A Project That Really ROCKS!

I'm a little behind with my postings, but I wanted to share this great project I did with my after school "Spring Into Art" class for Mother's Day. Not only is this a great project to show mom you care, it's great for pretty much anytime! I mean, who doesn't like painted rocks, wire sculpture and poetry?!? ;-)

This piece was made for me by my 4th grade son.
He enjoyed this project and liked writing the poem about me
(to read it, scroll down).

I linked this project to nature, of course, and Alexander Calder, since the wire portion reminded me of his stabiles and standing mobiles. Check out this one at his website, www.calder.org:

This project can take off in a variety of directions: you could skip the poem and focus on creating a mobile-like structure where students explore balance, or you could use wood or foam core for the base, or mount the poem or a famous quote to the base…it is really up to you! Although the poetry piece makes a great integrated arts project.

Here are the directions for the version we did…Enjoy!

Rockin' Stabiles

Supplies Needed:

• A rock the size of a softball, or so…
• Acrylic paints
• Paint brushes, water buckets, paper plate palettes, newspaper
• Medium gauge copper wire (I think ours was 24 gauge, but check to see what works for you)
• Wire cutters
• Poem/Thank You Note Worksheets
• Pencils
• Plain white index cards (we used 4"x 6" ones)
• Fine point Sharpies
• Pretty colored paper or card stock (optional)
• Glue Sticks
• Scissors
• Craft foam scraps
• Hole punch

Directions:

1. Select a nice rock for your base, brush it off and paint it with the acrylics. Let dry.

2. Choose a poem/thank you note worksheet to work with. I downloaded the Diamante template from www.ReadWriteThink.org for the students to use. I encouraged the older students (4th grade) to use those. For the younger students and ones who struggle with writing, I let them write a thank you note to their mom. I provided a template for the thank you note as well, to prompt them a bit. As a mom, either writing is appreciated! 

My son wrote this about me:

Brandie

Beautiful, Awesome

Cleaning, Cooking, Vacuuming

You are very awesome.

Resting, Eating, Playing

Cool, Calm

Mom

3. Once the students were done their writing, I proofread them (although I let some of the creative spelling go sometimes because it was just so darn cute!). Transfer the writing to the index cards using Sharpies to make a nice-looking final copy.

4. Glue the index cards with the final writing onto a pretty piece of paper to create a nice border around the poem.

5. Cut a piece of wire to about 36" long. Wrap the wire around the rock a couple of times and twist the ends. One end can be a spiral to hold the poem you've written, the other end can curl out and around like the arm on Calder's work. You can cut smaller pieces of wire to make a mobile-type structure at this time, but I had students cut a shape from craft foam, punch a hole in it, and hang the shape from the arm.

6. Place the poem/thank you note in the spiral portion of the stabile (you may need to secure the note on the back with a bit of tape).

Enjoy!

My other son, who is in first grade, was finding it hard to write that day,
so he painted the rock and created the wire heart sculpture instead.

A Class For Me/Mom's Night Out

It's no surprise that, next to the grocery store, the number one place I spend time and money at, is Michael's craft store. There's one just a couple miles from my home and this week I've been there four times. OK, so it's an unusual week for me. I'm balancing a couple of creative projects right now (many of which you'll be seeing in future posts). 

My first acrylic painting in more than 13 years.
Probably not going to hang in a museum, but it makes me smile when I see it!

Anyhow, I was intrigued when I saw that Michael's is now offering acrylic painting art courses by Grumbacher where a student can paint an entire painting in two hours. I browsed the offerings and I really liked the floral painting with daisies in a stoneware pitcher. Now, I haven't picked up my acrylics since college and even then, I had a teacher who constantly dissuaded me from using them. Gosh, I didn't think I was that bad! So I learned to avoid acrylics. But I did like that painting...

Why couldn't I just paint at home, you ask? Chuckle, chuckle, snort!...I have four kids. I'll just keep finding excuses to put it off...(and I do, actually, do a good amount of art in front of them and with them, but trying something I needed to really focus on? You get the idea.)...And sometimes you just need to DO something (especially in New England in the middle of winter!).

So, I enrolled in the Michael's class which was $25 for the class fee and then I spent about $40 on supplies. I thought the class would be step-by-step and that I'd learn techniques and such through little tidbits and anecdotes the instructor would sprinkle in along the way. That wasn't quite the case. She was very relaxed and instead of demonstrating the process she handed out the instructions that Grumbacher gives to the instructors to show the process. Thankfully, I had some experience with painting so I just read the instructions and followed them. The instructor didn't paint, but walked around the room making herself available if we needed her. I asked the instructor questions from time to time if I was stumped, particularly on color mixing or to clarify the process, but otherwise I spent the time painting and gabbing with my friend, Beth, whom I roped into taking the class with me (poor girl!). It wouldn't be a night out unless I had a friend by my side!

So if you are thinking of trying a class: I think the class would be best for children over 12 and grown-ups who want to try acrylic painting in a quick way that offers a good chance for success. As with any course, the instructor could really make or break this experience. Before taking the course, ask around to see exactly how it is run. If you have limited experience, make sure the instructor is hands on and helpful.

It was a relaxing time and I had fun being the student instead of the teacher! I did learn a few things and I increased my confidence with using acrylics. And, I LOVE my new painting!