clay animals

I realized it had been awhile since I had done a clay project with the kids and so decided in some form or another, I would do clay with most of the classes.

So prepare for a lot of clay projects coming up as they kids complete them.

For the Wednesday class, a class full of little girls, I knew animals would be a big hit.

Each girl could create the animal of their choice.

They could give it any personality they wanted.

And what an adorable group of creatures they created!

I used an air dry clay because I'm still dreaming of that studio kiln....but I have finally settled on a clay I really like, that doesn't crack or break easily. I love the way it holds paint too and although it feels expensive when I buy it, in reality it goes a very long way and still falls within a reasonable budget that makes it feasible for large groups of children.

So the first week, the girls spent the hour and a half creating their clay animals. For those that finished a little early, I brought out some chalk pastels and had them draw their clay creatures.

6 year old

A few weeks ago, these young artist created doughnut paintings inspired by Wayne Thiebaud and one artist has been obsessed with doughnuts ever since. At the beginning of class when they draw whatever they want for warm up, she draws doughnuts and that carried over to her clay animal too. 

Her little bunny is holding a doughnut. In both the above pastel portrait and in clay.

6 year old

With sprinkles even! How cute is that one spotted eye also?

So as you can see, the following week when the clay was dry, the artist used high flow acrylic paint to add color and details to their works. The girls came into class so excited to paint. The only thing more exciting was the anticipation of taking the work home that night and several times they asked for reassurance they would indeed be dry enough to go home with them.

I can't blame them as I put them on the table to dry, they are all so precious!

Like this turtle created by one of the six year olds. She was painting pretty fast and I was looking for ways to not only slow her down but also add a bit more detail to her painting. I suggested adding some spots to the turtle.

She was quite indignant when she exclaimed, "Turtles don't have spots" as if I had just suggested she add a third eye to her piece. I took out a reference folder full of all types of turtles and showed her lots of spots and stripes that turtles sport.

She was still not convince and so sorry to the big man upstairs, but she was of the opinion spots and stripes were "weird". I couldn't help but chuckle and let her continue on with her spotless turtle.

6 year old

We had a couple of dog creations.

8 year old

The above artist was so proud of her dog that she created of her real life pet.

8 year old

Or her good friends' dog with a carefully painted blue collar.

8 year old

And how can you not be smitten with a bunny wearing a top hat? And I love the expression the artist carefully painted on the face. Obviously he's a little concerned someone is coming for that yummy carrot or is he admiring the doughnut of the other classroom bunny? Either way, this is just too cute.

6 year old

Another bunny and please take a moment to look at that smile. The artist worked SO HARD on it and painted it several times to get it "just right".

Then there is this sweet piece. Her mother had some surgery the day before we started the clay project and this weighed heavily on her heart. She was thinking of her mother the entire time she was creating the work, a cat holding a heart. She planned to write "get well soon" on the heart.

By the following week, her mother was doing better and the message changed a bit.

10 year old

What a lovely little present for her mother. I know this little cat will mean a lot to her.

And finally this elaborate animal from my class artist who I affectionately call "the caboose". She is quite thoughtful in her decisions. She is extremely detail oriented and likes to take her time when creating, something I always admire in her. 

10 year old

And if you have to kiss a lot of frogs to find your prince, if they are this cute, who cares? I love her color choices and the small detail of the flower she added.

And there you have it. As excited as each child was to take this project home that night, I would of loved to keep them for a week to admire. As you can imagine, the artist were having none of that suggestion when I made it.

I can't say I blame them. I'm sure each sweet sculpture has found a place of honor in their new homes to be enjoyed and loved for a long time to come.

liquid watercolor paintings

Last Friday morning, I ran a three hour workshop in the morning for a group of girls who were out of school thanks to a teacher workday.

One of the best parts of running classes out of my private studio is having the ability to work with a parent individually to create a class for a group of friends they put together.

So Friday morning, I came up with a couple of projects focused on animals.

We started with creating sea snails in clay. I had some old shells that the girls used and pulled out some reference material to help them create their own imaginary snails. I brought out wire to use for spikes, antennae, and anything else they could think of.

While those baked and cooled in order to color with permanent markers, we worked on a watercolor project.

I am in love with liquid watercolors for children. In fact, I rarely use pan watercolor anymore because of them. Liquid watercolor allows children to easily get the results they desire while also letting them explore the amazing process of color mixing.

Emperor Penguin and baby, 8 year old

I only ever use the primary colors and it really doesn't take much paint to fill a large piece of paper.  If I give out black paint, it is always at the end, and only on an as need basis for things like panda bears or penguins. Even then, I have never had a kid need more than just a tiny bit.

frisbee loving rainbow dog, 8 year old

The kids love exploring wet on wet, adding salt, blotting, even scratching into their paper and watching what happens with the watercolor.

penguin admiring the northern lights, 8 year old

For this project, each child chose their own animal. They worked on sketching paper, with reference material,  to create their compositions. 

frisbee loving collie, 6 year old

To make this process easier, I suggested they find the different shapes first and put them on the paper and then start connecting them together and creating their animal.

penguin with the northern lights, 8 year old

When they were happy with their sketch, we transferred the drawing using carbon paper onto the watercolor paper. (this process is easy to mimic by just shading the back side of the sketch with the side of a pencil and then retracing the sketch onto the final paper)

day dreaming panda, 6 year old

They then went over their drawing with a black permanent marker and began to paint.

I told them to start with the backgrounds and not to get water on their animals in order to control the color better. I told them to think about where they wanted to add texture to their work with salt and showed them how to create very light color on their paper either by diluting the color on their brush with water, blotting the color on the paper, or going back into the color they had put on the paper by dropping water droplets on top of the drying background (blooming).

penguin, 6 year old

They they began to paint their animals. Again I told them about how some artist (Fauvist) used 'wild beast' color to create mood in their artwork and we discussed how different colors make us think and feel different things.

Then when they were happy with their results, they began coloring their sea snails and before you knew it, three hours had flown by and parents were arriving for pick up.

The morning was so successful, I am now looking at creating a Pro-D day workshop for all upcoming teacher workdays.

outsider art inspired acrylic paintings

In the Wednesday elementary class, I introduced outsider art, also called folk art.

In particular I presented the works of Canadian artist, Maud Lewis.

The kids were quite fascinated by her, her life, and the role of growing up with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis had on her life. What sealed the deal for the students though was Maud Lewis's little house, a house she decorated from top to bottom in her paintings...the walls, the wood stove, the stairs, the windows....EVERYTHING.

Once I finished answering a multitude of questions regarding Lewis and her life, the kids began to create their own works of art.

Like Maud Lewis, the kids painted scenes from their daily surroundings.

They all painted a Vancouver landscape.

8 year old

We discussed how they did not need to draw things realistically, nor paint in realistic colors. We discussed how Maud Lewis kept her colors flat and how might they to the same.

6 year old

When they were happy with their compositions, each child traced their lines with a black oil pastel and then were given just primary colors with white, black and brown to use for mixing their own color palettes.

8 year old

When they were finished painting, they had the chance to go over their black lines with either the black oil pastel or in a couple of cases, a black permanent pen.

6 year old

6 year old

I think they were all quite pleased with their work when finished. I love the array of styles that were inspired by Maud Lewis.

10 year old

10 year old

After seeing the response the kids had to this particular artist, I have no doubt I will be introducing her again to the other classes. I'm thrilled that the students took such a liking to Canada's most famous outsider artist.

8 year old