion together, she decided to work with overlapping circles (great sun reference) in a mixture of warm colors. She focused on color mixing and adding salt for texture. It was a joy to watch her get lost in the process for creating this scarf.

grade 3

This artist wanted to create a holiday scarf for her grandmother. How cute is this holly scarf going to look worn during the Christmas season? I would be thrilled if I was her grandmother.

grade 3

Another lucky grandmother! Such a cute design and I love how each flower has it's own unique design based off of the same repeated drawing.

grade 3

This artist came to the studio knowing she wanted to create a cherry blossom for her grandmother. We spent quite a bit of time up front working out the sketch working side by side drawing. I showed her how to break her reference first down to shape and then work out detail. Once I could see her confidence grow, I left her to work with some of the other girls. When I came back, she had the most stunning drawing worked out that led to this beautiful scarf. She was quite proud of herself in the end.

grade 1

This scarf speaks volumes to how forgiving silk painting is with children. Talk about a child who came to the project with complete abandon and a zeal for adding dye to the silk.  This scarf was all about the process. She LOVED watching the colors move on the silk, blend together, and was quite involved in experimenting putting different colors on top of each other. As she finished the first flower, I was quite worried she would just have a brown mess at the end but reminded myself to trust in her process. There was lots of dye, lots of salt, and lots of excitement and laughter while creating this scarf and in the end, it came out lovely. 

No need on my part to worry at all that she would not be happy with her scarf when finished- she was thrilled and quite excited to show her dad when he arrived at pick up. I know her grandmother will be quite thrilled to when she opens it up on Christmas morning.

I unfortunately forgot to photograph the last scarf created in studio. It was in a private class I ran for a mother and daughter the day before Christmas. It was quite special too and in my rush to get their projects finished for them for Christmas, I did not remember to take out my camera. The daughter made a scarf for her Aunt of her black lab, Sadie, that had passed away. Such a heartfelt gift that I know probably meant the world to her Aunt when she opened it on Christmas.

So impressed with each and every artist who worked on these scarves. I love doing this project almost as much as the kids love working on it. I'm guessing they made for a very merry Christmas for the lucky people who received them.

pinecone elves

This past Sunday was the last of the holiday workshops and the kids all created pinecone elves.

Years ago I became fascinated by these little elves after coming across them in a thrift store.  Best I can figure, they were produced in West Germany and Italy, but Japan was quick to jump on the bandwagon with their popularity from around the 1930's through 1950's.

If you know more about them, I'd love to hear about it as I cannot find much history on these little pinecone people.

These were the inspiration for a holiday project I created to do with the students. Like me, the kids were fascinated by the vintage elves I had on the table for them to look at for inspiration.

Once they were done admiring them, we got down to creating our own take on these quirky little holiday decorations.

First each student picked out a couple of pinecones that caught their fancy. I happened to have a few dozen that I had spray painted silver last year for a project that never came to fruition. I was glad to finally have a reason to use them!

They stuck the pinecones firmly into some white oven baked clay to create a sturdy base.

If I had the luxury of time, I would probably of used air dry clay. When I did these with my own kids almost 10 years ago, we used a painted cardboard circle that I hot glued the pinecones onto for a base.

While those were in the oven baking, each child took a couple of wooden beads and a bit of flesh colored oven bake clay and began sculpting faces. They first covered the wooden bead completely in clay and then started added clay as necessary to create a face.

Believe it or not, this was a great opportunity to throw in a lesson on the planes of the face while they were having fun.

About the time they finished the faces, the pinecones were ready to come out of the oven. So out came the pinecones and in went the heads to bake and harden. 

I had a bit of white paint out that the students could use if they wanted to add some "snow" to their pinecones. Some were quite happy with the silver and skipped this step. 

What they didn't skip was the opportunity to put a little glue on the clay base and add some glitter! Not many can pass up sparkle and I can't say I blame them.

I had a variety of cut 4" length pipe cleaner in brown, white, and red to use for arms. After finding the middle of the pipe cleaner, the kids added a bit of glue and stuck it through the scales where they felt the arms should be on their sculpture.

They then began to add some accessories for their little elves to hold. 

Some of the items I picked up on clearance at the craft store and others came from a jar of miniatures left over from past year projects, because as my husband exclaims anytime he comes into my studio, "Good Lord woman, you're a hoarder"

Kind of like the above elf. 

Is it even possible for it to hold one. more. thing?!  I can relate, there can never be too much Christmas decor. 

About this time, the heads were finished and the students had the opportunity to add features with either permanent markers or paint.

Do these elves not remind you of MADD magazines "Spy vs. Spy" comics?  I am quite smitten with them and their black eyes.

Especially this one where the arms were accidentally put on the wrong way, but it works! 

This elf, with his arms laden with gifts, looks like most men who wait until the 24th to do their Christmas shopping. Running around at a frantic pace through the mall, crossing the finish line as the clock strikes midnight on Christmas Eve.

And this little guy pretty much sums up my husband's expression after reading the above commentsabout last minute shopping. He is not amused.

                                     

Once the faces were decorated, I hot glued the heads onto the pinecones. Using a bit of white pipe cleaner, we hot glued on the "beard" and then they glued on the felt hats they had decorated.  I found a template on Martha Stewart's website for the hats.  (creating 20 of them took less than a half hour.)

There was plenty of time left in the workshop and so the kids began to create another elf. It was quite interesting to see how quickly the project took a life of it's own as the kids gained confidence in creating the elves. They began to push the boundaries with amusing and wonderful results.

The "so over it" elf or otherwise known as "the bah-humbug grinch".

This prim and proper elf with a fur hat and diamond earrings no less!

And this sweet little elf who is overwhelmed with it's holiday "to do" list while entangled in a string of bells.

Or this happy little clown elf all wrapped up in his winter scarf.

There was quite a collection of little guys by the end of the workshop. All quite worthy of giving the vintage elves used for inspiration a run for their money in the cute and quirky holiday decor category. 

I honestly believe the kids, who ranged in age from 6-13 years old, were sad to see the two hour class end and would of been happy to stay in the studio creating more elves.  

I found it quite difficult to say goodbye to these little guys as they left to add holiday cheer in their new homes, each and every one of them so full of personality and charm.  I'm guessing as the years pass by, they will become cherished little ornaments brought out each holiday season, much like the ones in my own house that my children created all those years ago.

Merry Christmas everyone!