Photo Collage

We celebrated the new year with a Photo Collage lesson in First Friday Art Club in January 2018.  Hoarding a collection of nature photography which was donated by a patron and combining it with discarded magazines, we had a very busy afternoon of creating.

Clip and Arrange

A friend donated hundreds of printed photos of nature last year and I have been saving them for a program like this.  Beautiful images of flowers and insects helped set the mood for my collage.

Clipping for colors

I also had a stack of discarded magazines from the library collection.  Students were allowed to cut and paste images they chose.  The idea of inspiration boards or vision boards was mentioned as a goal for students who were stuck on all the cool images.

Morphed Creature

Vision boards were too limiting to some students.  Junho was determined to create new creatures and characters by morphing elements from other images.  He commented and gave a story line with each new creation, too!

Washington with a Wolf Sleigh

Soon enough scissors and papers were flying.  Characters were popping up and nature was taking shape on our canvas boards.  Things started to get silly with a team of siblings.  We discovered the fabulous feeling of a tech free Friday.

All About Me

Sophia's mission was an "All About Me" board.  She was a quick worker, cutting and gluing without waiting.  She told me as we worked that she does this type of craft at home.  Considering how much technology laden homes can be, it is impressive to find a young student who appreciates the original form of "Cut and Paste."

Work Quickly

We discovered how fast this program can go.  An hour and a half seemed a little too short for this process.  Jina planned to use more of her family photos, but felt rushed to have a final project before she left, so she worked with the images she had pre-cut from magazines.

Very Geometric

It seemed that that we just started to have fun when we only had 10 minutes to finish and clean up.  Therefore, some things got rushed.  I never heard the final story about George Washington or the other morphed character.  The only message we see is to "Leave a Legacy for Wildlife."  We will call that piece, "Beyond Abstract."

Roy G. Biv

Believe it or not, it took the full class time to have a visit from Roy G. Biv.  The color stripes look fabulous, but this piece is not complete.  The artist decided to take it home to continue working.

Mod Podge it Up

After all image elements were in place, I recommended sealing everything in with Mod Podge.  The jar we have dries to a high gloss finish, despite the look of it when wet.  Sophia was the first to get a coating before she left.

Trim the Edges

Some students wanted to have images go off of the canvas.  I said that is a great idea. We call that "Breaking the Box."  Younger students can identify with this idea by coloring outside the lines.  For some students, they wanted a clean edge, so trimming was required.

Elmer's Skin

In our rush to finish, this student realized how gross and fun gluey skin can be.  I remember having so much glue on my hands in art class, I would wait for it to dry, so I could peel it off like skin.  This was totally a thing in the last century (yes, I am that old).  Do students get to play like this today or is technology stealing this experience?

Winter Bouquet

Even with teaching this class, I was able to create my own Photo Collage.  My goal was to brighten my office space during the winter doldrums.  Although I worked quickly, I still need to add a coat of Mod Podge to seal in the edges.  After a weekend on my desk in a warm building, the edges of several images curled up.  A coat of glue will flatten all of it to a smooth surface.

This wraps up another fun First Friday Art Club.  Visit us in February when we paint "Acrylic Cats with Filomena Jack."  Its sure to be a hoot....or a Meow!

Catch you on the Flip Side!
xo,
Erica

Cyanotypes

The SSC Library First Friday Art Club explored cyanotype printing on June 2.  Special guest instructor, Marnie Lersch, led the exploration.

Cyanotypes, GO!

Marnie defined the term cyanotype by breaking down the word.  Cyan is blue and type meaning print, so you can say this is like a blue print.  Having worked in a blue printing facility, we were lucky to NOT smell the diazo process, which can knock out a person with the ammonia fumes.

Chemical Overview

Students who arrived early got a chance to peruse the sample and supply table.  Marnie showed interested parents the chemicals which we would use to complete the process.  These chemicals are light sensitive, meaning they need to be kept out of sunlight.  Since they are hazardous, everyone was instructed to wear gloves while applying the liquid mixture to the fabric being used.

Safety First when Working

First step in this class was to prepare our fabric with the light sensitive chemical mixture. Using foam brushes, rubber gloves, and table cloths, each student was responsible for this step. We often remind our students that safety is always first when making art.  We only get one set of lungs and the skin we're in, so they have to last a lifetime.

Time to add the Goodies

Once the chemical application was dry, it turned a pea-green hue and it was time to get creative.  Using items we collected from the garden and an array of interesting shaped goodies, each student took time to compose their image.  This required a bit of thinking about positive and negative space, as well as transparent versus opaque density.

Wrapped and Protected

After composing their imagery, the students wrapped up their fabric on a cardboard sheet sandwiched by bubble wrap and secured with clothes pins.  There was a whipping wind to contend with outside and we did not want all of the loose items to go flying!

Waiting for the Sun

Once outside, the sun was in control of this project.  

Each student was a watch-guard protecting their projects from the wind.

Make your Mark

I tested this process and teamed up with a student with a bubble wrap experiment.  "What will happen if we leave the bubble wrap on?," we wondered.  As the sun processed the image, this student took a chance to use her body as her signature!

Expose in the Sun for about 10 minutes

After about 5-10 minutes of bright sun exposure, the chemicals on the fabric turned a slate gray/ green tone and Marnie told us to wash our fabrics in clean water.  This was a fast action of tossing materials into bins and rushing to the water tubs to process the image.

Leaves and Seashells were flying!

If you can imagine the flock of leaves, seashells, glass nuggets, and macaroni literally flying into storage bins, the mad rush panicked everyone to make sure they finished their projects before the end of class.  Washing the fabric in water surprised everyone at how fast the fabric turned from green to blue.  The imagery everyone composed was so gorgeous.  This project offered immediate gratification.  Who doesn't like that?!

Success

The variety of blue tones this process offers is quite lovely.  I have a blue love-affair and believe I will further explore this process in my home studio.  One parent who enjoyed the results of this process envisions a Cyan Family Room.  She took notes on the chemicals needed and borrowed some books to further investigate.  If you have interest to learn how to make cyanotypes, visit this Alternative Photography for more information.  

Check back in July to see what Steampunk Costumes our crew creates as they prepare for the ever-epic Library Unmasked: Steampunk Edition cosplay event.

Until then, thanks for visiting!

~erica