brooke

Friday, October 29, 2010

FIBER FUSION COLLAGE

I discovered this project on DickBlick's website (http://www.dickblick.com/lesson-plans/fiber-fusion/) and thought we'd give it a shot in our after-school art program.

Bonnie and I try to put together a variety of projects for our kids and collages always seem to be a favorite and this was something we hadn't tried.

What was so fun about this particular project was to see the kids put together materials in both abstract and realistic ways. With the paper, the tulle fabric, yarn, ribbon, tissue paper, watercolor, phone book pages, black construction paper, fabric and faux gold leafing we provided for the kids, the layering and the textures that were created on the piece of muslin were so varied and interesting. You really can't go wrong with this collage. I hope to do this project again!

Samples of one of our kids'
Fiber Fusion Collages

Below are pictures of the collage I put together. The key to this project is the glue + water mixture that you use to cover the muslin before you place your variety of materials and putting a good layer on top. Once it is completely dry, the collage can be folded, rolled up, or used for a variety of things because it's flexible just like fabric!
I chose to first cover my muslin with watercolor washes.
My final Fiber Fusion Collage.

(Can I just say, in all the years I've been an art teacher, why I hadn't ever come across freezer paper is beyond me!?!...it should be a staple in anyone's supplies. It is the best!)


Monday, October 18, 2010

YU'PIK INDIANS FINGER MASKS

One of our most popular art projects with our art students are the African masks. It's a labor-intensive project, especially for Bonnie, who has to press clay into 4 different molds every night for about a month or more, so we have enough for all our students. We don't do the masks every year because of the time commitment in making the masks, but they are always a hit with the kids. And though we have students who've been in our program for years, it is always impressive to see how different their masks are each time they decorate and paint one. And since we did the masks last year, Bonnie proposed that the kids make their own this year.

Recently, she and her daughter were introduced to the Yup'ik Indians from southwestern Alaska. As they learned about their culture, they were impressed by the masks they made. The masks were designed to tell stories, to educate, to entertain and to pass on traditions.
Though the majority of their masks were made to be worn over the face, the Yup'ik people also made small finger masks, kind of like puppets that we are all familiar with. Made in pairs, these small masks were place over the fingers and used in ceremonies as well. We thought this would be a similar, but different "mask" project for our kids. I'm excited to see how they eventually turn out, but I have below, the 2 samples I worked on.

Though I didn't find oodles of information on the Yup'ik Indians online, the following websites were helpful and I had fun sketching out the masks I found interesting.

From the sketches I had drawn, I picked my favorite and was inspired by the shape of the mask and the asymmetrical features.

I let my two sample masks dry for a couple of days before decorating. My "eyes" and "nostrils" didn't stay on, so I just glued them on with hot glue.

I used acrylic paint I had on hand...the paint dried very quickly on this clay...it just soaked up the paint. I didn't stay with the muted, natural color palette that the Yup'ik Indians did, I wanted to go bright and bold.

Once I finished painting and glued on feathers, I adhered the masks onto heavy black board to complete the project.