"Our Library Rocks"--Felted!

WE all know that libraries rock, but in 2018--LIBRARIES ROCK! That's the summer reading theme and we are using it to exclaim from the rooftops just how important libraries are to community enrichment.  Since the Southeast Steuben County rocks in the most amazing ways, we asked Shannah Warwick of Blckbts to show us how to felt rocks.

Dyed Wool

We felt for rocks in the park and felt those rocks just needed to be concealed.  Painted rocks are all the rage, but we wanted to clothe our rocks.  Or at least give them a fresh look.

Setting the wool

Each rock got a unique look by taking strips of colored wool, layering it over the rock, then wetting the wool with hot, then cold water.  The heat makes the fibers expand and the cold shocked the fibers back.  This expand and shock treatment causes the fibers to interlock and create a new fiber--FELT.

Rock in Process

Once each rock was completely covered, they were doused in a cold water bath with vinegar.  The vinegar balanced the pH of the wool and soap.  A wet animal smelling rock remains, but after a few hours of drying, it looks like a soft sculpture.

Covered and Cozy

The method was simple.  Hot water, cold water, LOTS OF SUDS, agitation--the kind that releases personal tension, but makes the wool stick in place, and tons of fun conversation made this little colony come to life.

Rock Band

If you need a new way to rock your library, try some wool to felt your sediment.

That felt good

That's a wrap for First Friday Art Club with me.  Check on my Pop-up library excursions in the coming months with a new blog, yet to be named.  Send me your suggestions and I'll work my magic.  In the downtime, follow our newest project, "Family Folklore-A Paranormal Podcast."  Broadcast from the Crystal City of Corning, New York, it is a goosebumpy experience filled with chills and thrills from local residents of the Southern Tier of New York.  Stay tuned for all the fun things to happen.

email your stories to CorningFamilyFolklore@gmail.com

Thanks for visiting!

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!

Stencils and Etched Glass

Stencils and etched glass were the focus of the SSC Library's First Friday Art Club in June. This project used clear glass plates, bottles and votive candle holders that I had in storage. Recycled jars from jams or sauces can easily be used to upcycle an object into a piece of art, in case you want to try this method.  Re-usable stencils were purchased to show students the difference between a hand cut stencil and a purchased stencil.  The library's Makerspace, the SSCL Creation Station has a Cricut Machine, which also aided in creating one-of-a-kind stencils with a professional appeal.

Feather stencils and Armour Etch cream

Glass artists etch with engraving tools or sandblasting machines, but the beginner approach is using an acid etching cream.  We took advantage of Armour Etch, which works it's magic on the glass within 10-15 minutes.  Engraving tools and sandblasting machines require lots of skill, time and practice.  

Cricut cut stencil, weeded and placed on the glass

After cutting a stencil for my demonstration piece, I had to "weed" out the elements that were unnecessary to the design.  Any space that reveals the glass and has the etching cream applied will turn a hazy, cloudy appearance--that's the acid etch cream doing it's job!

Armour Etch applies to the "open" spaces

Once the cream was applied with a tool (ie. very high tech cotton swab), the waiting game begins.  If your surface is curved, like the bottle pictured, you need to keep a close watch that the cream stays in place and does not drip.  As mentioned, any place the etching cream touches will have a hazy, cloudy appearance if allowed to sit for a few minutes.  Students who took part in this class had their patience tested!

Flat surface and purchased stencils

The students naturally gravitated toward the plates, which helped them as beginners. (Curved surfaces test patience!)  Although I cut several stencils on the Cricut machine (I had a lot of "Happy Father's Day" stencils prepped in consideration of the pending holiday), everyone wanted to get creative and set up their own designs.

Students creating stencils on the Cricut

One thing about designing in Cricut Design Space (and really any digital design work) is the time needed to train yourself in the software.  Then there is the time needed to get your vision accomplished.  Beside that bulk of time required, there is the cutting time taken by the Cricut machine.  The process is much slower than printing a sheet of paper.  This slowed our progress to a degree.

Luckily students became self sufficient and proficient with the "Gloopy Stuff" ("gloopy stuff" = Armour Etch!) and these are a few projects which were produced:

"Lobster" from the Armour Products stencils

Hand cut stencil with Armour stencils in the mix

The Crystal display for June

These projects are on display in the library for the month of June.  Corning, New York is the "Crystal City," renowned for it's rich glass history.  The Glass Art Society (G.A.S.) Conference met in Corning from June 9-11, 2016.  The First Friday Art Club welcomed the G.A.S. Conference participants who visited the library with their own glass art.

YOU can make this with tools in our Creation Station

Teaching students how to create a hand cut stencil and how to proceed in the acid etching process is quite a challenge in under an hour and a half class, with 19 students on hand. Results were achieved, but I would prefer to split up this class into two sessions.  Hind sight is always 20/20.  Nonetheless, this project worked well and many visitors have stopped to enjoy the art on display.
If you would like to create something like this, let us know!  Our Creation Station is open to the public during library operating hours.  Just a quick registration and tutorial will give you access to a world of creating.  I hope to see you soon!  

  Check back in July for our Cosplay Costumes event recap.  We are gearing up for another fabulous Library Unmasked on July 15, 6-8 pm. 

MARK YOUR CALENDARS!

Thanks for visiting,

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