Pointillism

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.  

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.

Landcape

Some students created their own worlds, while others represented cartoon characters.

Toothless the Dragon

I find the variety of images the students choose to work with to be very intriguing.

Dreaming of Palm Trees

Some chose warm scenes to "travel to" while ignoring the cold winter weather outside.  

Others created vibrant scenes of whimsy.

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.

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.

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.  

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!

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!

Special Collaboration for April and May

Check back next month to see what The Rockwell Museum 

has in store for our club in April and May.

Thanks for stopping by,

erica

Clay Coil Creatures Part 2

April 1 saw Part 2 of our Clay Coil Creatures class at the Rockwell Museum.  No foolin' (wink, wink), we made creatures inspired by the collection in the gallery.  Please catch up with Part 1 to follow the progression of this project.

The pieces were bisque fired to remove all moisture and create a stone-like surface.

Bisque Baked Beauties

The time to design the surface of these beauties had arrived.  Education Programs Coordinator, Amy Ruza, led the class on glazing instructions.

She had glazed ceramic samples to show the changes in color from the jar to kiln firing.

Glaze changes drastically in the kiln.

After a short glazing tutorial, students chose their preferred colors and went to work finalizing their masterpieces.  Some had direct inspiration from the gallery.

This artist was inspired by the gallery installation

Some students were inspired by the Native American picture dictionary provided by the museum.

Replicated Native American Eagle

Some students let their heart design for them.

A Spring Bunny

The class went quickly with all of the activity, excitement and creation.

Students hard at work

The glaze dries to a dull finish, but shimmers like glass after the kiln firing.  Here are before and after shots of the projects for your enjoyment:

The Whole Lot

The image above shows the entire class project from cart to kiln.  Now let's look at some pieces a little closer.

A Charming Snake

The snake maker's sister went to the woods for this cutie pie.  Remember to slip and score very well when making clay objects.  If you do not follow this step, items will pop off!  This poor bunny's limbs were lost in the bisque fire.

Limb-less Bunny

This little girl captured my heart.

Sweet Lil' Lady

A few more pieces looked like this:

Elephants, Turtles and Teacups

These lucky participant are now able to pick up their projects and present them to their families.  Like relics from our past, these pieces are part of future archaeology.

I am proud to share this knowledge and collaborate these lessons for my students.  The process of making objects never ceases to amaze me.

Visit here again next month when we dive into the world of book making with Wynn Yarrow.

Thanks for visiting!

xoxo, erica

Clay Coil Creatures Part 1

First Friday Art Club visited and learned in a local museum in

March with a ceramics survey course. 

Who has visited the Rockwell Museum before today?

We visited The Rockwell Museum for a visit in the galleries and a lesson in ceramic construction. The class began with a pristine education lab.  Education Programs Coordinator, Amy Ruza, led instruction on clay hand building using the coil technique, with the most important law of clay building- slip and score.

Slip and Score is like glue in ceramics.

The students got straight to work, understanding that they had a very strict time frame to complete this segment of the project.  It was impressive to watch these budding artists take lumps of clay and transform them into mini masterpieces.

From Lump-thing to Something

The idea was to create a creature form the coil technique, hence the program title, "Clay Coil Creatures."  

The results are quite fascinating...

There were turtles and squirrels

Great examples of coils and smooth textures

Then there were elephants

This lady has taken ceramics classes before.

They discovered texture options...

Texture with party beads

In just under an hour of working time, there was a jungle of creatures and shapes to adore. These need to dry for about two weeks before they get bisque fired 

and prepared for the next class in April.  

The next phase of these projects is glazing, 

which will give everything a new life of color and shine!

From clay to bisque, waiting for glaze

Check back in April to view the collection in it's final phase.

Thanks for visiting!

Beauty from the studio

A Special note of Thanks goes to the staff of the Rockwell Museum for collaborating with our library and welcoming our First Friday Art Club for a ceramics treat.

Make & Bake

That time of year has come and gone again.  Make & Bake is a program combining Teen Cooking Club and First Friday Art Club into a 2 hour creation fest.  I remember being too young to work and lacked enough craft supplies to make cool things for my friends and family.  Therefore, I scramble through the year for supplies necessary for my teens to make marvelous treasures for those they love.

This year we hosted a special collaboration with Amy Ruza from The Rockwell Museum for attendees to make ceramic ornaments for the holidays.  Although I had several tables set up for various crafts, the ceramic ornaments table stole the spotlight!

The flurry of activity gave way to these:

The tough part of making ceramics is waiting for them to be fired (not like what Donald Trump does to people on The Apprentice!).  We may not have these ready in time for Christmas, but I think gifts are extra fun when the holiday is passed, but there is still something special to give.

Along with these ceramic specialties, there were Snow Bottles to create.

Wine bottles look extra elegant when spray painted and dipped in Epsom salt.  The inspiration came from this blog.  I sourced plain bottles and was very happy not to peel off labels, etc.  We drew in hot glue as a resist for the spray paint.  Then sprayed white primer, followed by spray adhesive and Epsom salt.  The hot glue can be peeled off to reveal the clear glass once everything is dry.  I added LED lights to mine for a festive effect.

Hand sewing skills were required for these cute handwarmers.

Some kids got creative with the fabric designs.  I wish these were made for me!

Scented pine cones were another option, although the ceramics took away any interest in natural objects.

After 1 hour of baking out any bugs, spritz the cones with essential oil water.  We broke tradition and used oil of Wintergreen.  Mmm!

These yummy Salted Caramel Turtle Thumbprint Cookies were a special treat made by me, because we simply ran out of time.  While the kids created, I baked!  These are so fabulous, go ahead and bake them, but please, please, PLEASE share with me!!!

Now you have the sources to make your own hand made gifts for your loved ones.

Merry Christmas!

Love, Erica