An Art Show from Clemence!

Thank you for sharing your projects Clemence! I love the variety of materials you used.
I am sure many of you are making art. I am so glad. If you would like to share it here, let me know, Thanks, Ann

Blossoms and Birds

Hi Everybody- I am writing this on the day AFTER the snow! What a crazy sequence- Spring-Winter-Spring in 3 days. The snow really made me think about how precious this time in the season of spring is. Bare branches, blossoms and birds! The birds are more visible because the leaves haven't grown yet but the blossoms promise the near explosion of green!

So let's have an online exhibit called Blossoms and Birds! Draw, paint, build either subject and send a photo and I will post it on my blog. It can be a community show- all family members welcome!

Here are some pieces from my art class/camp archive. You may recognize them!

Drawing Prompts

Arlington Community Education sent out a great list of drawing prompts this week for those of us who sometimes need a kick start! http://www.arlingtoncommunityed.org/

One of them reminded me of a few of my journal pages. Basically what I do is make my own coloring page and then have fun selecting colors. I do this with colored pencils but you could use paint or markers too. I repeat a shape in different sizes and arrangements with a pen and then see how adding color changes how the shapes fit together. It's the kind of drawing that is calming gan you can leave and come back to.

I actually stated this one with glued paper square and strips and then drew the line out form them

Here's one I haven't finished-all triangles

Another all triangle one. I think this one ended up looking like trees or birds

Paper Doll Chain

Make an accordion strip as shown below (a few posts ago.) Cut out form the square or rectangular folded stack. Make sure you leave some portion of the folded edge intact. Play around with your cutout to get the shapes you want in your figure or other shape chain.

Drawing with Cristoph Niemann!

We get  BIG paper on Sunday that lasts the whole week! Amidst the serious news there is always an artist that brings hope via another perspective, a new way of combining media or simply a view of beauty. Cristoph Niemann is a german designer whose work I first saw in a documentary series called Abstract (on netflicks) He draws with the wit of a cartoonist and the eye of a designer. Last week's magazine March 29, has a great article that maps out his visit to the Balkans (before the shutdown). He superimposes his drawings on photographs of the places he visits.

So here's the idea. Can we use this piece as an inspiration to have fun with magazine images? Grab them before they are recycled. Find some photographs to draw into. I recommend a black marker or felt tip pen but you could try others. (pencils won't work on the slippery paper) Have fun!

From Yearning to be Boring: A Visit to Estonia

A Pop Up Card

Here's a simple way to make a card that has a 3D form when you open it up.(a cube) It will use the technique of reverse the fold like in the accordion book instructions. Once you make one it will be easy. Then you get to do the fun part, figuring out how you can use the cube indifferent ways. Once you see how the card opens and closes you can play with adding cut paper figures or shapes.

Take a look:

81/2x11 cardstock page folded in half, regular weight paper 1/2 size folded in half

cut 2 slices as shown above

open up the page and reverse the fold of the center cut part

fold and open the card

attach smaller paper to cardstock with glue stick

use card vertically- the cubes (I simply cut 2 on this card) this way looked like balconies to me

use card horizontally- the cube looked like a chair so I put a child reading a book

How Many Greens?

Today between my house and Menotomy Rocks Park I saw so many shades of green in people's gardens and yards. Here is a small sample. How would we make these colors in paint or marker or crayons? Give it a try.

Make a set of greens: 

Start with the 2 primary colors that make green (I bet you know! yellow and blue)

Vary the amounts of blue and yellow

Add white and black

How many different greens can you make? You can give them names like the paint store!