Gifts From the Art 2012: Watercolor Pin

I just finished a two session mini course called "Gifts From the Art" where children can make three projects a session (a total of six gifts) for their families and friends. I did this course last year as well and it was a big hit. The class was comprised of 2nd-4th graders and I had 2-3 fabulous helpers each session. Doing this many projects a week is a bit crazy, so having good helpers is key. I try to keep things fun and moving along, but I definitely prefer my normal teaching routine where we focus on one project a week!

Here is one of the projects we did:

Aren't these just beautiful! I want to make these by the dozen!

Watercolor Heart Pin

When planning this course I try to think of gifts that can be gifted to a variety of people. A pin is a nice gift for a variety of ladies: mom, stepmom, grandma, aunt, cousin, babysitter. Here's my version that uses watercolors with a neat technique along with a few findings to create a lovely one-of-a-kind pin that is sure to be a hit!

Supplies Needed:

• Two little pieces of watercolor paper (ours were about 2 1/2" x 3")
• Pencils
• Watercolors and brushes
• Plastic wrap (maybe two 6" lengths)
• Wooden heart shape (ours were 1 3/4" wide)
• Scissors
• Tacky glue
• About a 14" piece of contrasting embroidery floss, optional
• Hot Glue Gun and Glue sticks
• 5" strand of copper wire
• Various glass beads and/or word beads (I bought both at Michael's--the word beads are plastic, the other beads are glass).
• Pin backing (ours were adhesive-backed so they were just peeled and stick-EASY!)

Directions:

1. Write your name on both pieces of watercolor paper. Wet most of the center of your paper and apply watercolor paint to the paper in nice, saturated color. Use a couple colors of paint and allow the water to blend the colors (wet on wet technique). Choose colors that are next to each other on the color wheel (analogous) so that the colors look nice when they mix. I suggested having the children create a reddish or purplish color combo on one of their papers and a greenish/bluish color combo on the other. Make sure the colors you are using are nice and saturated and while the paint is still wet, crumple up the plastic wrap and press it into the paint. Leave it there and let it dry overnight.

2. When the watercolor pieces are nice and dry, remove the plastic wrap and discard. Trace the heart shape onto the front of the watercolor paper in an area of the watercolor that you like. Cut the heart shape out. Use tacky glue to glue the watercolor paper heart to the wood form. Press for a couple of minutes until the paper no longer curls (you can also place the piece under a book or something to help it adhere better.

3. Wrap a strand of contrasting color embroidery floss around the heart, securing the ends with hot glue.

4. Attach one end of the copper wire to the back of the heart pin. Wrap it around to the front and add a couple of beads. If you are using the word bead, use it now. Keep wrapping the copper wire around, adding a couple more beads if you'd like. Make sure you only add beads to the part of the copper wire that is on the front of the pin--no beads on the back of the pin (a couple of my students tried that--but no one would ever see them that way!). Secure the end of the copper wire with hot glue.

5. Attach the pin finding to the back of the Watercolor Heart Pin and press nice and hard to make sure it sticks on there. 

What a beautiful pin--so artsy! Any mother would love to receive this! It was neat to see how different the pins came out. The children had lots of fun choosing their favorite watercolor swatch, floss color, glass beads and word bead. They took such care with each detail.

Out with the old! Art catalog magnets

So, are you feeling the urge to organize your classroom, your paperwork, your art space? No, me neither! Just kidding!

But if you are throwing out some old magazines and art catalogs, here's a great project that you really should try (I know you've probably seen it everywhere)! Take a couple of those great art catalogs from last year (Crystal Publications catalogs are my favorite for this!) and grab a few inexpensive art supplies and get crafting! The reason I love the art catalogs is that they have tons of little images of art posters that are the perfect size for this project. It's sort of addicting once you get started--it's so fun to create your own gallery of art magnets!

You can also use magazine images and text (Family Fun magazine is another favorite of mine) if you like more random images and funky text for your magnets. You may be able to use your own images--just make sure they are laser color copies and not inkjet since the ink will bleed when you brush on the Mod Podge.

These make a nice little gift when you display them in a unique way. I had my art students attach them to a piece of card stock and slip them into a zip-top bag, but I've seen people put them in an old Altoids tin. The would be nice on a card that looked like a fancy frame (or maybe a whole bunch of little frames with one magnet in each frame)--really the sky's the limit on how you can present these. They are great gift for the artsy people in your life! (hint, hint!)

Art Catalog Magnets

Supplies Needed:

• Old art catalogs or magazines
• 1" clear glass "blobs" from the dollar store--these were bigger than the standard 1/2" blobs that I use for other projects
• 1" circle template (see below)
• Pencil
• Scissors
• Mod Podge
• Foam brush
• Palette for Mod Podge
• Newspapers for work surface
• Circle magnets (I bought mine at Michael's for $7 for a pack of 50 magnets, I think)
• Super glue (I tried jewelry glue but, WHEW! it stunk--serious brain cell killing going on with that stuff!)

Directions:

1. Create your template/viewing window: I used a 1" circle punch to punch a hole in a scrap piece of white card stock. I then used this 1" hole to view my art catalog images and select the images for my magnets. Clear, bright images work best. I also suggested to my students that they take one of the glass blobs and place it over any images that were questionable to see if they would read easily--most are fine.

2. Once you find an image that would work well for you magnet, use the template and pencil to trace a circle onto the image. Cut out using scissors.

3. Use the foam brush to brush a bit of Mod Podge onto the flat side of the glass blob. Place your image face down onto the Mod Podge and brush another coat of Mod Podge onto the back of the image. Set aside to dry thoroughly.

4. When you are sure the image is completely dry on the glass blob (give it a couple hours), add a dot of Super glue to the back of the glass blob and place a magnet on top. Allow the glue to dry according to manufacturer's directions before using.

5. ENJOY!

Scenes from Jewelry-Making Artist's Workshop

Last Thursday I had the pleasure of hanging out and creating jewelry with a few lovely students at Amherst Middle School. We learned some basics of jewelry design and construction and students were able to go home with duct tape earrings, beaded earrings, a glass bead bracelet, and a shrink art necklace. While they were creating, they were learning how to use jewelry-making tools and jewelry findings.

While these pieces are easy to make, they form the foundation of basic jewelry-making skills students can use to make a number of fabulous pieces! Hopefully they are inspired to create some lovely pieces at home!

And here's the link to the tutorial we used as inspiration for our duct tape earrings--I'm now sporting a pair of rainbow tie-dyed feather earrings my son made me! :-) *LOVE*

http://www.brit.co/flirty-fluorescent-feathers-another-win-for-duct-tape/

To Brighten Your Day: Frank Lloyd Wright Windows

My Modern Art Class created some lovely faux stained glass windows based on the work of American architect, Frank Lloyd Wright. I've done this project with students before, and the process can be seen in this post.

This time, I tweaked my presentation a bit. I showed a large poster of Fallingwater, one of Wright's most famous houses. I talked about what an architect does, and about Wright's design philosophy. We made some observations about the building and I pointed out the horizontal, vertical & diagonal lines of the building (later on, I showed how these same lines appear in his stained glass windows).

Then we discussed how Wright was, um, a bit of a control freak when it came to his interior designs. He designed every little pillow, lamp, rug and even the dishes that would go into the house. We looked at some of his stained glass window designs. I was fortunate to have a great article that I have had FOREVER, well, since 1995 anyway, that appeared in American Patchwork & Quilting Magazine about a quilter named Jackie Robinson, who recreates Wright's stained glass windows in fabric. This is an awesome article because it shows how she constructs the quilts and really helps the children see the windows broken down into sections; leading vs. glass, and shapes such as squares, rectangles, rhombi, and triangles. I think this article really helped me simplify his work for the children.

I tried to access the article through the American Patchwork & Quilting's official site, but they didn't have it available. However, Jackie Robinson has her own site called Animas Quilts Publishing. Robinson had published an entire book of quilt designs based on Wright's stained glass windows titled, "Quilts In The Tradition of Frank Lloyd Wright." It is currrently out of print, but there are a few copies still floating around out there. There is a Frank Lloyd Wright section of her site showing examples of Wright-inspired quilts made from her book.

So, here are the beautiful results of my Frank Lloyd Wright lesson! Enjoy!

Dragon (Faux) Stained Glass

Yesterday was the first session in my after school Medieval Art Class! What a blast! I have a great group of kids and a nice mix of boys and girls!

Aren't these fabulous?!

We did a variation on a project I saw in the book, "Medieval Projects You Can Do" by Marsha Groves. The image is pretty much the one Groves uses, but I used the Contact paper technique that I've developed with my students over the last couple years.

I showed the children pictures of stained glass from medieval times, making sure that I had examples of traditional stained glass (tall and rectangular), some details showing the brushed-on enamel details, and an example of a rose window with its circular design.

I then provided them with a guide that had the dragon image on it with all of the sections labeled so the children would know what was fire, what was dragon and what was background (sometimes that gets confusing). Using a template like this is actually very traditional. In medieval times artisans would sketch the designs for windows onto wooden panels and the artisans would fabricate the windows on top of the wooden templates.

The end results of this project were gorgeous! It is funny how different the pieces can be even thought they are all the same subject.

One bit of warning, using tissue paper squares with children can be, um...tricky. This group wasn't bad at all: I had the tissue paper squares in a tray in the center of each table and I warned that crazy movements can cause the squares can fly up and get on other people's work (not cool!). Once the tissue paper is on the Contact paper, it cannot be removed, so the children need to be mindful of their neighbors' pieces and move slowly and carefully.

I do hope you try this project, it really is a cool one!

Here's the method:

Dragon (Faux) Stained Glass

Supplies Needed:

• Template (I copied mine on 8 1/2" x 11" paper)
• Pencils, Ruler & Sharpie to create your template
• Piece of clear Contact paper slightly larger than your paper guide
• Clear tape
• Four 3/4" x 12" strips black construction paper "(for frame)
• About four 1/4" x 12" strips black construction paper "(for leading)
• Many 1" squares of tissue paper, assorted colors
• Scissors
• 1 clear sheet protector, optional

Directions:

1. Make your template: Draw a border around the copy paper that is about 1/2" wide. Use the pencil & ruler to create a simple, bold image made up of straight lines. Don't make anything too detailed! You can use the dragon image for inspiration. Once you have your design down, use the Sharpie to go over the lines. These will be the guide lines you will use when placing your construction paper leading. You may want younger children to work from a template image you've created, but older children could create their own over a period of classes.

2. Tape the template to the table using clear tape.

3. Remove the paper backing from the Contact paper and place it on top of the template sticky side up. You will be doing all of the work on the sticky side of the Contact paper. Tape the Contact paper to the table using a couple pieces of clear tape to hold it in place while you work.

4. Place the 3/4" pieces of black construction paper over the areas of the template designated as your border. Place the paper strips directly onto the sticky side of the Contact paper and press lightly. It is OK if the strips extend beyond your template--you'll be trimming the piece later.

5. Using your template as a guide, place the 1/4" strips of construction paper over the leading lines on the image you drew. Simply rip (or cut) the construction paper strips to the proper length to cover your leading lines. Cover all of the lines in your drawing.

6. Once you have the border and all of the leading lines covered in construction paper, start filling in the remaining sections with colorful pieces of tissue paper. The squares can overlap each other and can overlap the black construction paper lines a bit (you are actually working on the piece from behind). But take care to make sure the tissue paper goes where you want it to. It is almost impossible to remove the tissue paper from the Contact paper once it gets on there. 

7. Once all of the sections are filled in with color, trim the piece down to 8 1/2" x 11" and slip it into a clear sheet protector to protect it. Other options would be to use another sheet of Contact paper on the other side of the piece to seal the tissue paper and construction paper safely inside. Or you could run the piece through a laminator (maybe), I don't have one at my disposal, so I'm not sure of that, but it may work. 

Place in a sunny window and enjoy!

Working on our dragon (faux) stained glass windows.
Everything is taped down with clear tape and the tissue paper
squares are in the center of the table in cardboard trays.

Frank Lloyd Wright Faux Stained Glass

Last week my after school class created Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired stained glass windows. I showed them a variety of his stained glass designs and then let them explore line, shape and pattern to create their own stained glass designs. They looked wonderful on the windows with the bright spring sun shining through!

Frank Lloyd Wright-Inspired Stained Glass Windows

Supplies Needed:

• 1" Grid template, optional (more info below)
• Clear Contact paper (2 sheets 18" x 12")
• Black construction paper strips, some 1" wide and some 1/4" wide, 18" long
• Additional black construction paper for circles or other non-linear shapes
• Scotch tape
• Scissors
• Ruler
• Pencil and eraser
• Tissue paper, various colors

Directions:

1. This piece is worked from the back. I created a grid template for my students to use that had 1" squares on it. I used two sheets of 8 1/2 x 11" paper taped together. This is a nice space to work on encouraging the students to use the grid for their pieces. Some disregarded it and others really utilized it for the creation of their designs. I had each student tape a template to their desk.

2. I then had the students remove the paper film from the Contact paper and lay that on the grid template sticky side up. This is the surface on which the window will be created.

3. I had the children place 1" wide black construction paper strips around the outside of the grid gently pressing them onto the Contact paper. This creates the frame for the window.

4. I then had the children create a Wright-inspired design over the grid using 1/4" wide strips of black construction paper. This is the leading of the stained glass window. I explained that the lines can be horizontal, vertical or diagonal. Also, the intersection of the lines can make shapes such as squares, rectangles, triangles and rhombi. Circles and portions of circles could also be added.

I told them that they did not need to fill the entire window with lines and shapes (look at Wright's work) . I also kept encouraging them to take their time and plan.

A look at the pieces in progress...messy but fun!

5. Once their leading was done, I took a quick look and then demonstrated how they could add color to their piece. Some of the more geometric shapes could easily be cut from tissue. They could use the grid to help: if they had a shape that was 2 squares by 3 squares on the grid, they could cut a 2" x 3" rectangle from tissue paper. For younger students or for shapes that were trickier to cut from tissue, I suggested the children tear off pieces and just fill in the section with "bits" of tissue. The tissue easily sticks to the Contact paper. I told the children it is OK if the tissue paper extends onto the black lines a bit since this is the back of their window and that won't be seen when it's done. I suggested that the children not fill the entire piece with color since Wright often left portions of his windows clear.

6. Once the children had added all the color they wanted I adhered a second piece of Contact paper over their work creating a sandwich to seal the tissue and construction paper inside. I've done a similar project to this using just one sheet of Contact paper and it doesn't hold up as well as the "sandwich" of two pieces of Contact paper).

7. The children could then use their scissors to cut the excess Contact paper from around the piece using the outer edge of the frame as a guide.

I placed these pieces on the windows immediately so we could all enjoy the bright colors and beautiful designs!