Friday 4 November 2011

Finishing Paper Mache and Beginning Oil Pastels

Well!  Art Tracks participants have certainly accomplished a great deal in the past two weeks!  The majority of our artists have finished their paper mache creations, with only a few marvelous pieces awaiting completion.  (Creativity, as we know, cannot be rushed!)
Those already finished have begun experimenting with oil pastels, and as the pictures below show, they've made a great start!  Pastels, with their vibrant, easy to blend colours are a wonderful medium for developing confidence as an artist, and the next few sessions we'll be using them to draw from reference pictures on coloured paper.   More on that in the weeks to come!

Pastel work by our youngest members - grade 1 & 2!

Our youngest members did some incredible work with oil pastels this week! 
Eric (grade 1) created this spider on its web and even added a few strands of glue to give it a 3-D effect!

Nicole (grade 2) found a photo of a lily, and presented us with this wonderful rendition in pastel!
Calder (grade 2) designed his own kite, cut it out, decorated it with an abstract pattern, and coloured with pastels!

Bird House and Trillium by Niah - Oil Pastels

With her elephant sculpture completed, Niah also delved into the  pastels this week and created these two pictures.  I love the whimsy of the little bird house among the flowers!  Niah's colours are clear and her shapes distinct.  Though both pictures are based on reference photos, she isn't afraid to take "artistic licence" with colour and composition, thereby making the work her own.   

Squirrels by Chloe - Oil pastel

Having finished her paper mache Poison Bottle several weeks ago, Chloe has been busily working with oil pastels on coloured paper!  Take a look at the flying squirrel on the left --- by combining fine lines and delicately blended colour, she successfully conveys the soft, velvety texture of the little animal's fur.   The picture on the right is interesting too, with a range of contrasting values and textures, from the furry white of the squirrel to the hard dark lines of the branch.  Chloe's negative shapes are also well defined, and bring unity to her work.    

Step 8 - Final Touches - Elephant and Fish!

Niah dresses her elephant in a blue cape while Evane paints her fish with gold and glitter and plans to fasten it to a base of sand and pebbles. Both great pieces! 

Julia's Jack o lanterns --- Mixed Media

 Speaking of Hallowe'en, Julia decides to temporarily
 put aside her loon painting  ....
to create these spectacular Jack o lanterns!
Four Faces - Oil Pastel & Watercolour
Another Jack - Chalk Pastel and White Glue

Step 7 --- Making a Body


Caroline's wants to keep her character slim and small --- no padding needed for her body.  On the other hand, Tess' frog requires a generous amount of padding to create a round, bulging body.  Judging by the faces of the artists, Hallowe'en is clearly in the air!

Step 7 --- Making a Body

To make bodies for their character, Madeline and Niah attach the heads to a sturdy plastic bottle.  They then place the bottle in a plastic bag, stuffing it with newsprint and padding it into shape.  Having given her elephant a body,  Niah frims and paints pieces of cardboard roll to create legs.  

Paper Mache continues --- Zein and Calder painting their heads!


Friday 14 October 2011

Paper Mache Sculpture Continued ....

Our session this week was a flurry of activity as the Art Tracks after school group continued working on their paper mache creations.   With sculptures at various stages of completion, some people spent their time sanding, refining and adding details to their work;  others  the painting began the painting process.   The room was a storm of glue and paper, clay and paint, but as the pictures below show,  some very promising sculptures are taking shape!

Step 6 - Niah applying an undercoat to her elephant

Step 6 - Painting & Glazing - Chloe's container for Hallowe'en candies!

Step 6 - At Last! Beginning to paint!


Caroline's little creature taking shape!

Just blow-drying my frog!

  

Step 5 - Adding details

Evane uses a small amount of clay to make eyelids and lips for her fish.  She then covers the clay with glue and tissue paper.

Madeline adding glue and tissue paper to her bird

Saturday 8 October 2011

Paper Mache, Mid-Point! Tessa (instructing), Niah (on elephant) Evane (beside Niah)

At this point, we're about half way through our project.  In the sessions to come, Tess and I will show techniques for further refining sculptural surfaces.  After that, students will paint them and decorate with various materials.   Stay tuned for coming developments!

Paper Mache Sculpture

Art Tracks after school artists have certainly been busy in recent weeks!    Tessa and I were happy to welcome both returnees and new faces this year; we have an enthusiastic, creative group here, and they've wasted no time getting down to work!

Last year, our focus was drawing and painting, and this year, we'll continue to draw and paint in a  variety of media, including graphite, pastels, ink and watercolours.   However, I also wondered if students might be interested in trying some sculpture as well, and when  I asked if they'd like to try a paper mache project this year, and the response was a resounding "yes"!   So that is how we've started, and the pictures below (partially) document the process!

Friday 7 October 2011

Oh! It's a ....

No it ISN'T a vase!

What's this?

Make sure there's lots of glue on the paper!

Step 4 - Cover with glue and tissue paper

Taking shape...

More newsprint, more glue --- What will it be?

Taping and papering

Step 3 - Covering with more newsprint and glue

Covering foil shapes with masking tape

Step 2: Making shapes out of aluminium foil and attaching them to the balloon

Step 1 - Covering the Balloon