Potato Printing

We got Totally Tubular in the June First Friday Art Club.  Printmaking is a great way to personalize any surface, but cost of materials can be prohibitive.  Using the power of plants, we had cost-effective printing implements and developed new skills along the way.

Potatoes to Print

In order to make prints, an artist needs a block.  Printmaking blocks are usually made of linoleum or wood.  Linoleum is easy to carve, but expensive to supply for a free library class.  We used linoleum block carving tools to learn the proper way to cut a printing block, but took advantage of the soft surface of potatoes to equate as a printing block.

Careful Carving

Considering the sharp edges of these carving tools, careful carving was required.  We discussed the ideas of positive and negative space and how to get each image exactly as it was desired.  This concept is difficult to grasp, but once achieved, the options are endless.

Ready to Print

Once the potatoes were cut and dabbed on a towel to dry off excess moisture, students were ready to print.  We used flour sack towels as our printing surface.  Mother's Day followed this class, so a ready-made gift was achievable.

Color Palette

We used Folk Art Fabric Paints and paper plates as palettes.  Foam sponges were great for evenly applying paint to the potatoes.  It is advised to dab the potato surface with color rather than paint it on.  Just a bit of color will transfer from the potato surface to the printing surface with a little pressure.

Dab and Press

Once colors were chosen, the process was dab and press for each print made on the fabric.  Composition was considered.  Some students worked random prints across their printing surface.  Others chose to create a border.

Random Placement

Borderline Love

After mastering the dab and press method of printing with potatoes, I showed students the option of multi-colored monoprints.  A monoprint uses a regular printing block, but is treated in such a way that only one of it's kind exists.  By painting each segment of the printing block, a unique print is made.

Monoprint

That's a wrap for our Potato Printing session.  Check back in July to see how "Libraries Rock!"  Guest artist, Shannah Warwick of Blckbts, will instruct students on felting rocks.

This is an event you don't want to miss!

Register to Rock here.

Thanks for visiting.

I'll check you on the flipside in July.

xo,

Erica

Calligraphy Birds & Beasts with Wynn Yarrow

 

Calligraphy Birds & Bests

First Friday Art Club in November explored the Victorian era folk art of calligraphy animals.  Guest instructor Wynn Yarrow led this program and started the introduction with a Powerpoint presentation.

Sweeping Lines

Students were advised to pay attention to the sweeping lines of each image in the presentation.  There were swirly marks and swishy marks similar to cursive writing.  Some students noted that the marks looked like the Nike symbol.  Wynn handed out inspiration packets, which had printed animal silhouettes .  These silhouettes were easy to trace over blank sheet of paper and create personalized beasts. 

Cats & Dogs

Images of cats and dogs started popping up all over the conference room.  After an image was chosen, it was up to each student to personalize the drawings with the swirly lines we saw in the Powerpoint presentation.  

How do you draw a Peacock?

Students were also welcome to select books from the library collection to help draw a specific animal. Birds were this artist's fancy.

Modern Mouse

It was apparent that some kids had a vision they needed to accomplish.   
This student was fond of a mouse and became fully engaged in decorating her creature with significant calligraphic marks.

I enjoy watching younger students develop their skills.  Drawing is that special skill that everyone struggles with because they always compare with another artist they feel has more talent.  Wynn Yarrow does not allow this comparison in her classes.  There is consistent reassurance that imagery developed by an artist's hands at that moment is the highest skill and best they can do.  "Comparing is not the key to success, just an indication of where we might wish to go."

Monkey Trouble

As birds and beasts were developed in the class, students also learned how to 

create banners with Victorian era proverbs.  Using handouts for inspiration, 

Maggie used her own name to label her drawing.  

The Dragon

The youngest artist in this class finally discovered the joy of drawing.  

Something about this lesson resonated with Alex.  Here he is drawing a Chinese dragon.  When he finished, he boasted, "I feel I have the potential to be an artist!"

Giraffe on Safari

This Giraffe was another success story of the afternoon.  There were several attempts to get that silhouette just right, but Roni forced herself to make it happen without any help.  

Using a library book as reference, she tested patterns on separate paper before utilizing them in her design.  The giraffe's spot are so impressive!

Let me draw RIGHT MEOW!

Having a guest instructor gives me an opportunity to take pictures and record quotes from the students.  There was even enough time for me to draw and test out my own skills.  I had fun trying several styles within the same cat silhouette.

This wraps up another year of First Friday Art Club.  

We host a Make & Bake Gifts program in December in place of Teen Cooking Club and First Friday Art Club.  Space is limited, so sign up today to secure your place to create beautiful and delicious gifts for friends and family this holiday season.

Goodies for the Holidays!

Thanks for visiting.  See you in December!

xo,

Erica

   

harp & heART with Maryalice Little

Maryalice Little is a harpist who has been training as a certified clinical musician with Harp for Healing.  She inquired to have an opportunity to use her therapeutic music in a youth art program.  First Friday Art Club came to mind and we immediately got busy planning the event.

The beautiful harp

The plan we created was for Maryalice to play several musical pieces, each with a different tempo and rhythm, including recognizable music and improvisational sounds.  For each song or piece of music played, students were given a different implement to make marks on their page. We started the class with graphite pencils.  

Something Familiar

Since pencils are a familiar medium for most students, familiar imagery developed during this segment.  The goal for this class was to let the harp music speak to the heart and create marks on paper using a variety of media.  Making marks is a unfamiliar concept to students who usually have an assigned image to create.  It is very rare for students to test the range of mark making, but it is highly valuable to the artistic process.

Let the music lead the way

The Tate Museum website describes a mark with this excerpt. Mark making describes the different lines, dots, marks, patterns, and textures we create in an artwork. It can be loose and gestural or controlled and neat. It can apply to any material used on any surface: paint on canvas, ink or pencil on paper, a scratched mark on plaster, a digital paint tool on a screen, a tattooed mark on skin…even a sound can be a form of mark making. Artists use gesture to express their feeling and emotions in response to something seen or something felt – or gestural qualities can be used to create a purely abstract composition.

Process through the music

Thinking of sound as a mark, the room was full of inspiration.  Allowing the music to inspire the physical marks on paper set aside thoughts from the day, problems in one's life and kept students in the present time.  This process does not require much thought.  Process feelings and thoughts through the music and leave them on the page.

Dedicated mission

Even with a light and simple expectation for gestural marks on paper, some students had a dedicated mission to continue their daily sketches.  Sometimes comics shine in any medium.

Graphite to Color

After testing graphite pencils, students switched to colored pencils for another option with a different musical set.  This budding artist started to respond to my own erratic scribbling and let the shapes fly into repeat.

Marker Marks

Colored pencil transitioned to markers.  This was the favored media for most students.  This class preferred markers over all our media experiments.  "It's so close to painting." said one very vocal student.

Oil pastels

The last segment of the class introduced a mostly new medium to the class.  Oil pastels are fun to work with and glide over paper so smoothly.  "They make your hands dirty!" complained one student.  I was happy to hear they had the opportunity to experiment with oil pastels in the past.  Despite oil pastels making hands easily messy, they provide a blending option not possible with markers or colored pencils.

Free Flowing

Maryalice ended her musically inspired session with a free flowing, improvisational piece that jumped around and had no recognizable rhythm.  This student reflected that free flowing feel by experimenting with oil pastels.  She appreciated the texture the paper revealed when the pastel was scribbled across the surface.  This revelation is most often the spark for new work with an artist.  Test the waters and work with what floats best.

This wraps up another fun First Friday Art Club at the Southeast Steuben County Library.  Check back here in November to see the wondrous creatures developed during Calligraphy Birds & Beasts with Wynn Yarrow.

register today!

Thanks for visiting,

Erica 

Ps.  Maryalice will offer harp & heART to adults, 18 years and older, on Saturday, November 18, 2017 from 12-3 pm in the library for the Saturday Adult Art class series called Crystal City Creators.  Space is limited, so register today.

You won't want to miss this class!

Steampunked Costumes

Our annual Library Unmasked event occurs at the end of July.  In order to pump up excitement, we hosted a Steampunked Costumes First Friday Art Club.

"Antiqued" Apothecary Jars

To create some Mischief, I worked on antiquing plastic bottles to look like old apothecary jars.  The tutorial I found was perfect to create some decorative elements for the after-hours party.  Taking any bottle from home (Listerine became Mischief Powder), writing a label in marker, tracing it with hot glue for raised lettering, then painting the whole thing with acrylic paints and sponges created a mottled looking bottle perfect for any Halloween or Steampunk party.

Laser Cut Cogs

Cogs and Gears are pertinent elements in Steampunk.  A library staffer discovered how to laser cut using the Steele Memorial Library maker space. We made pins and had enough masonite left over to create some gears for this program.  Quite a lovely and easy necklace.

Cuffs for Protection

Cuffs were easy to create using toilet paper tubes and hole punches.  After cutting the tube in half to open it, this student covered it in gray duct tape, then punched holes and laced it up like a sneaker.

Geared up Gear

This hat was going to the thrift store donations, but was rescued to make Geared up Gear.  

Upcycled!

These plaid shorts were upcycled pajamas.  This student never created steampunk gear, but quickly caught the punking bug by transforming the shorts into a skirt with lace, trims and even made a hat to top off the ensemble.

Can't Get enough Cuffs

Taking old items and making them new, Upcycling, is the best way to create a costume on the cheap.  I stash trinkets and unusual items for programs like these so that there is something to inspire everyone.  Spray and acrylic paints also take those old items to a new level of cool.

Paint and Glue makes New

The kids who created in this program got excited to attend an after-hours party at the library.  Most were not familiar with the Steampunk theme, but quickly caught on and were ready to bring their best cosplay to the event.  We look forward to seeing their final look on July 28, 2017, 6:30-9 pm.

See you There!

Thanks for visiting.  Check back in August to view our Coil Containers.

Sign up today

Nuno Felting with Shannah Warwick

Mrs. Warwick starts the class

First Friday Art Club enjoyed a special guest instructor for February 2017.  Nuno Felting expert, Shannah Warwick of Blckbts sneaked out of her studio to provide a lesson in felting to excited tweens and teens, along with a couple of adults.

"Feel the difference between the fabrics."

After personal introductions and a little vocabulary building--- ie.knowing all of the items and terms used in this felting process, the ladies got rolling right along.  And by rolling, I mean ROLLING!  That action is almost the main activity required in nuno felting.---funny videos pending.

Wool Roving goes far

Learning the wonders of wool roving was step one.  Merino wool is expensive and knowing how to make the most of your materials is important to an artist.  Removing just wisps of the wool to use in your design is imperative for any felting student.

"Wisps of roving shrink in your final design"

Using too much roving in sections will cause uneven shrinkage of the final product and leave an awkward, somewhat unusable shape.  This might be an effect someone wishes to achieve, but not in this class.

Wisp Away!

Students were instructed to find a partner and take turns placing the wool wisps in any pattern they chose, avoiding too much overlapping.  If you look closer, you'll see there is bubble wrap as the first layer-bubbles up.  The next layer is silk chiffon.  The silk is the fabric foundation to the scarf being designed.

Tulle is the next layer after the design is complete.

Once the wisps are placed and the design is approved, the next layer is Tulle (sounds like "tool").  This netted fabric must be patted gently to meet the other layers and not move.  Basically every layer becomes "friends" at this stage.  Then a slight amount of warm, sudsy water is squeezed over the layers to prepare for the felting process. 

Ball brauser is like a magic felting wand.

The final layer to this felted sandwich is another sheet of bubble wrap, this time bubble side down.  The bubbles face inward toward the fabric and once the layers are rolled up, the bubbles, warm water, soap suds, and rolling action cause the fibers to interlock .

Pool noodles have meaning in the winter!

Who knew that pool noodles and bubble wrap were so imperative to the nuno felting process?  Well, Mrs. Warwick was happy to share this knowledge with the First Friday Art Club.  The mandatory therapy of bubble popping was momentarily allowed, but then the rolling had to commence.  The rolling, as promised, was very exhaustive.....

The amount of rolling is a special "science" to this nuno felting process.  Each piece needed to be rolled 800 times.  That's right, 800!  This gave a good upper body workout, but tired everyone out quickly.  After 200 rolls, the layers are unrolled, then rerolled in the opposite direction.  This gives every section equal friction, resulting in a uniform interlocked fibers.

800 rolls should have fuzzies poking through 

Once everyone got their 800 Roll Workout, we needed to peak at the reverse side of the chiffon.  If wool fuzzies were poking through the weave, rolling was complete and the chance to take out some aggression on the project had arrived.

Balling up the fabric, dipping it in warm, sudsy water and tossing it in a sink or tub several times shocks the fibers.  This action might seem too abusive, but it is the final step to making a lovely nuno felted creation.  Whoever said fiber work is just for wimps never put their muscles into this process.

It's like shrinky dinks!

Once the fibers are shocked and shriveled, it was time for the Big Reveal.  Everyone was surprised how much the fabric shrunk.  There is about a 30-50% shrinkage rate in this process.  More shrinkage resulted if there was a lot of wool placed on the fabric.  With less wool, there is less shrinkage.  

Less surface wool = less shrinkage

Everyone loved their wearable art.  Parents who were present requested an adult class to learn this process and have fun with their own peers.  Adults just wanna have fun, too!

Adults want their work to look like Blckbts!

If you are interested in this process or have attempted nuno felting on your own, let me know!  I love sharing experiences, but love seeing what else is happening in the world.

Next month we discover the expressive painting process of Pointillism.  This process made famous by Georges Seurat and Paul Signac avoids paint strokes and prefers dabs and dots.

Let's call it the beginning of dot matrix!

Register Today!

Thanks for following the First Friday Art Club.  

If you visit, please leave a comment on what you like or what you wish to see.  

Your ideas might just might become reality.

Until March...~erica