Mixed Media Bas Relief Sculpture

For an inexpensive art project that makes a big impact, I gave my students cardboard and let them get busy. They didn't plan anything out ahead of time, just chose a color of acrylic paint and started painting. 

The project itself is part of our mult-media art unit and this was our third week using cardboard. This assignment is specifically to create a bas relief sculpture. There needs to be layers to create a tactile image, of shapes, textures, colors, and pattern.

There was plenty of extra cardboard for students to cut shapes, many of which were wet with a paintbrush of water so that the top layer of cardboard be peeled away to reveal the corregated middle. I even had really thick cardboard that had an almost honeycomb center.

Stencils and spray paint were used on the bottom structure to activate the background and break up the space. Some students used masking tape to create stripes or plaid from the spray paint. There was no need to worry about the fact that a lot of it would be covered up, because the same types of stencils could be used on top layers and intentionally shifted to make for interesting use of space. Some students also used little wooden shapes or popsicle sticks to make the piece even more tactile. Because my students are blind, this is an important element to every art piece.

Some students used thin or thick cardboard cut into strips of various size that were then stood on edge, like quilled paper.

Collaged wall paper added another tool to add a focal point or a background pattern depending on how it was used. Everyone was so proud at the end of the week for figuring out how to make their relief sculpture one step at a time, by playing with values, colors, shapes, and just seeing what worked and what didn't. There's a life lesson in there somewhere.

 

Stripped Cardboard Mixed Media Art Project

Once they finished making cardboard mono-prints on paper (see my last blog post for instructions), my students didn't toss their cardboard "printing plate," they used it to create a new tactile finished piece of art!

The back ink that had been rolled on from printing gave it a nice dark undercoat. Students choose from a wide range of media to layer. Some collaged torn strips of scrapbook paper and others collaged carefully cut parts of wall paper. to keep those shapes from standing out too much, some used whisps of spray paint, or pastel (oil or chalk),  to unify the parts of the image. For more contrast, a stencil and spray paint could be used to create more contrast and help their focal point pop out a little. Some students used paint pens. Other patterned stencils were used to activate the background or add another layer of color. 

The piece of art that was made from the printing matrix is facing the opposite direction as the print. This is an important lesson for future print projects: left is right and right is left. If you are using words, you would have to write them backwards using mirror writing, like Leonardo daVinci did in his notebook. There are so many little fun things to discuss and learn in multi-media projects like this one. I just love how they turned out, and the fact that they're tactile is a double win for my students who are blind.

 

Cardboard Relief Prints

Students would wet the shapes they wanted to remove with a wet paint brush, and after a minute or so the glue would dissolve and they could peel back the top layer of cardboard to reveal all the corrugated bumps. Another layer could be removed completely if they wanted three values (light, medium, and dark). 

Then students used a brayer and relief ink to evenly cover their cardboard with ink before placing a piece of paper on top and rubbing it thoroughly with their flat hands.

Once they had a print, they could make another, or they could work into their first print in several ways. It's important for the ink to be dry before adding layers so it doesn't smear around, but some students rubbed chalk pastel in parts to add a little color, while others used marker for something bold. The original printed image that was cut at the beginning of the process could also be used for a stencil either to hand color or spray paint. Some people made their prints on patterned paper to add a layer of interest without having to add anything without any post-print additions. I love how the cardboard texture adds such a distressed or vintage look to the images, and the areas of richer black make a bold impact. I wish I had experimented with this years ago, and may need to buy a gel plate to take the printmaking to the next level in the future.

 

Trip to Germany

A few hours in Frankfurt let me check out the highlights

Last month, my husband I visited our daughter in Germany for a week, and although we didn't spend a lot of time in Art museums, the architecture and history left me feeling like I had feasted on culture for the week. Here are some of the favorite cities we visited.

Heidelberg is a lovely old city with red roof buildings and a rich history. Much of the town is pedestrian only which makes it perfect for exploring its shops, restaurants, three gorgeous churches, and one of the oldest universities in Europe. The castle on the hill is easy to see from anywhere in the city. You can make the short but steep walk to it, or take the furnicular up. The castle was built in 1218 but suffered destruction from lightning strikes, fires etc. and each time it was rebuilt with new additions and updated styles over the next 400 years. One of my favorite parts of the castle was the apothecary museum, which walks you through the history of medicine. 

Mainz is home to the Gutenberg  and his famous printing press with movable type. Around 1455, Gentenberg printed 180 copies of the Bible. These were just commissioned pages that the buyer had to have someone illustrate and bound. About 48 copies of the Gutenbuerg Bible still exist today, and you can see a few of them here. As printmakers, my husband and I loved the demonstration of creating a mold, smelting lead to make the type, and then actually printing on a press that is a reproduction of the original Gutenberg press. Kirschegarten is a charming neighborhood in Mainz that translates to cherry orchard. All the half timber houses there were built in between the 1500's to 1800's. We stopped there for lunch. I would have loved more time to explore that city.

Strasbourg is in France, but it was just over the border and has actually gone back and forth as a German city to a French city many times. The cathedral is gorgeous and it's just a block away from the river tour is a great chance to get the history and sites from a unique view! The European Parliament is also in Strausbourg. La Petit France was an area of the city that was where all of the people who had contracted syphilis were quarantined. This is the cutest part of the very walkable.  This city is famous for it's Christmas markets and decorations, but I loved seeing the flowers everywhere. Try to find some traditional Alsatian food while you're there. It is delicious! 

Trier is a gem of a place just minutes from the Luxembourg/ Germany border. It is called the Rome of the North, and contains many ancient Roman treasures such as the largest standing Roman hall (now the oldest church in Germany), an ancient ampitheatre and an elaborate bath house complex (Keiderslauten). The underground tunnels provide a little relief from the summer heat. I ducked into every church I could find, as the doors are always open, but don't expect air conditioning. One of my favorite stops was the Lindt chocolate store, where you are greeted with samples and all sorts of unusual flavor options to buy a little pick-me-up.

Trier's Porta Nigra would have probably been dismantled like the other city gates for the the stones to be repurposed, had it not been for a hermit who lived inside the port for years. Later, this Roman gate was made into a church and named after that man. 

Trier Cathedral is one of the nine Midevil and Roman monuments that make Trier a UNESCO world heritage site. The courtyard has two churches in one and it feels like something out of a fairy tale!

And if you are looking for a place where there are virtually no tourists, look to Kaiserslauten, where there is a really special Japanese garden, and a short hike through the woods to explore free castle ruins (Burg Hohennechen) and a nice view. Nanstein Castle isn't far from there, and though it cost a small fee, it comes with a set of headphones for self guided tour, and some fun exhibits. I love how the castle is built right into the red rock cliff. 

 

Charles DeMuth Museum

A mile and a half from the hospital where I was born, is the Lancaster, PA home of Charles Demuth. He was a successful Modernist who was playing with the big time artists in New York City (at the time of Alfred Stieglitz) and Paris (at the time of Gertrude Stein). Demuth lived in this brick house with his family since he was six, in the late 1800's.

Demuth was proficient in a range of styles and media, but was probably most famous for his precisionists paintings like "My Egypt" and "I Saw the Figure in Gold" (1928) based on the William Carlos William's poem "The Great Figure" of 1921.

There is a gallery downstairs where local artists were having an exhibit, and a room with a short documentary about Charles Demuth playing on loop, but my favorite part was his studio upstairs, where he made 1,000 paintings and drawings. His 100 year old art supplies are still there, ready to be resurrected. And on the wall, is a small Georgia O'Keefe painting, gifted to him by the artist herself. She thought she was the most fun of the contemporary artists.  Next door is the Tabacco shop, which was a Demuth family business since the 1700's. Charles decided to do his own thing, but it's fun to get a feel for how his parents and grandparents made their living. 

It doesn't take long to drop in on this little treasure while exploring Pennsylvania Dutch Country.

 

Ohio Gardens and Art Day

The east and west coasts get a lot of credit for being the places to go for the Arts, but when I lived in Columbus, OH as a graduate student, I felt like I was in a cultural hot spot, with free evenings at the Museum of Art and bustling first Friday gallery walks. But it wasn't until this year, that I finally saw some of the free outdoor sights, including the Field of Corn (with Osage Oranges) by sculpture Malcom Cochran. This installation is a roadside attraction in Dublin, OH and was right by my favorite Columbus food places: W.G. Grinders for lunch and Graeter's Ice cream for dessert. You can park in a company parking lot and walk among rows of giant ears of corn, or rest in a hammock in the shade of the trees.

Columbus Park of Roses is another treasure that I never seen and in fact, didn't know existed until I saw a sign as we were driving down High Street. I'm so glad we took the detour because walking among a gazillion roses is a beautiful way to spend a morning. I imagine a lot of senior or bridal photo shoots have been done there. 

Downtown Columbus offers a Topiary garden where the School for the Deaf used to be. The bushes are sculpted to re-create the famous George Seauraut Painting "Sunday on the Island of La Grand Jatte." There's even a bronze reproduction of the painting to use as reference. 

Of course I had to make a pilgrammage to Ohio State University, with it's free Wexner Center for the Arts, and more importantly, the Hopkins Art building where I met my husband. Behind that entire 2nd floor wall of windows was the my studio (shared with my studio mate, Julie). And just inside those front doors was where I met my husband. There are always shows in the gallery on the first floor. The building to the right is where I taught drawing and 2D design every day. "Cultured Mind Skilled Hand" is engraved above the door.

The Franklin Conservatory ended up being a favorite stop of our Ohio Day. The children's garden was especially amazing, with tree houses and play houses, places for water play, hills for rolling down, and koleidoscopes for viewing plants. And the trains! I couldn't get enough of them. 

But of course, inside the conservatory was magical as well, thanks in part to the Chihuly sculptures that grace almost every room. There seems to be throughout the country to show is work in botanical gardens from Atlanta to Pheonix, and I'm here for it!

We had started our morning in Columbus early enough that we were able to still fit in the Toledo Museum of Art into our afternoon. If you are ever Northern Ohio, stop by the museum for free parking and free  admission. They have an impressive Matisse mosaic and a nice Asian collection. 

Many of the galleries were closed for renovations were closed for renovations, but the sculpture garden alone was worth the stop. And across the street is the Glass Pavilion where there are glass sculptures on display and they've got a hot shop to see glass blowing demos. It was a lot to do in a day, but nothing took so long that I wasn't able to make it to Michigan in time for dinner and a relaxing evening.

Mystery Themed Camp: Craft Time

This year's Summer Short Course at our school choose a Mystery theme, which included activities such as Host a Murder Mystery, a Forensic Science class,  and playing games like "Clue." Snacks included Jell-O cups, and students had to figure out the flavor because it didn't match the color. 

For Art class, we screen printed Camp T-shirts with the picture of an eye in the middle of a magnifying glass. I loved this image not only because it goes along with the idea of being a detective but also because all of the students have visual impairments and are no strangers to magnification devices.

We only had three days together, so for the two day project we did basket weaving. This allowed a discussion about how looking for and understanding patterns can help solve crimes. In a series of crimes, what is the common thread? Are they all committed in the same part of the city? Are they committed at the same time of day? Are the victims a similar age, sex, or race? Do they know each other? Maybe they're all members of a club or students at the same school? We discussed several scenarios in which finding patterns would be helpful in cracking a case. Then we discussed the pattern used when weaving a basket. It was a little bit of stretch for a crime solving theme, but everyone enjoyed it, and they had something nice to take home after two days of weaving.