Art: Stolen, Escaped, Recovered- Paintings

This lesson covered "stealing".  Not necessarily how you might first think.  We talked about stealing ideas and from other art.  Everyone gets ideas from somewhere and it's the combination of those ideas in your mind that makes them your own.  I used the example from Austin Kleon's book Steal Like An Artist, of the family tree analogy.  You have a mom and dad each unique, but together they make you.  You have a couple of ideas and when you put them together they make a new idea.  For the younger class we "stole" Van Gogh's idea of painting a vase of sunflowers.  We also looked at other artist's paintings of sunflowers.  Painting sunflowers is not a unique idea, but each artist paints the same thing differently.

 

When I asked my preschool class to go ahead and start painting the flowers one little girl did exactly what I said- so adorable!

The older class was asked to choose two pieces of art to combine into one.  When it came down to painting though, I think most of them changed their mind and just wanted to paint the sunflowers.  Not a problem for me though, the results were great.
(I can't believe I didn't take more pictures!  I had around 30 paintings...If anyone has some photos of more of our classes or at the art show please send them my way and I'll add them in)

In the older class we also talked about how to tell the real Rembrandt from the fake- something I found in a magazine while waiting at my teen's orthodontist appointment (link here)


and this Norman Rockwell painting (the image is a link to the website where I found it and great blog for young kids and art) and a spin off by Luke Radi titled Spider-Man (image is a link).  We talked about what was similar and what was changed from the photograph to the painting to the next painting.



When I do a painting class I usually give the kids the following colors and have them mix to make the other colors they need:
Magenta
yellow
cerulean
burnt umber (brown)
white
black
sometimes I'll add:
yellow ochre (golden brown)

ultramarine blue
red

It's just personal preference.  I think the cerulean makes a better range of greens and you can get the bright and light limes that are so much fun.  Using just ultramarine blue that usually comes in kits and starter sets is usually frustrating for young painters because it has so much black in it and the greens are always dark.  Just my opinion and observation- other people maybe would disagree.

Art: Stolen, Escaped, Recovered- Clues

If you are a detective what do you usually look for?  Clues.  This lesson's projects all have to do with clues.  What are somethings you would look for at a crime scene?  Fingerprints?  Footprints? 
One of our projects for this lesson involves making fingerprint and footprint jewelry. 
We pinched a small piece of clay, rolled it in a ball, and pressed our finger in it or stepped on it, or found another object to leave a mark.  Don't forget to poke a hole at the top big enough to thread a string for a necklace.  We then set them on 3X5 cards labeled with each child's name and cut a piece of string the size each child wanted and set it on the card.  I also used dot stickers with each name folded over the string to help keep everyone's straight.  After class I spray painted the charms with copper or silver spray paint. 
Warning- keeping everyone's straight when spray painting can be a bit tricky so make sure you have your system down- I first tried leaving them on the card, but of course the spray paint paints over the name.  The clay is also very light weight, almost like paper, so sometimes the spray paint force blew the charms off of the card.  I lined each up and made a list of the order and just did a few at a time inside a box so I could do my best to remember whose were whose.  I still ended up with one no one claimed.
To display the jewelry I had clean 3X5 cards that I cut two short slits on one edge and at the end of those slits I hole punched a hole for the necklace string to rest.  I threaded the string through the hole of the charms. I put the string in the slits of the cards and then rolled the extra length of string on the back of the card and taped it down.  I didn't tie the ends because I figured the kids would want to when they take it home and want to wear it. 

Let's pretend you are an art forger.  An art forger is someone who makes art that looks like a famous artist might have made it and then tries to sell it saying it is that artist's work.  If we were going to do this we would need to make our art look old.  One thing that makes art age is the sun.
We picked two different colors of paper and cut a shape out of one.  we taped it to the other.  We hung them in my window for a day to see what happened.

Another aging technique we used was on metal.  We put a penny or piece of copper in a jar, a brass hook, a nut and screw in a jar.  We poured enough vinegar to cover the metal and then added salt.  I let the kids our in however much they wanted.  The next day the students came to class we checked on them.  They didn't look much different until we poured out the salt and vinegar and put the pieces of metal back in the jar.  once the air got to them they changed a lot.  (Hydrogen peroxide seemed to work fairly well to clean them off if you don't want to keep them rusty looking.  We kept ours rusty for the art show).

Now, if you worked in a museum and someone tried to sell you something they forged or made to look like a famous artist's work what could you do to tell the difference?  (listen to suggestions- some might be to look at the signature or to test the paint or compare styles of painting or brush strokes- all excellent answers).  Let's pretend we are museum directors and we are thinking about this piece of art.  We need to establish provenance.  Provenance is the origin or source.  It is the history of ownership of a valued object or work of art or literature.  To do this we are going to look at the back of a painting.  The back of a painting is just as important as the front.  Do the edges of the canvas look worn or freshly cut?  Is there a date or name stamped on the back?  Any labels?  Why might the brand and date of manufacture of the canvas be important?  Is it a brand the artist used?  Is it the same time period as the artist was living?  The back of a painting is a good place to look for clues.
We put together cardboard picture frames.  On the back we wrote a secret message or picture with a black light pen.  On the front we drew decoration around the edges with glue.  Once they were dry after class I spray painted them all with gold paint.  We used regular white glue and it dried mostly flat, so if I were to do this again and had a much smaller class of only older children who can handle a glue gun that would probably work better if you want a more prominent texture.  At the art show we had a black light flashlight hanging next to the frames so people could look at the back for "clues" as to who the artist is of the frame.

Fall Magnet Clay Project

Our first project this fall was clay magnets.  These are very simple projects.  I used white Staedtler Fimo Efaplast Microwave Modeling Clay I ordered from DickBlick.  I used ProMAG magnets also ordered from DickBlick.  I love this clay for making magnets.  In the summer we used it to make necklaces and this clay was great for drying so quickly, but it is very light weight and almost has a papery feel, so to me it felt weird to have it as a necklace kind of just floating around your neck... maybe other people didn't notice that or didn't care.  Anyway, because it is so light weight it is perfect for a magnet because then the magnet can do it's job holding a paper or photo on your fridge instead of holding up the magnet.
First we pinched off a piece of the clay.  We rolled it into a ball.  We flattened it and shaped it.  You can use a rolling pin if you want.

Then we pressed small items into the clay like plastic bugs, sticks, leaves, flowers, anything that might be found on the ground or under ground.  (The "under" part of our woodland theme).

I then microwaved the clay projects.  Because they are so small I only needed to cook them for a minute or two.  They will need to be allowed to cool.  I had the kids work on one then microwaved the projects while the kids worked on another project so they could be painting while the first project was cooking and cooling. 
we used crayola water color paints to paint them.  Spray painting is a nice option too, but the kids enjoyed being able to paint them themselves with lots of colors.
Last we glued a magnet to the back using good old Elmer's school glue.  It seems to have held up fine on my magnets, but if the magnet comes off you can always glue it back on, or use a stronger glue if you prefer.

 

The older class I taught also made owl magnets.  I found this idea on Pinterest here.
We added our own flair to it with the watercolor paints.
These would make great Thanksgiving napkin rings too.  Hope you enjoy a fun and easy project. :-)
 

Fall Woods Watercolor Paintings

Our second project for fall was watercolor painting.  We will be painting a picture of the woods, pretty much the same picture, each season, so we see how the same thing is different and the same throughout the year.  I think they will actually look quite nice together when we are done.
All of our paintings were done with Crayola watercolors on 18X24 140lb Canson cold press watercolor paper I purchased at Michael's (it's a large blue pad).  We used a variety of paintbrush sizes.  Larger to do a background wash, medium for smaller stuff, and small to tiny for details.  You will also need:  water for rinsing your brushes, paper towels, masking tape, a stiff board (I use clipboards), and salt (optional).
Before we started our paintings (with the older class/not preschool) we went over the color wheel, color mixing, watercolor washes, salt techniques, and the all important:  start with the lightest colors first and work your way to darker colors!  We made little bookmarks out of our practice strips.  The practice strips were leftover scraps after cutting everyone's paper from a larger piece.

First, using masking tape, we taped down all sides of our paper to a clipboard.  All the way around, not just on the corners.
Then we tore masking tape into thinner and crooked strips.  we placed these where we wanted tree trunks.  Once we were sure where we wanted the tape we smoothed and rubbed it down.
We got out our paints and painted away.  Some of us added a little salt or a few splatters. Once happy with our forest we used the hairdryer to dry our paintings.  Once the painting is dry we brushed off the salt and carefully peeled off the masking tape trees.

Here you can see the taped edges of a painting and some trees taped with the painting right over the tape and some of the tape trees taken off

We then painted our tree trunks, adding some dark lines for birch trees and some shading.  Once this part was dry we carefully peeled off the masking tape from around the edges.  I recommend doing this slowly and at an angle so you don't tear your painting.  Here's some of our finished projects.

(sorry this one is sideways- I can't get it to turn back)

 

Monarch Butterfly Printmaking

I know, I know, I still haven't updated my blog with all of our summer projects we completed and our show.  Since it's fall I decided to skip ahead and then go back to those.  This school year I decided to do three classes each season.  I chose the theme Over, Under, and Through the Woods for the seasonal and outdoorsy art projects I wanted to do.
For our preschool class we made monarch butterflies using hand prints.  It's pretty self explanatory.  We painted our hands orange, pressed them on paper, painted black around them, and then added white dots.  For full disclosure, I did see this one on Pinterest (the link takes you to the google image).  We used tempera paint- I had the kids mix red or magenta and yellow to make orange.  Also, I only gave them the colors we were using so they wouldn't be tempted to use others and not have it look so much like a Monarch anymore.  In this class we only painted one hand and used the same hand to do both halves of the butterfly.  You can paint both hands so you have both prints and so the butterfly sides are symmetrical.  Either way is pretty cute.  Once we did our butterflies I gave the kids free reign with the paint on another sheet of paper to do whatever they wanted.

For the older class we had a much more complicated project.  We have done printmaking before with one block and one color of ink, but this time we needed two blocks, one for each color.  This took a lot of thinking ahead and planning for the kids.  Some still struggled with the concept at first, but after doing it a first time it makes more sense.
We started with me going through the whole process showing them my sketch, my already carved blocks, and my final prints along with a print of each block separate not just put together to help understand why we needed two separate blocks carved differently.
Step one:  Sketch your ideas for your butterfly.  Choose your design.  Know which parts you want orange and which parts black.  Remember that you will need to carve away anything you don't want printed.
Step Two:  Draw or transfer your black sections on one block and your orange sections onto the other block.  If you don't want to re-draw your sketch you can put your drawing face down on the block, hold it still, and rub your pencil over the back.  It should leave a light transfer of graphite on your block and then you can darken it if you need to.
Step Three:  Begin carving.  I recommend starting with a smaller blade to outline the areas you want to carve out and then using a larger one.  I also recommend holding the carving tool like you would an ice cream scoop -then the carving motion is a smooth glide.  Many students want to hold the carving tool like a pencil and that really is harder to get smooth cuts and results in more slips and scratching or cutting your other hand.  The carving blocks I used (link at the bottom of post) are really nice and smooth and easy to carve- no need to press extra hard.  Carving a block is actually a relaxing thing to do once you get the hang of it; and it doesn't take long to get the hang of it.

Step Four:  Once you have carved both blocks get ready to print.  I use a piece of plexiglass for rolling the ink.  I put a blob of black ink on one sheet of plexiglass and a blob of orange ink on another sheet of plexiglass.  I have two rollers, one for each color. (Click here for more pictures of how-to).
Step Five: I'd do orange first.  Roll the roller in the ink, getting it coated evenly (listen and feel that sticky sound- I love it!); then roll the roller over your block.
Step Six:  Carefully place a piece of paper over your block and rub over it with a baren.
Step Seven:  Carefully lift away the paper.
Now your orange design is printed! 

 

Next you will do the same, steps 5-7 with the block for your black sections with the black ink.

Supplies (links are for what I used):
carving block
carving tools
black ink
orange ink
ink plate/plexiglass
rollers
baren
newsprint
watercolor paper (or any paper you would like to use)
I used newsprint and watercolor paper so the students could see the difference in results depending on the paper.  I also used newsprint because it's inexpensive and the students could make as many prints as they wanted on the newsprint.  We used the newsprint for our sketches too.

Over, Under, and Through the Woods

I've decided this year to throw in a few classes during the school year.  There aren't very many, but there are a few art projects I've really been wanting to try out so we're going to.  You can check out the schedule tab to a get a full description. 
I do plan on posting pictures from this summer, but I've had a bit of computer troubles so I haven't gotten it done yet.  Once I get all my "technical difficulties" figured out I'll write all about summer classes; and the upcoming classes.

regestration deadline extended

I think I said the deadline would be May 1, but I think if you are like me you have been pretty busy and put it at the back of your mind so I'm extending the deadline until May 15.  That should still give me plenty of time to order supplies.  I have been busy spring cleaning and then, I think because it is still winter weather here in Minnesota, I also decided to completely rearrange the furniture in a handful of rooms in my house.  It's consumed my days, but I'm getting things put back together again and looking forward to some fun classes this June. :-)