Earthscapes with The Rockwell Museum, part 2

We played with clay for the SSCL First Friday Art Club in May.  If you take a moment to read Part 1 of this Earthscapes project, you will know that this clay portion represents a topographical view of a landscape for which our dream homes will be placed.

Amy's and My Earthscape Sample

Amy Ruza from The Rockwell Museum and I met earlier in the month to make the sample you see above.  There are forests, fresh water, mountains and fields within our landscape. 

The clay is terracotta, which has a beautiful brown hue, lending itself to the Earth-like feel.

Roll out a slab and create dimension

The students were instructed to roll out a 1/4" thick slab of clay cut to the size of a sheet of paper.  Then, they placed the clay slabs over crumpled paper to give the clay dimension.  

It was required that each slab touch the table surface on two sides in order to provide

holes meant for hanging vertically on a wall.  

A river runs through it

Once the slabs were rolled out and placed on cardboard sheets for transport and holes were prodded, students had their own choices to make.  Including a fresh water source was HIGHLY encouraged.  It was fun to watch these lumps of mud transform before our eyes!

Rivers, valleys, caves, and VOLCANOES!

Land features such as rivers, valleys, caves and even VOLCANOES developed over these lands.  These adventurous artists represented their own ideas, but also shared their expertise as other students showed interest in certain elements

Let the Underglaze Begin

After the clay landscape was approved, it was time to add color with underglaze.  Blue represented water and the sample above shows a lovely winding river, accessible throughout the land.  Forests for food and exploration were a popular feature.

Each countdown made them frantic

We only have an hour and a half in First Friday Art Club and every minute is precious.  To keep students aware, I give them incremental countdowns until cleanup.  They are always so shocked and disappointed when I say we only have 20 minutes left.  "TWENTY MINUTES?! How did class fly by so quickly?!"

Countdowns make them Hustle!

As you can see, the before and after show how these kids can hustle to get the job complete.  Green grasses, white capped mountains and streams of blue covered our tables.

Fallen Tree

This student considered having a fallen tree available for fire wood when he moves his house here this summer.  The river will be a helpful form of transportation to get that tree to his home!  I'm impressed by that thought process for such a young student.

Off to the kiln

Now that the Earthscapes have been created, they must get fired in the kiln.  The Rockwell Museum has their own kiln and will provide this service.  The items will take two weeks to dry before being fired.  Many students wanted to take these home next week!  

There was a minor lesson in how ceramics get processed.

The SSC Library will exhibit these Earthscapes in July and August as part of the 

summer reading club theme, "Build a Better World."  

Accessibility to art always helps create a better world!

Thanks for visiting this month and checking on our progress.  I'll be sure to show you the Earthscapes on display, but until then, seek the First Friday Art Club blog in June to see what we make with a little help from the sun with Cyanotypes.

~erica

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Earthscapes with The Rockwell Museum, part 1

Earthscapes, part 1

The SSC Library partnered with The Rockwell Museum to introduce a 2 part lesson plan called Earthscapes.  Thinking about sustainability, the goal was to create a model home using recycled materials in session one.  Then, in the second session, students will create clay slab landscapes to place the model home in an environment.

Artists get right down to business

After a short Power Point presentation, the artists got right down to business.  We had 5 grocery bags full of various items we salvaged from the trash can.  Scraps from fruit and vegetable packaging, rafts from 3-D printed objects, foam from packing materials, a filter from a furnace, etc. became materials to design a model home.

Cardboard and tape 

Some artists chose to work with cardboard and tape.

3-D Fences

This artist utilized the zig-zag of a 3-D print raft structure to establish a fence for her home.  You never know who you need to keep in and who needs to stay out!

Concentration

I was available to help with any questions, but there was total concentration on the dream home creation.  Glue guns were hot, glue sticks were melting away and foundations set.

Foam Staircase

The use of high density foam represented a staircase for this fortress. 

 A water well was considered, as well as a trap door to keep out trespassers.

Escape Plans are Important

This artist used foam for floating capabilities in case of flooding. 
 Towers allow for secret passage ways.

Organized "mess"

This dream home was meant to look messy. The exterior of this building gives visitors pause to enter, so what intruder would know the gorgeous mansion inside?  Strong imagination proved this fortress is secure and PLUSH inside.  It's certainly a haven in disguise!

Tipi Takes Rank

The only tipi structure came to fruition quickly, but I'm not quite sure what the red and green containers represent.  I teased that it was never ending tomato and avacado buckets to make bottomless bowls of guacamole.

Truffula Trees and a Pergola

When Truffula Trees grace a pergola, you know this dream home is intended for warm climates and safe surroundings.  The artist intends to live near no predatory animals and only see clear blue skies and sunshine 365 days a year.

Clean Lines and Clean Water

The spirit of conservation struck this artist when he used simple, clean lines to create his structure.  Having a dedicated clean water supply was of utmost importance, too.  The netting works as shade, but the open roof allows in plenty of sunlight for indoor gardening.

Feels like "Fallingwater"

As this student created her yoga getaway, I remarked how this dream home resembled "Fallingwater," by Frank Lloyd Wright.  She had never heard of that home, but recalled the ever-important architect's name from a school lesson.

Building with recycled materials and considering how to maintain a sustainable existence for humans on earth was a thought provoking subject for students.  They considered predators, intruders, protection from elements and daily needs like food and water.  Imagination and creativity enabled them to develop wisely designed homes for their clay slab landscapes.

Check back in May to see where these dream homes land.

 You never know what teens will make with piles of trash and lumps of dirt!

 

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

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!

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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

Sock and Glove Puppets

We added the book "Sock and Glove: Creating Charming Softy Friends from Cast-Off Socks and Gloves," by Miyako Kanamori to our collection recently and I knew it would work well with First Friday Art Club.  Do you have a large assortment of one-off socks or lost the right hand to your favorite glove?  Rather than scrapping them to the round file, recycle them into lovable works of art!

Click her to borrow this from our library!

Transforming clothing into puppets or softy friends is not easily straightforward for most people.  Even with printed templates and instructions, our brains can often argue with what we see.  Despite our left and right brains occasional feud, these students took their right and left socks in adorable directions.

What in the World is a Whake?

Although I had several patterns selected to choose, students had their own stuffed friend visions and this Maker wanted a whale.  While a whale pattern is not an option in the book (sequel suggestion...) this artist took the liberty of designing one.  He got a little mutated in the process and became a Whale Snake or a Whake!

Olivia Newton Sock

Puppies popped up from the patch. The remnants of the "whake" became a workout gear for this puppy.  I just have the the "Physical" song running through my head with visions of this pup pumping iron.

This "cat" once ran around in gym sneakers

With dogs, you must have cats.  This striped variety once had the role of gym clothing for middle school.  This creation could lead to more verses in the Smelly Cat song.

Cow-Pig-Sheep?

The designer of this curious creature intended to make a sheep.  Her color options made her feel the animal looked more like a pig or a cow.  I think the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles had some influence on these creatures.

A little noting goes a long way.

This cherub created a birthday duck for her mother. 

She was surprised to see this lonesome sock become a lovable friend.

Markers are easy for facial features

To add features to these friends, we had lots of embroidery floss and embellishments.  With the clock counting down to the library closing time, these makers wanted to finish their project before they left.  Using markers was a simple solution.

This wraps up another First Friday Art Club.  We have great projects in store for 2017.

Space is limited- register today!

Shannah Warwick of Blackbts (that's Black Boots) will guide our group in the Nuno Felting method.  The finished piece will be wearable art.  Lookout Corning...we're getting fancy!