Painting in the pointillism technique was the goal for First Friday Art Club in March. This was a lesson I recall thoroughly enjoying when I was in Junior High School. The method can be time consuming, but meditative and therapeutic.
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| An Apple a Day |
My "lesson" was really just a slide of A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte by Georges Seurat. This is one of the most recognizable images when Pointillism, Divisionism, or Neo-Impressionism is discussed.
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| Eye See You |
The plan was to show a few examples of the technique and discuss the simple method of using only dots to represent the imagery. My preference is to keep the "lesson" light and let the student discover the way. This was one of the few painting classes I've hosted and I see the "way" was slightly askew from the intended method.
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| Adorable Images |
After supplies were passed out and drawings were approved, students took their time painting their masterpieces. The trouble they had was maintaining a dotted system versus a paint stroke system. This was not a failure, though, just a lesson for them and myself.
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| Solar System |
Having very few chances to actually paint, it's a struggle to just use dots, when the paint is so fun to mix and spread on the surface. It was hard for most to resist spreading paint over the canvas and watching it dry.
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| Super Star |
Any student who had the patience to paint just dots found joy in the process and requested to do this more often. I feel that request should be met. Discovering techniques that spark joy is important in our very busy, technologically overwhelming world.
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| Landcape |
Some students created their own worlds, while others represented cartoon characters.
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| Toothless the Dragon |
I find the variety of images the students choose to work with to be very intriguing.
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| Dreaming of Palm Trees |
Some chose warm scenes to "travel to" while ignoring the cold winter weather outside.
Others created vibrant scenes of whimsy.
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| Go Pokemon! |
When it comes to art, it's all about the process, not just the product, and everyone enjoyed the process! Several students stayed 15 minutes past the end of class to continue working. It was unfortunate that I had another program to attend at the Corning Museum of Glass, or they could have stayed until the library closed.
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| Fire Bird |
The funny part of the two programs I hosted that day, was they both revolved around small parts making a full picture. Pointillism is a series of paint dots composing a total image, while Mosaics do the same thing in a different medium. My project at Family Night at the Corning Museum of Glass hosted 75 families in the education lab. Reflecting on the similarity of these two projects is fun.
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| Mosaics at the Museum |
Both of these projects are terrific for all ages. Pointillism can be achieved with paint and brushes, crayons, finger paints, Q-Tip painting, or markers. The concept is simple and achievable for almost all levels with minimal supervision.
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| Dots on a Page |
It's really just a series of Dots on a Page. Mosaics are very similar. The Family Night event saw lots of preschoolers gluing foam squares to a grid, but there were many parents and grandparents taking a chance with some therapeutic art. Some even showed they like to think outside the box!
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| It's like a Mosaic Maze |
Considering March is National Youth Art Month, the First Friday Art Club kicked off the month in style. The paintings that were left with me are on display in the Young Adult section of the Southeast Steuben County Library. Stop in and take a peek!
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| Special Collaboration for April and May |
has in store for our club in April and May.
Thanks for stopping by,
erica
