8th Grade

ArtsLab Live Meet on Tuesday's from 2:15pm - 2:45pm

It'll be a time for Q&A about assignments past and present or any other questions you may have. It will also be a time to share your artwork, either through assignments or something you've been doing on your own.

We will also be doing a short art activity each session.

Here is the link:

https://meet.google.com/cyu-iztc-ydc

Interactive Drawing

Meet Drogo the Dragon.

He is a pet dragon of Manik n Ratan, two brothers from Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Manik and Ratan are both artists, and they have been interacting with Drogo for the past few years. They even have a large following on social media. Here is a taste....

For our last lesson for the year,

lets give interactive drawing a try.

Materials:

Pencil and Eraser

Pen or Black sharpie markers

Color markers or Color Pencils if you want to add color

A piece of paper (any size)

Any household object

Digital camera, iphone, ipad, Android or Computer with camera

How To Manik n Ratan Style:

Create a character.

Either in your mind or by sketching ideas.

I was eating strawberries just now and it inspired me to create an idea for a strawberry character.

I am thinking leaf hair, arms, mini strawberry sneakers for shoes.

Choose an object.

It can be an object related to your creature or something completely different.

Sketch your character doing something with the object.

Artist Tip: Imagine in your minds eye, how it would react, exaggerate its expression - like eyes, eyebrows, mouth

(see below for ideas)

Add color as description if you choose to, if not, you can always outline your sketch darker with a pencil or marker.

This is Sweaty Berry, rushing to get ready for work in the morning.

Here are some ideas

for expressive eyes

and mouth.

When you are done,

Take a photo of your interactive drawing.

That will be your work of art.

How To Include Yourself in the Drawing:

If you enjoy this project, you can also try making a drawing that includes yourself.

This is a self-portrait of an artist who has a mohawk.

When you include yourself in person, you would need to measure where your head or arm will be on the piece of paper before creating the rest of the drawing.

The placement has to be exact, when you take the photo.

It may take several tries, but well worth it in the end!

It has been a pleasure getting to know you all this year.

Have a wonderful summer doing things you enjoy, being with family, friends, reflecting.

Best of Luck Ahead!

May Our Paths Cross Again.

-Miki

What Do You See?

Summer is here and it's time to put our shades on. When we wear sunglasses, most often people can't see our eyes. But we see plenty through our shades.

What do you see?

What do you notice?

About our world.

Lets design a pair of sunglasses and express the world through our eyes.

Materials:

12x18 or larger paper

(choose the color of the frame you would like)

Letter size or larger white paper

(big enough to fit inside the frame)

Pencil and Eraser

Thin Sharpie or any black marker for outlining

Colored pencils or Markers

How to Make a Frame:

Look at the selection of frames at the begging of this lesson for inspiration.

Which designs interests you?

Which design expresses your personality?

Can you combine a few to make it your design?

Fold the 12x18 paper in half.

Artist Tip: the bigger the paper, the more room you will have to draw.

At the fold, sketch half of the sunglasses design you like or create.

While the paper is still folded, cut out the half a sunglasses.

This technique will help your sunglasses be symmetrical.

Important! make sure to not cut the fold. Otherwise your frames will be broken.

Cut out the inside of your sunglasses so you will have just a frame.

You can bend the paper slightly and snip a hole to get your scissors in without cutting the frame.

Work your scissors through the hole and cut using the pencil mark as your guide.

If you have an Xacto knife, you can carefully cut using your pencil mark as a guide.

The finished frame.

To fit "the lens" put the frame on the white piece(s) of paper.

With a pencil, trace the outline of your frame.

Important! When outlining, make sure you are not outlining from the inside hole of the frame, but outlining from the outside of the hole. Otherwise, your "lens" will be too small.

Cut out your lens.

Attach your lens to the frame with glue.

Artist Tip: Gluesticks work best.

You can also add designs and details to your frame with colored pencils or markers.

If there are any whites of the lens sticking out, you can trim them off.

You are now ready to draw.

Drawing What We See:

Artist Tip: sketch with a pencil first to get your ideas down the way you would like it.

You can use colored pencils or markers to add color. Outlining with black sharpie marker or the like will make your images stand out.

Your drawing can be something you experienced or an expression of what is happening in the present.

It can be someplace you would like to be.

It can be your thoughts.

It can be a landscape or scenery.

If you have any questions or would like to share your work with me,

email to:

miwamura@greenehillschool.org

Graphic T-'s

Now that summer is here,

lets use our art skills to design a T-Shirt logo.

Why do we choose to wear certain designs and not another?

We wear it because we like it.

We wear it because it's cool.

We wear it to catch people's attention.

We wear it to make a statement.

and many more reasons that makes us choose.

So What Makes an Interesting T-shirt Design?

This is Graphic Artist, Olly Moss' work.

He is known for making graphics that play on words and phrases without using the actual word or phrase,

So that people will stop, look and think.

Can you guess what they are?

(answers at the end of the lesson)

Here are samples of other t-shirt designs that experiment with image...

experiments with just words and phrases...

experiments with words, phrases and images...

"think outside the box"

"fish with legs = evolution"

The Burger King is the ketchup in a hamburger. The designer used a curvy font on purpose because if you were to write that in real life with ketchup, it would come out curvy.

"love to bike"

The Project:

Design a T-shirt Logo with

just image,

just words or phrase

or

combination of both.

Think...

What will make people stop, look and think?

How big or small will it be on a t-shirt?

Composition - centered, off-center, or someplace specific on the t-shirt.

Step One

Materials:

White paper (2 or more)

Pencil and eraser

Ruler

Colored markers

T-shirt for sizing

Sketch your ideas first with a pencil.

Add color to the ones you like with markers to see what it will look like.

Choose one and draw again to the actual size it will be on the t-shirt.

Step Two choice #2

Order "Jacquard Iron-On Transfer Paper" from Dick Blick art materials.

https://www.dickblick.com/products/jacquard-iron-on-transfer-paper/

You can draw directly onto the white side of the transfer paper with crayon, markers or ink. Follow their instructions that comes with the packet to iron on to a T-shirt of your choice.

IMPORTANT! Keep in mind that the image will be printed on the t-shirt backwards. So you will have to draw on the transfer paper backwards, especially with letters.

Step Two choice #2

Order "Speedball Screen Printing Kit" from Dick Blick art materials.

https://www.dickblick.com/products/speedball-screen-printing-kits/

Watch this video on "How to Screen Print"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OCgFA9RJIo

IMPORTANT! You will need an xacto knife.

These are samples of t-shirt designs using this method by former Middle School students from another school.

HAPPY SUMMER.

If you have any questions or would like to share your work with me,

email to:

miwamura@greenehillschool.org

(Answers to Olly Moss' designs- Chicago, A life well wasted, Seesaw)

Words as Art

When we write words, it is most often in a specific format, from left to right or right to left horizontally, to up and down right to left, depending on the culture.

In art it is not so specific. In fact, nothing is specific in art.

The artist makes the rules.

This week, lets try experimenting with words and see how we can change it into a work of art.

Concrete Poetry

Concrete poetry is when words or poems are arranged to make an image that describes it.

"A click a sputter a whoosh to roarA flick a shudder a push to soarThe nose held high the wings steadyThe plane is ready to touch the sky."

Made of words that describe actions of scissors.

"The clock on the wall says it's five 'til three but the kids in my class say it's five 'til free."

You can get creative with it by experimenting with composition, the way you arrange each letter.

This one used letter stamps.You can cut out your own letters (backwards), with cardboard or sponge, use a thick paint and stamp.

Changing the size and style of the letter or font can also create an interesting image.

Artist Tip: Sketching the image with a pencil first, then drawing in the fonts helps with composition.

The image can also be the focus. Letters, words and poems can be used as lines or shading within the image.

Lazy Jane"Lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy lazy Jane. She wants a drink of water so she waits and waits and waits and waits and waits for it to rain."

Got any old books or magazines you want to throw out?

You can try Blackout Poetry where you pick and choose words from a page to make a poem or statement, and draw around the rest.

Sound"Trying to sing has lost its flavor.To drown upon heart the same password repeated, but I am sure that I ever thought it would fill the pauses to say nothing."

"In the night the children talked of home in their mangy pack."

267"I wouldn't go that farso long as you avoid evilI do think that sneaky is the way to go.Well, whatever happenskeep me posted I am curiousAlthough I don't want to get too closeNot everybody finds somebody that they can be happy being miserable with."

Materials

Paper

Pencil, Eraser

Thin black Sharpie markers or anything of the like

Color markers

Old magazine or books

Paints

Paintbrush

Pick a theme or a word.

Create word art by using any of the techniques above.

If you are experimenting with blackout poetry, take a moment to see which word pops out at you. Then look for other words that match to create a statement or a poem.

If you have any questions or would like to share your work with me,

email to:

miwamura@greenehillschool.org

Collage

The definition of collage is...

An artistic composition made of various materials glued onto a surface.

What can you find around the house that you can arrange into a collage?

Image to the left: this is a house in Mumbai, India named "Collage House". How is it a collage to you?

Paper Collage

This is what we are use to the most, collaging with paper.

But who said it has to be construction paper only?

What other types of paper can you find?

Materials:

Lots of different kinds of paperScissorsYour fingers (for tearing)Glue

These are sample collages made of recycled paper.

cut or tear, and arrange it like a mosaic.

How many different types of paper do you see in each collage?

How did the artists use paint or markers to make their collage complete?

Got old photographs or magazine images?

Cut and paste images that are of interest to you to create a photomontage.

It is basically an old school verison of Photoshop.

Materials:

Printed photographsMagazine pages (images only)Scissors or Xacto knifeGlue

Artist Tip: the trick is to cut really carefully around the image and glue it together nice and flat so it looks like one image instead of a collage of images.

Yet another choice is to create a collage that is combined with last week's Zentangle techniques.

Materials:

Portraits or any printed image Scissors or Xacto knifeSharpies, pen or any thin markerGlue

Artist Tip: if you choose not to use a magazine portrait or image, you can take a selfie or any single image you have taken from your phone, print it wirelessly, or upload the photo onto your computer and print from there.

Found Object Collage

It can be anything you find around the house.

What does it remind you of?

What would you need to add to complete the composition?

Even a crushed can can be a source of inspiration!

This is by artist Louise Nevelson. Her work is based on objects she found and collected. She spent lots of time arranging each piece in a box, and arranging them into a large scale collage. She also choses to paint all of her pieces in one color, so we can see and appreciate each found object and the positive negative space they create.

If you don't mind making temporary collages, there is also the option to collect things from around the house, arrange them, and take photographs of what you created into a series.

This student collected many things around her home, and used the color filters on her phone to turn it into a series.

If you have any questions or would like to share your work with me,

email to:

miwamura@greenehillschool.org

Zentangle

It's hard to be at home for this long. Sometimes you may feel bored, other times you may feel overwhelmed. Here is something that can help you escape, even if it's just for a little bit.

Zentangle is like a meditative doodling. It is spontaneous, free-flowing. You can focus on each line or shape you draw and not worry about how it will turn out. You don't even need a pencil or an eraser. The process of drawing is the art and your focus.

Materials:

Pen or Markers (very thin)

5"x5" Paper or larger square

Watch these two videos to see how something is created out of nothing.

What comes out of simple random circles.

What comes out of turning the direction of your lines and paper.

How To:

The process of Zentangle is not planning and just working with lines, shapes and repetition.

You can jump right in or use the below as guidance.

Start with a line across your paper. It can be any type of line.

Begin to fill it with other types of lines and shapes.

Let your pen or marker guide you.

At a certain point you might not like what it looks like.

Keep going and let your pen or marker guide you.

At another point you might feel like you made a mistake.

Like I made a line smudge and made other lines too close on the top part of this Zentangle.

Solution?

Incorporate the mistakes into your drawing.

Turn your mistakes into art.

There is no rule that everything has to be filled.

You can leave some parts blank, or as negative space.

Keep at it.

There are no mistakes.

How do you feel after making the drawing?

You can return to it anytime you like.

You can draw as many as you like.

If you are unsure how to begin,

you can also use one of these to get you started,

and expand on it using your own lines and shapes.

Here are some samples of how you can take Zentangle to the next level...

You can play around with composition that is more thought out.

You can get Really detailed.

You can incorporate

Opt Art

with Zentangle.

You can change the shape of the paper.

You can incorporate realism into it.

And also work with negative space.

You can use and add color

or combine both.

Experimenting with watercolors or inks can also be a great base for Zentangle.

Enjoy!

and hope it will make you feel better.

If you'd like to share the work or have any questions, email to:

miwamura@greenehillschool.org

All About Tape

There are many things we can use to draw with. And an artist finds any means to do so when that urge to create rises.

Tape is another material you can use.

From small scale to large scale, the type of art you can create is limitless.

Watch this video by Tape Over to see a timelapse of their creation process.

How To 1

You can experiment with the way you rip or cut the tape.

Tiny pieces of masking tape were ripped to make the shadows and details of the face.

End part of the tape were cut thinly and taped in interesting ways.

Each part of this bark was carefully ripped and cut with a scissor or xacto knife.

It can be realistic or abstract, large or small, color or plain tape.

If you have patterned tape, you can make interesting compositions with it also.

Check out these large scale tape drawings!

If you have enough tape and space in your walls or floor, maybe you can try something simple in your home or outside.

This piece is Op Art.

How To 2

You can also use tape to create a positive and negative tape drawing or tape painting.

For today's lesson...

Positive=Parts that have the most color

Negative=Parts that have the least amount of color

Materials:Tape (masking tape or painter tape works best)Paper, cardboard, posterboard, recycled paper or cardboard or canvasAny drawing materials (see below)orPaints (see below)

Put tape across your paper. It can be any shape or size.

Color or paint over it.

For drawing materials, you can use chalk, pastel, crayon, oil pastels, markers, even pencils.

Artist Tip: You don't have to worry about getting messy with the edges. Color "out" onto the tape, so you can get sharp edges when you peel the tape off.

Artist Tip: Slow careful peels, so you won't end up ripping the paper.

The tape makes crisp black negative lines.

Instead of coloring, this one was painted with one color.

Before painting, the design was made with tape on white canvas.

This one was painted using multiple colors.

Artist Tip: For painting, acrylic paints work best. But you can use other paints as well. Make sure your painting is completely dry before peeling the tape off.

This is a different technique from the painting on the left and above.

The aritst painted multiple colors first, let it dry, then taped the design on, and painted the entire canvas black. When she peeled the tape off, this is what she got.

As a challenge, you can also experiment with layering tape, layering shapes and drawing or paint colors.

You can layer shapes on, by making the shape with tape, paint or color the inside...

and peel the tape off once it is dry.

Experiment!

Combine techniques or discover new ones.

If you'd like to share the work or have any quesions, email to:

miwamura@greenehillschool.org

Point of View & Photography

A photograph captures a moment in time.

The camera is your second pair of eyes, and with it you can see, explore and capture your world and the world around you.

It is about being in the moment,

capturing the extraordinary in the ordinary.

You don't have to be somewhere or doing something interesting to capture a good photo. Some of the most interesting photographs are when photographers experiment with point of view and composition with something we see or do everyday.

This week, lets explore the world around you in detail and capture what interests you, what catches your eye.

But first, here are some tips about Photography.

Experiment with Point of View

Point of view is the angle from where we look, and the way we point our camera.

Birds Eye View

Looking and taken from above.

How is this ordinary?

How is it extraordinary?

Worms Eye View

Looking and taken from below.

How is this ordinary?

How is it extraordinary?

Close Up

Looking and taken up close.

How is this ordinary?

How is it extraordinary?

Playing around with distance, how close you put your camera to the subject, is one of the fun things about taking photos. This photographer stuck her camera inside a rolled up leaf, to take a photo of someone in the distance.

Eye Level

Looking and taken straight head.

How is this ordinary?

How is it extraordinary?

This is slightly a worms eye view. The photographer, William Eggleston, layed down on the street and pointed his camera up just a bit.

Experiment with Focus

Where you decide to focus the camera on your subject decides where our attention goes first, what is most important in the picture.

What is the difference between these?

Where is the focus?

Experiment with Composition

An ordinary subject can be captured in a unique way by playing around with where it goes in your frame, or the rectangle of your camera viewfinder.

This photograph is at eye level. The photographer specifically framed it so we can only see the arms.

The focus is cookies! The photographer chose a semi-birds eye view to show the process of eating a cookie. He also spent time centering and arranging the cookies just right.

Refelctions on still water are fun way to experiment with composition.
Artist Tip: it all depends on the point of view and the angle from where you take the photo.

The coat hanger is not centered but off-set to the right.
Artist Tip: experimenting with negative space, or blank space, can create a dramatic effect.

Experiment with Subject

There is no limit as to what you can take a photo of (as long as it is school and home appropriate) and how you take the photographs.

Here is an interesting series of photographs titled "Kids with their Favorite Toys" by photographer, Gabriele Gamllmberti.

Austrailia

Costa Rica

Mexico

Phlippines

USA

Algeria

Morocco

Zanzibar

Italy

Kenya

Thailand

Nicaragua

Your Photo Assignment

Materials:Digital camera of any kind or iPhone, AndroidYour pair of eyes and hands

First, experiment with Point of View, Focus and Composition with anything that interests you.

Then, create a series of photos that describes your everyday life at home.

How you decide to show this is Very Open.

It can include people, portraits or self-portrait, objects, still-life, close-ups, outdoor scenes, indoor scenes, abstract images...etc.

The Sky is the Limit.

(there is no limit)

If you are interested in seeing some of my photography work, feel free to check out my website

www.mikiiwamura.com

Drawing Choice

You can still experiment with Point of View, Focus and Composition with a homemade viewfinder.

Materials:Small piece of paper to make a viewfinderAny size paperPencilEraser

How to make a Viewfinder...

Fold the small piece of paper in half.

Cut two slits from the folded edge.
Artist Tip: make sure it is small, if it is too big the viewfinder will be harder to use.

Cut off the square.

Unfold and you got yourself a Viewfinder!

Practice Looking:

Pick a subject, it can be any subject.
Aim your viewfinder at the subject, squint one eye, and look inside the viewfinder as if you are looking through a camera.
Try moving the viewfinder close to your eye, then far from your eye.
How does the composition in your viewfinder change?

Artist Tip: the closer you are to your subject with the viewfinder, the more interesting the composition.

Once you finish practice looking, Choose a subject.Again, it can be Anything

Try several ways of framing a composition with your viewfinder.
Artist Tip: the closer you are to your subject, the more interesting your composition will be.

While continuing to use the viewfinder, sketch what you see on your second piece of paper.

Artist Tip: to sketch evenly, as you see it in the viewfinder, mark on your paper where the center of each side is. Use that as your guide.

Leave as a line drawing or add shading.

Please take a photo of your work and email to:

miwamura@greenehillschool.org

Drawing Exercises

The mantra for Art is....

Everyone see's differently. Everyone creates differently.

Everyone also has their own way of drawing.

Some of us like to draw realistic, some of us likes to draw freely using our imagination.

Before we decide which style of drawing is more fit for us,

lets give these two different ways and techniques a try.

One is drawing what you see, not what you think you see.

The other is fully using our imagination.

Drawing with a Grid

Have you every thought "That's SO good! How did s/he do that? I can never draw like that!" We all would like to be able to draw realistic, accurately. But some of us feel really intimidated by it, and it is totally valid.

Here is a challenging but easy way to try your hand at realism. You may be really surprised at how well you can draw!

Material:

An image to draw (from a magazine or anything that is printed, or the superheroes on this page)Paper to draw on (the same size as your image)PencilEraserRuler

Choices if you want to add color:

Markers (permanent or not)Colored pencilsWatercolor paints or anything of the like

Choose an image that you like.

It can be from a magazine, or anything from the paper recycling bin. You can also use one of the images below of superheroes.

Artist Tip: Keep in mind images with small details are more difficult to draw. Single subjects like portraits, animals, and objects works well.

If you are choosing your own image, Watch this video! Then draw the grid on the image lightly with a pencil.

If you are choosing one of the superheroes, skip to the next step. Then watch this video to see how to make accurate grids!

Own Image: Get a blank piece of paper, the same size as your image, and draw the same amount of grids as on your image lightly with a pencil.

Superhero Image: If you are choosing to draw one of the superheroes, the grid is already drawn on the image. Get a blank piece of paper that is 9"x12", draw the same amount of grids as on the image lightly with a pencil. Each square should be 1"x1".

Now you have two pieces of gridded paper-

1. Your reference, the original image.

2. Where you will be drawing onto.

The purpose of this grid technique is so you can draw things just as you see it, grid by grid, piece by piece.

Treat each square as a canvas, and sketch with a pencil as accurately as you can within each square.

It is like putting together a puzzle.

Example: I am drawing Batgirl's ears from the below image.

The tip of the ear on the left is in the 3rd square at the top row.
The shape is in the center of the square.
The shadow reaches up to the middle of that square (I extended it).
It reaches further down, to the 3rd square at the second row, centered, but getting wider at the bottom of that square...etc.

Take your time and Take breaks!

If you find it overwhelming, step away from it come back to it again.

When you finish sketching...

You can erase the grid marks

Choose to Sharpie or work on more details with a pencil

and/or add color with a material of your choice.

Batman

Batgirl

Black Panther

Starfire

Ms.Marvel

Bumblebee

Spiderman

Thor

Aquaman

Shadow Drawing

Exercise your imagination!

Watch this video of artsist Vincent Bal's work for inspiration.

Material:

PencilEraserSharpie markerSingle ObjectsStrong sunlight or light source Paper (any size that fits your object)

Choices if you want to add color:

Markers (permanent or not)Colored pencilsWatercolor paints or anything of the like

Inspirations:

How To:

Choose an object.

Look for interesting shapes, something that you think will create an interesting shadow.

With the light source, experiment with many objects before deciding.

Draw to your heart's delight!

There's no limit to what it can be, or what it can develop into.

Artist Tip: Think quick sketches. The sun's movement changes the direction of the shadow quicker than we may notice.

If you have a long piece of paper, it can turn into a mural drawing.

Fun activity to do on your own or with your younger siblings.

If you would like to learn or practice how to draw, here are some How to YouTube classes by industrial designer, Michael DiTullo. If the link does not work, you can also look him up on YouTube.

alumni.risd.edu/news-events/ditullo-michael-1

Please take a photo of your drawings and email to:

miwamura@greenehillschool.org

Etching and Embossing

Engraving in art means to dig in from a surface. Embossing means making a surface stand out.

Aluminum foil that we use for food is a great material to create works of art that include these techniques.

Inspirations

How To Choice 1:

Materials:Aluminum foil (heavy duty)Cardboard Pen (or any tools that you can draw with well on foil)Any tools that will give good textureColor permanent markers

Smooth and spread the foil on top of the cardboard.

This will give you something semi-soft to work on, and it can be a backing at the end.

Draw your design with a tool.

Artist Tip: The trick is to press hard enough but not too much since that will put a hole into the foil. Pens work great, since it is not too sharp and allows fine detail.

If you want something to pop out, press into it with a soft tool with a roundish edge.

Example: drawing stub, eraser on a pencil...etc.

Once in a while, flip it over to the other side so you can see what it will look like. You'll see that the design pops out on the other side.

Experiment using different kinds of tools to emboss and engrave patterns and texture.

Example: different kinds of pencils, pens, kitchen tools, sowing tools, harware tools, Anything!

Having different textures makes the design look and feel interesting.

To finalize and make it look neat for hanging, wrap the foil around the cardboard you worked on.

If you have permanent markers, you can add color with it.

Unfortunately, the marker has to be permanent. Otherwise it will smudge.

How To Choice 2:

Extra materials you need for this:

Elmers glue bottle or any thick glue bottleGlue stickQ-tipShoe polish (liquid kind works best)orColor permanent markers

Make a sketch of a design or drawing on the cardboard.

"Trace" your drawing with your glue bottle, and let it completely dry.

Once dry, lay the foil over the glue drawing. Use a Q-tip to rub the foil in flush to the glue.

Artist Tip: The foil will stick nice and flat if you add a thin layer of glue stick on your glue drawing before putting on the foil.

Add any other details you'd like to add with your tools for more texture.

Once done, paint the entire foil with shoe polish.

Wipe off the polish while it's still a little bit wet. This technique will add contrast to your foil drawing- certain parts of your foil drawing will stand out.

Other option is to color the entire foil drawing with permanent markers.

Artist Tip: Leave the parts that are embossed alone, and color inside and around the shapes.

It will look a bit like stain glass.

How To Choice 3:

Extra materials you need for this:

Textured materials (or any materials that pop out)Elmers glue (or any glue)Soft toothbrushQ-tipCloth or ragPaint (try anything that is not watercolor paint)Paper (white or any color, preferably thin like printing paper)

Lay the materials down onto the cardboard into a design.

This one has nails, string, and sandpaper.

Lay foil over the design and fold the edges of the foil onto the cardboard as flat as you can.

Use the Q-tip and cloth to smooth out a piece of foil onto the design.

You need something dry for the foil to be smooth and flat. Just our fingers will not work too well.

The harder you're able the press and smooth, the more your texture will show.

Spread some paint.

Artist Tip: If your paint is too thick, add a tiny bit of water, so it will go on the foil smoothly.

Spread the paint with something soft like a toothbrush. The bristles on the brush will spread the paint onto the textures really well.

Spread and wipe the paint with a cloth evenly, let some of the paint remain, especially in the textured areas.

While the paint is still wet, lay a piece of paper over it, press and rub over the painted foil with the palm of your hands, around the edges and in the middle.

Peel the paper... Congratulations you just made a print!

I would love to see your creations!

Please take a pic of the work you create and email to:

miwamura@greenehillschool.org

Op Art

Optical Illusion

Op Art is artwork that plays tricks on our eyes. It looks complicated to make but if you follow basic principles, you can create your own piece of Op Art.

Materials:White paper (anywhere from 5"x5"and up)Ruler (or any straight edge)Pencil and pencil sharpener Thin Sharpie or any thin markers (it can be black or multiple colors)Colored pencil (if you do not have markers)

Inspiration

Artist Darel Carey's Op Art installation.

https://twistedsifter.com/2018/03/mesmerizing-tape-art-installations-by-darel-carey/

How To:

View and read the examples below. Choose as many as you like to try.

I suggest to start with simple ones, on a small piece of paper as practice. When you have the hang of it, try the other more complex ones or create one of your own designs.

The main thing to remember is to be exact with your lines, shapes and color pattern.

Starting at the center, make random curvy lines.
Make curves inside the lines, tight and close at the center, gradually getting broader and wider at the outer edges.
Shade each curve dark at the edges, light in the center.

Stripes against different kinds of stripes creates a 3D illusion.

The Trick: All lines are horizontal, but lines on the hand are curved, while lines in the background are straight.

Checkers against different kinds of checkers creates a 3D illusion.

The Trick: Individual squares inside the circle are colored in as curved checkers. Background is flat checkers off-set from the circle.

What is the difference?

The Trick: Tightness and thinness of lines helps create an optical illusion.

You definitely need a ruler for this!

The Trick: The rectangle is made of even straight lines. The outer lines are thin towards the rectangle, radually getting thicker at the edges.

Slight difference makes all the difference.

The Trick: Lines on the back wall is slightly curved, and even in thickness.

Lines on the left wall is slightly slanted, going from thick to thin slightly.

Lines on the right wall is slanted more than the left wall, going from thick to thin more than the left wall.

The lines on the floor goes from thick to thin at different points.

The Trick: Curved lines are getting tighter from the center to the outer edges. Each line is also getting thick to thin from the center to the outer edges.

Can you figure out The Trick in these?

Black and White works best, but adding Color is also always an option.

It will work as long as your lines are gradually getting thicker from inside to outside, and you stick to the color pattern you create. This is just an example, keep your design very simple. Limiting color will also help.

I would love to see your creations!

Please take a pic of the work you create and email to:

miwamura@greenehillschool.org

Design a Postcard

Before emails, texts, snapchats...etc. people communicated with those who are far away by sending postcards and letters.

Design your own postcard image to 1-2 of your friends or family you miss.

The image can be abstract or realistic- still life, scenery, or portrait.
The image can be personal- something you want to share with your friend or family member.
The image can have a hidden message- something that you and the person share, like a shared memory or inside joke.
The image can be just an image or mixed with text.
The image can be a collage.

The Choice is Yours.

Materials:

*Postcards and Sharpie markers are in the manilla envelopes that you picked up from school*Two 5x7 watercolor paper (one for each friend or family member)Any white blank scrap paper (small in size for the stamp)Sharpie marker
Things from home you can use:PencilsMarkers, Crayons, Oil pastelsAny kind of Paints- watercolor, tempera, acrylic, inks Collage Materials- scissors, glue, color paper, magazines, newspaper, anything with letters or image Ruler (or anything with a straight edge will work)

Front Side- Inspirations to Drive Ideas:

How To:

View the inspiration images to drive your ideas. Or you may have some at home that you find interesting and can get ideas from.
Plan a composition. Sketch lightly with a pencil where you would like what on the 5x7 paper. Or if you want to "let the material speak" and plan as you experiment with your materials, that is also an artists way.
It can be made of one material or however many materials you would like that you can find at home. Sky is the limit (there is no limit).