The Circus is Coming

Summer is here!  And that means time for more art lessons and shows. :)  Right now I am working on a carnival/ circus theme set of lessons.  My "inspiration" for this type of lessons and show came from a few things- one of my children can grab his uvula and wanted to show this off at an art show a few years back- I said maybe if we do a circus art show he could do that kind of thing.  Also a few years back my mom sent me a link to this short film & I loved it.  Many an artist has been fascinated with the way the body moves and that makes dancers and acrobats great subjects.  Degas, Seurat, Alexander Calder and Charles Demuth are a few artists with some circus/performer themed art.  Another thing is a book I love called Louise, The Adventures of a Chicken.  Another book I read just this summer, "A Sawdust Heart" My Life in Medicine and Tent Shows Henry Wood, added to the fun of this theme.  Finally, this seemed like the summer to do it.
One day we are making sculptures of something you might see in a circus parade while listening to Carnival of the Animals (Saint Saens).  Another day we are painting large circus posters while listening to The Beatles For the Benefit of Mr. Kite along with the rest of Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band and Magical Mystery Tour.  A third day we are learning about stippling and drawing a circus act while listening to Devotchka (not exactly circus music, but gypsy punk- gypsies- it kind of goes right?).  A fourth day we are making masks (inspired by the carnival masks in Venice) while listening to Cecilia Bartoli and Vivaldi.
Authenticity has never really been my goal, but fun is; and fun we do... Here is a sneak peek at some of the projects (I'll post more detailed blogs about each project soon):

Spring Contour Line Drawings

Another project we did for our spring art show was contour line drawings.  We drew a tricycle, rain boots, and an umbrella. We used a nice-off white drawing paper and felt tip pens. 
A contour line is a line that follows the contour of a subject; or follows the outline and includes wrinkles, bumps, insides of folds, outlines of highlights,etc. 
How to do it- look at something, put your pen on the paper, let your pen take a walk on the paper where your eye travels.  Like making a map of what you see.  No lifting the pen, that's cheating, it's supposed to be one continuous line that goes up, down, in and out, and makes a picture.  :) 
It can be hard.  I let little kids cheat a bit.  Once you get the hang of it it's a great exercise to get yourself to really "see" what you're looking at; to get to know your subject.  Contour line drawings also look really great- a nice simple piece to frame and hang on the wall.

Spring bird drawings

Another spring project we did for our show was bird drawings.  We used colored pencils and felt tip pens.  We talked a little bit about John James Audubon and his bird artwork.

Each student brought a picture of a bird.

We talked about what shapes the birds could be broken down into- triangles and ellipses.

We sketched those first

and then sketched a few more lines

then did an outline in ink

We added details and shading with colored pencils last.
Press harder if you want a darker or brighter area and lift the pencil a little to get lighter areas.  If you're new to this it's okay to practice on a piece of scratch paper.

Spring Bird Lanterns

These fun lanterns are made using tissue paper, glue (typical washable white liquid school glue), yarn, a hole punch, and a balloon.  You will also need scissors, a bowl you don't mind filling with glue, a little water, double stick tape, a stapler, and a strip of cardstock or heavy paper.   
This can be a messy project so either place some paper or a plastic table cloth on your work space.  This will also need to dry over night so plan on a place to keep this project where it can be left alone to dry.
Now get the supplies ready.  take one end of your strip of heavy paper and bring it to the other end, making a circle.  Staple or tape it together.  This will be your stand for your balloon.  Using the scissors cut or tear your tissue paper into strips about 2"X 3 or 4" (or whatever size you want).  In your bowl pour in a little glue and stir (I just use my finger) in a little water until it's thinned, but still looks like glue.  The amount you need will depend on how many bird lanterns you are making and doesn't take as much as you might think- you can always mix more if you run out.  Keep in mind it will need to enough to dip your tissue paper rectangles.  Blow up your balloon to size you would like your bird and tie the end in a knot.  Now with the knot end facing down towards the table, set the balloon on the paper ring you made for a stand.  The knot should be inside the ring. 
Once you have your workspace set up you can get started.  Take one of your rectangles and crumple it into a ball.  Now squish that ball into a cone shape for a beak.  Stick some double stick tape on the flat side of the "cone" and then stick the beak to the balloon (remember your bird is upside down).

 Next take a strip of tissue paper, set it flat in the bowl, and then as you lift it out of the bowl with one hand use your fingers of the other hand to slide the paper in between two fingers to remove excess glue, and then set the paper on the balloon.  Repeat this step a few times and then once you get a layer done it is easier to take strips of paper, set them on the balloon, dip your fingers in the bowl and spread the glue over the paper gluing and smoothing the paper strips at the same time.  Continue to do this until you have about three layers of paper that cover the balloon about 3/4 the way to the bottom.  You will also need to make sure you are wrapping and gluing some strips to the beak so the beak is connected to the bird. 

 Now you can clean up and let your project dry overnight. 
Once your bird is dry pop the balloon.  The balloon might stick a little to the tissue paper so you may need to gently pull the balloon away from the paper as it is deflating.  It might start to invert the paper too, but you can easily push the paper back out to it's regular shape if this starts to happen.  Once you have the balloon separated from the bird use the hole punch to punch three holes approximately equal distance to keep it balanced when you add string and hang it. 

Cut three equal lengths of yarn and tie one to each hole and the tie the three strings together at the top.  Place a small light inside and you have a fun lantern. 

 If you prefer not to hang it that is always an option too (like the girl above).
You can buy battery operated tea lights to put inside or also at craft stores you can buy even smaller battery operated lights made to fit inside balloons or floral arrangements.
Also to note it is possible to buy paste and glues specifically for paper mache projects if you prefer, but I have regular glue already and it does the trick.

Corot Spring

My favorite thing about spring is the dark trunks of trees spotted with tiny bits of lime green, white, or pink. 
Even though his paintings aren't necessarily of this, they remind me of it and he captures the mood and magic I love about speckled trees.  He is Jean Baptiste Camille Corot. 
My favorite paintings by him are:  The Boatman of Mortefontaine, Ville d'Avray, and L'eglise de Marissel pres de Beauvais.
In March I did a set of art lessons for a variety of ages with a spring theme.  One of the projects we did was to remake the Ville d'Avray using either chalk pastels, oil pastels, watercolors, or charcoal.  Here's some samples of the art work:

Window shapes

This morning it was raining and it inspired me to post this art project that's great for rainy days.
A year ago we cut out geometric shapes from cling vinyl we bought at a craft store.  What I bought was Grafix ClingVinyl in 9"X12" sheets.  I cut various colors using a paper cutter into strips.  I then cut the strips into rectangles, squares, triangles, and circles.  Then I peeled the back paper off and stuck them to the window. 
If you know me and don't want to go through that process you can email me and I'll send you some of my extras.  
You can cut any shapes you want really, but I thought sticking to geometric would be fun for a couple of reasons.  One reason is to recognize that all things are made up of the basic geometric shapes to start with- so what can you make using just the basic geometric shapes?  Another reason is I think it encourages more creativity- if you already have shapes of actual objects what more can you do with them than stick them on the window? 
I love watching my kids stand at the window on a rainy day making pictures and talking about what they are putting together to create a whole story.

The Stages of Drawing

I recently checked out a book from the library titled "Understanding Children's Drawings" by Cathy A. Malchiodi.  Overall I found it interesting, but I was looking for something specific and didn't find it.  I did find a great summary of the stages of children's drawings.  Malchiodi has researched a number of Psychologists' studies which she references and if you are interested you may enjoy reading her book for more information.  I'm sharing a summary of these stages with you because I think it is important to know that children's drawing and learning are intertwined and that these stages are important and healthy. 
I was once sitting a classroom with a few mothers and their toddlers.  One boy walked up to the chalkboard and began to scribble.  His mom scolded him for scribbling and tried to teach him to draw a straight line and said to the other mothers "It would be my child who only scribbles"  My response was, "He's only 2.  He's supposed to scribble." 
Just like a baby will babble and practice making sounds before he/she talks the baby needs to scribble.  I've always wondered and thought that children are naturally artists and this should be nurtured, but also left to a little freedom, and now I have a resource.
Basically there are 6 stages and note that the ages are approximate and it is okay for children to switch around or experiment with stages they have already gone through. 
Stage 1 is Scribbling which is done from ages 18 months-3.  Scribbling is done mostly for the feeling of it.  Just as the brain and body are learning about the world through touching everything and the body is working on motor skills- climbing, walking, running, talking; scribbling is a similar stage and part of these motor skills.  They take great satisfaction just seeing they can move this object and make a mark.
Stage 2, Basic Forms, is age 3-4 and is still scribbling but will include basic forms such as lines and shapes or possible "writing".  Just as this age is learning about classifying objects as having shape, color, and form their art reflects it.  At this stage children also have better language and communication skills and will begin to give the drawings titles or names or make up stories as they are drawing, but are not necessarily drawing what they are talking about or may change their mind about what they are drawing later- it's all very imaginative and creative.
Stage 3, Human Forms and Beginning Schemata, is ages 4-7.  Children this age are developmentally beginning to better understand symbolic thought- that something can represent something else like letters and numbers for example.  At this stage children will begin drawing representational people and things.  The people usually look like a head or face with stick legs and as the child gets older he/she will gradually begin adding more details like arms, fingers, etc.  Placement on the page is not important to the child and they may fill up the entire page with objects not worrying about how they relate to eachother.
Stage 4, Development of Visual Schema is ages 6-9.  At this age "children are able to understand concepts of conservation and weight, they can arrange items in a series, and are beginning to be able to organize conceptually."  This development is seen in the artwork as children begin placing houses and people standing on the ground, more representational shapes and colors like rectangle houses with triangular roofs, green trees, etc.  Also, something the child wants to emphasize may be drawn in larger proportion to the rest of the picture.
Stage 5, Realism, is about ages 9-12.  At this age "children begin to consider the thoughts, opinions, and feelings of others."  At this stage children begin to better understand perspective in art (objects being smaller when far away for example).  As children become aware of the world around them they also become more interested in drawing things more realistic looking & find photographs to be "better" than a painting because photos are realistic. Their actual drawings will not look realistic or like a photograph at this stage, but will include more details and children will add more 3 dimensional characteristics although not always accurately or in correct proportion.  This is the stage where many children stop drawing unless encouraged and/ or taking classes.  Some children may feel they aren't good enough to keep drawing because they cannot make their drawings look real. Some children may find other methods they prefer to use to communicate their inner feelings, such as writing or may choose other areas of interest to pursue.
Stage 6, Adolescence.  "by the age of 13 or 14 years, children who have continued to make art will be able to use perspective more accurately and effectively in their drawings; will include greater detail in their work; will have an increasing critical perception of the environment; will have increasing mastery of materials; will be more attentive to color and design; and will be able to create abstract images.  When young people are encouraged and given the opportunity to continue to develop and improve skills in drawing, their work can be quite impressive, detailed, thoughtful, and creative in both style and content. (Malchiodi Understanding Children's Drawing p.97)"

So, my conclusion is let your child fully explore each stage of drawing without criticism.  Even that scribble is an important milestone in development.  Then as your child (or you) enter the older child and adolescent stage think about this:  just as the brain is ready for a more in depth knowledge and how-to's of science, math, writing, and other subjects it is also ready for the in depth how-to's of art in order for an interest in drawing to continue.