9's

Exquisite Beings

Lets end the school year by playing a little art game.

A little game about connecting different drawings together

to make one drawing.

You may have played this before but did you know there are different versions?

One version is drawing with other people.

The other is experimenting drawing on your own.

Here's how it goes...

Materials:

9"x12" or larger paper

Scissors

Pencils and/or Pen

Sharpies, Colored pencils or Markers

How To with Others:

Start with a blank piece of paper.

Fold it in three sections.

Fold the paper so only the top section shows.

Person #1 draw a head and neck,

any type of head and neck.

Important!! Don't show the drawing to others, otherwise it will not be a surprise at the end.

Make sure you extend a little bit of the neck over the fold, onto the next page.

Important!! At each step, keep the paper folded so you will not see the drawings of the previous person.

Person #2 take over.

Begin drawing from where Person #1 left off.

Draw the body and arms.

It can be any type of body and arm.

Do the same thing as Person #1,

Make sure you extend a little bit of the body or arm over the fold, onto the next page.

Person #3 take over.

Begin from where Person #2 left off

and draw the legs, feet or shoes.

It can be any type of legs, feet or shoes.

At the very end

Open up the drawing and see!

Artist Tip: If there are more than 3 people, fold the paper more times and divide more body parts.

Example: for 5 people, fold the paper in 5 sections. Divide drawing into 5 sections like the head, neck, upper body, lower body, legs.

It can get silly but Fun!

This is my artist friend Jeff Quinn's Drawings.

He calls it "JQ Quarentine Solo Exquisite People"

He challenged himself by playing a game usually done with others by playing on his own.

How do you think he did it?

How To Make an Exquisite Beings Drawing Book:

Another take on this game is making a flip book

Fold the piece of paper evenly into 3.

Cut it into 3 even sections on both sides like so,

So you have 6 flaps.

Draw a full body at the center.

Make sure head and neck is within the top section,

Body and arms within the second section,

Legs and feet within the bottom section.

Fold the top right flap down.

and draw a different head.

Do the same for the top left flap.

All together you will get 3 heads.

Do the Same for each part.

You will get...

3 bodies

3 legs and feet.

ALL TOGETHER

You will get

9 parts.

Add Color.

Then play with the different combinations by flipping the flaps!

Hope You Will ENJOY!

It has been a pleasure teaching you all in person and online

and getting to know the GHS community this year.

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

See you in September!

Be well and Stay well.

-Miki

Stencils & Tape

By now, you may have guessed there are many ways to draw and paint.

Artists also use many different tools to draw and paint with.

Sometimes, we use something called stencils, and you can create interesting drawings or paintings with them.

To make a Stencil, we work with Positive and Negative shapes.

Do you remember this from our printmaking project?

Positive=Parts that have the most color.

Positive=The cut out image or shape.

Negative=Parts that have the least amount of color.

Negative=The cut out hole.

Materials:

FOR STENCIL-

Thick Paper (3-6)

Masking Tape

Xacto knife and/or Scissors

FOR DRAWING-

Base Paper (any color, any thickness)

Chalk, Crayon, or Oil Pastels

FOR PAINTING-

Something to paint on (thicker the better)

Tempera paints (thick) or Acrylic paints

Paint brushes

Mixing cups or trays

Choice #1

How To Make a Stencil with Tape:

With a scissor, cut your paper into any shape. You can also leave it as a rectangle or square.

Put masking tape across your paper in any way that you like.

Make sure it is nice and flat. You may have to rub it down with your fingers.

Color over it with chalk, crayon or oil pastels.

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.

Once every part is covered, peel the tape off.

The tape makes crisp negative lines.

If you have chalk, you can also do this outside large scale!

This one is drawn on a garage door, but you can also try it on a wall or sidewalk.

If you have Paints....

You can paint over the tape with one color or...

use a mix of multiple paint colors over the tape or...

paint different sections with different colors.

With this painting...

The white paper was first painted with a rainbow of colors.

Then after the paint dried, the artist put the tape design down.

Before peeling off the tape, the artist painted the entire paper with black paint, right over the tape.

When they pulled the tape off, the rainbow color shows up as the negative space.

Choice #2

How To Make a Stencil with Scissors and Xacto Knife:

Fold the thick piece of paper in half.

Draw half of the image or shape at the fold.

Cut with a scissor. Make sure it is at the fold.

You will get a positive and negative.

If you have an Xacto Knife...

Draw a full image with a pencil.

Carefully, cut with an Xacto knife.

Make sure there is an adult to watch you cut!

Artist Tip: Put a piece of cardboard underneath, so it will be easy to cut.

ALWAYS hold the paper down with one hand, while you cut with the other.

ALWAYS cut towards you, away from fingers and body.

You will get a positive and negative.

With chalk, crayons or oil pastels, lay the negative stencil down where you want the image to be on the paper.

Color in one direction, up and down.

Artist Tip: make sure you hold the stencil still and as flat as you can, with the other hand.

Or it will loose shape, like it did with the airplane.

If you have paints...

Lay the negative stencil down where you want the image to be on the paper or canvas.

Paint in one direction first, then the other.

Artist Tip: make sure you hold the stencil still and as flat as you can, with the other hand.

Artist Tip: The thicker the paint the better, or it will bleed out like it did here.

With this painting...

The artists painted a scenery first on the blank canvas.

Then he made a stencil of a deer using an xacto knife.

Instead of the negative stencil, he laid down the positive stencil,

Then painted the entire paper with black paint, over the stencil.

When he lifted the stencil, it made this special deer!

You can create as many stencils as you like.

The important thing is to try and experiment.

There is no wrong in Art.

Feel free to email me with questions or to share your work:

miwamura@greenehillschool.org

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.

This week, lets explore the world around you in detail

and capture what interests you, what catches your eye.

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

Photo Assignment #1

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?

ARTIST TIP: Playing around with how close you put your camera to what you are taking a photo of is one of the fun things about Photography!
This photographer stuck her camera inside a rolled up leaf to take a photo of someone far away.

Eye Level

Looking and taken straight head.

How is this ordinary?

How is it extraordinary?

ARTIST TIP: This is slightly a worms eye view. The photographer, William Eggleston, layed down on the street and pointed his camera up just a bit to take a photo of this tricycle.

Now your turn.

Take at least 4 photos:

Eye level, Birds eye view, Worms eye view, Close up

of anything that interests you.

Photo Assignment #2

Experiment with Focus

Where you decide to focus the camera decides what is most important in the picture.

What is the difference between these?

Where is the focus?

Now your turn.

Take at least 3 photos of the same thing, by changing where your focus will be.

Artist Tip: Changing how close, how far, and from what angle you take the photo will change the focus.

Photo Assignment #3

Experiment with Composition

Composition is how things are placed inside the frame, your viewfinder or screen.

An ordinary thing can be captured in a unique way by playing around with where it goes inside your frame.

On purpose, the photographer framed it so we can only see the arms.

On purpose, the photographer framed the coat hanger not centered but off-set to the 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.

Now your turn.

Take at least 3 photos of the same thing, by changing the composition.

Photo Assignment #4

Experiment with Subject

There is no limit as to what you can take a picture of!

You can hunt around the house, photograph what you see and interests you

You can set up and arrange objects or people

or play dress up like in a photoshoot.

The Fun is Yours!

Take as many photos as you like to make a series.

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

Australia

Costa Rica

Mexico

Philippines

USA

Thailand

Morocco

Zanzibar

Kenya

Algeria

Nicaragua

Italy

I would LOVE to see some of your photographs.

Please send to:

miwamura@greenehillschool.org

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

www.mikiiwamura.com

Hunt for Rubbings

We look at the same thing everyday, and well, sometimes we get bored with it.

Here is an activity to help us see the same thing around us in a new way.

Materials:

Paper (thin is better)

Crayons, Pencils, Colored pencils or Chalk

Black Sharpie marker or any thin black marker

Scissors

Glue

Step 1

We are first going to go on a scavenger hunt around the house.

Look for things that have Bumpy texture.

What is Texure?

Texture is what something feels like- Smooth, Rough, Fuzzy...etc.

We are going to try and find things that have interesting bumpy texture.

I don't have many things, but these are some that I found around my apartment.

Other Ideas:

(but not limited to these)

some foods

toys

keys, tools

tiles or the floor

backs of shoes

anything that feels bumpy when you run your fingers across it!

What can you find around your home?

Step 2

We are going to then create rubbings of these objects.

Rubbings is when you put a piece of paper over the bumpy object and make a copy of it by rubbing right on top with a crayon, pencil or chalk.

It can be the same color as the object or different.

Artist Tip: The flat side of the crayon or chalk works best. Same goes for pencils. Think holding the pencil sideways. Rub and cover as much of the bumpy side of the object as you can.

Step 3

Create a collage drawing of your object, using your rubbings.

The object

The speaker's dots were very interesting to me so I chose it.

Then I rubbed over the texture, with the side of my pencil.

While rubbing, I noticed how perfectly lined up each dots are.

Artist Tip: Crayons work best for rubbings.

Cut out the rubbings.

Glue the cut out rubbing onto a blank paper.

Artist Tip: Glue sticks work best for gluing flat.

You can also do this part after drawing.

Sketch out the rest of your object, using the rubbing as part of your drawing.

Look at your object in detail.

What kind of lines is it made of?

What kind of shapes is it made of?

What other details makes this object interesting and unique?

You can also sharpie or outline certain parts to make it stand out.

Add color with anything you may have.

This is not so colorful, since the object is not colorful.

But I did notice that the parts of it were darker and lighter. So I colored it light and dark by changing how I press into the colored pencil as I colored in.

Sky is the Limit.

(there is no limit)

How will you combine rubbings with drawing?

Feel free to email whenever you need to:

miwamura@greenehillschool.org

Spice and Food Painting

No paints to paint with at home? No worries! We can make paint by using things that we have at home.

In fact, people made paint from nature during the olden days before buying paints in stores was common.

Finding Materials

Look around the house for things that...

Are liquid with color.

Are powder like and have color, like spices.

Have color and can be squeezed, like fruits and vegetables.

How To Make Paints

Pour a tiny bit of the spice or powder into any small bowl.

Important! Spices, fruits and vegetables we need to cook with or to eat. So we don't want to waste any. Just 2 - 4 pinches, or tiny bit of the food will do just fine.

Add a little bit of water, just enough so it will be easy to paint with.

Mix, and let it sit for about 30 minutes so it can get absorbed with the water well.

Artist Tip: The less water the better. the color will come out too light if too much water is added.

Here are examples of what I found at home.

Turmeric spice

Sumac spice

Spinach

one leaf goes a long way

Hot sauce

Blueberries

The ash from incense sticks that were burned.

You can also use things like flowers, leaves, roots, and dirt.

There are many things you can use.

Sky is the limit.

(there is no limit)

Experiment and Have Fun!

How To Paint

Other Materials you will need:

Paper (watercolor paper works best, or any paper that absorbs water well)

Paint brushes

It is a lot like painting with watercolor paints. The only difference is, you don't need to add water.

Artist Tip: Have a cup of water to rinse out your brush. Have a paper towel or cloth to wipe your brush.

Stroke marks with Spinach.

Sunset painting

Hot Sauce skyTurmeric and Incense Ash sunSpinach grassSumac dirt

Dabbing the brush with Turmeric.

Overlapping dabs with Incense Ash.

After it dries, you can also use regular or sharpie markers to add details.

I added seeds for my flower.

These are just examples of the many things you can paint.

Experiment with brushmarks and ENJOY!

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

miwamura@greenehillschool.org

Accordion Sketchbook

A book tells a story.

A sketchbook is also a book and tells a story about you.

It is a personal book,

an artist's mind and heart.

During Spring Break, lets create a personal sketchbook.

Inspirations:

An accordion is a portable musical instrument that's like a piano. The only way it can be played is by pumping air, through squeezing it closed and open repeatedly.

An accordion book is a book that's in the shape of an accordion. Do you see it? It also opens and closes like an accordion.

Artists can get really creative with the shape and make of an accordion book.

You can use any materials.

This artist used color tape for the cover.

This artist used recycled paper related to NYC streets, and made a collage of the city with black paper that goes across all the pages.

This artist created a theme. She made a box door for the cover, and cut the accordion pages into a house shape. The images on the book are also houses.

This artist used cardboard with pockets.

Another collage that goes across the pages.

This is a mini gallery. The artist cut out a frame on each page with an Xacto knife, and glued his art from the back.

This artist cut out all the pages of the accordion into a dress shape.

You can also make things pop out by cutting slits at the fold, and pushing it out in the opposite direction.

How To: Making the Accordion Book

Materials

These are materials I have at home. What materials do you have and can use to make a book?

If you don't have markers you can also use colored pencils as well as paints. If you have collage materials like construction paper or recycled paper, you can use those too!

Step 1

Fold the paper in half.

Go to Step 4 if you want large size.

(do this for 8 pieces of letter size paper)

Go to Step 2 if you want smaller size.

Step 2

Fold it again and cut it in half.

Step 3

I used 4 pieces of letter size paper here, which gave me 8 pieces.

Step 4

Stack each pieces of paper like this- one page facing up, the other page facing down.

Step 5

Glue each page together at the fold and around the edges .

Keep going until all of your pages are glued together into an accordion shape.

Artist Tip: If you have glue sticks, use those! If not thin layers of elmers glue along the edges works best. Too much glue makes the paper wrinkle.

Step 6

If you want your book to be a specific shape, Fold the accordion book closed, and cut it in the shape you like.

The shape can relate to a theme or random.

Important! Do not cut off all of the folded edges to the right and to the left. If you do, the pages will no longer be connected.

Step 7

If you don't want a hard cover, you are done at Step 7.

If you do want a hard cover, trace the front end and back end to the thick paper and cut.

Step 8

Make 2- one for the front of the book, the other for the back of the book.

Artist Tip: Cardboard or any thick paper from your recycle bin works great! You can even play around with printed design.

Example: choose a box or package with interesting pattern or design.

Step 9

Glue the cover to the front end and the back end, and you have an accordion book!

You can also try to figure out how to make one of the books from the Inspirations.

How To: What to draw or collage?

It can be...

One long drawing or collage...

across all pages...

front and back.

Or each page...

a drawing or collage...

of the same theme or different,

front and back.

Something you see...

An experiment with materials...

A thought...

or an idea...

Or from imagination...

See more of this artist's imagination sketches at :

www.behance.net/gallery/51793087/Sketchbook

Express Yourself &Your Interests and ENJOY!

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

miwamura@greenehillschool.org

Other Art Activities You Can Do During Spring Break:

You can find lots of activity ideas at the below website.

It is divided into age groups and varied enough for all different skill levels.

kinderart.com

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

Mosaics with Things Around the House

A mosaic is putting together scrap pieces together into a picture like a puzzle.

At first, artists used broken pieces of glass, ceramic or pottery, but now we can use anything.

Lets see if we can find things around the house to make a mosaic.

Materials:

Recycled paper of any kind

Objects around the house with or without color

Background paper (any size)

Scissors

Glue

How To #1

Paper Mosaic

Look through your paper recycling bin and choose what interests you.

Artist Tip: color, intersting texture, pattern, design, text..etc.

Cereal boxes or any kind of boxes are also good materials.

Rip and tear the papers...

Or cut the papers with a scissor...

Artist Tip: it does not have to be a square, it can be any shape.

Arrange them by color, image or any category you like to make it easy for you to work with.

You can sketch an idea of an image and fill the mosaic pieces in like a puzzle,

or dive in and arrange pieces as you go like a puzzle...

Randomly

Or neatly,

And Glue.

Artist Tip: you can either put glue down on the paper first, then put the pieces on top,
or you can put glue piece by piece, but this will take you longer.

Cut paper mosaics...

The trick is to fill the entire page as tight as possible, with no blank spaces.

Torn paper mosaics...

This one uses different kinds of magazine paper with construction paper.

This one uses a variety of different papers cut randomly.

You can get very creative with the mix of papers!

How To #2

Found Object Mosaic

Hunt for and collect any materials around the house.

Arrange them by color, object or any category you like.

The trick is to fill as tight as possible, with very few blank spaces.

These are arranged by color.

But you can arrange them in any way you like!

You also don't have to glue them.

You can arrange as a mosaic and take a photo of it.

The photo will be your work of art!

Is there another way YOU can think of to create a Mosaic?

Be Creative!

The examples are not the limit.

I would love to see your creations!

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

miwamura@greenehillschool.org

Upcycle Sculpture

Being creative with materials is a big part of being an artist. When artist don't have materials that we need, we find other materials to take its place.

There are lots you can create with recycled materials and things you find around the house. Lets give it a try and see what we can create!

Here are some materials you can use:

CardboardBoxes of all sizes that are cuttable Toilet paper rollsPaper towel rollsReycled paper of any kindStringWireAluminum foil

Keep in mind there's more to this list, Your choices are limitless!

Inspirations

Can you guess what it is made of? And how it is made?

How To Sample #1

Building

Here's what I used to build:

Masking tape (or any strong tape)Recycled cardstock paper (or any thick paper)Toilet paper rollsPaper towel rollTea box

First I looked at the shape of the recycled materials I had and asked myself ....

"What do the shapes remind me of? What can it turn into?"

I decided on a giraffe.

Here I am making the neck and legs to attach to the green box that will be the body.

Artist Tip: to attach any pieces together, make tabs by cutting slits and folding it out.

The challenge is finding the best way to attach with tape. Think balance.

Artist Tip: To make a secure attachment, put tape on all sides.

Use the same techniques you used to make your building models.

It's not always just cutting, you can also bend. I bent the paper towel roll to make the giraffe's face.

I added rolls of tape to the back of the face to secure it, so I won't loose the shape of the face. (putting tape over it will turn it into a blob)

With the scrap carstock paper, I cut and attached details like the ears and a tail.

To add color you can use anything:

Construction paperScrap fabricPaints MarkersorWrap the whole thing with tape

How To Sample #2

Sculpting

Here's what I used to sculpt:

Aluminum foilBrown paper bagElemers glue ScissorsGlue brushSharpie markerL hook nails

Sculpt a shape with aluminum foil.

I saw a sparrow out my window and it inspired me to create a lifesize bird.

Artist Tip: Think loose squeezes and pinches when you are sculpting. If you squeeze too tight, the foil will no longer bend.

For the surface, I ripped the brown paper bag into workable bits that will cover the shape.

Mixed a tiny bit of water with Elmers glue so it will be easy to brush on.

Spread the glue on both sides of the brown paper, overlap each piece and cover the whole thing so no foil is showing.

Artist Tip: pinch, squeeze and wrap around the foil tight, while the glue is wet, so it will stick well and the shape shows well.
Artist Tip: the thinner the paper the easier it is to apply.

Once it dried, I drew in some details with Sharpie markers.

I found some L shape nails and used that for its legs.

You can also use...

Color markers & Paint to add details.

These are just samples

Be Creative!

with your

Choices in Materials

and What You Decide to Create.

I would love to see your creations!

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

miwamura@greenehillschool.org

Drawings in the Air

Create a Mobile

Drawings do not always have to be flat and on a table or wall. They can be cut and bent to make it 3D. They can also hang from someplace high up, so you can see it from all sides and watch it move!

Here is what you need:

Five 4x6 paper (thick and sturdy)Sharpie marker, black marker or black color pencil 2 Sticks (restaurant chopsticks works well, but anything else strong will work)Colored pencils, Markers or PaintsHole puncher or anything sharp to make holesTape (clear tape for the drawing, duct tape or anyhting like it will work)StringScissorsPencilErasers

Inspirations:

How To:

Pick a theme.

Example: Characters you created for the clay heads is a good place to start.
What will she or he wear that describes what they're like?What kind of friends or family does she/he have?Is there an object that will help describe her/his character? Or tell a story?
Other ideas:animals, food, weather, planets, and many more!

With a pencil, sketch 4 things from your theme.

Artist Tip: When you sketch, decide which parts you want flat, and which parts you want to bend to make it 3D.

Outline your pencil sketch with a black marker or black color pencil to make all the details darker and stand out.

Add color.

Artist Tip: I used colored pencils because that's all I had at home. You can also use markers, crayons or paints if you have.

On the 5th piece of paper, sketch the parts you want to bend and attach.

Example: I wanted the elephant's ears and bird's wings to stick out. So I sketched them out separately, like a puzzle.

Outline black and add color to these too.

Cut all your shapes with a scissor.

Artist Tip: to make cutting easy, cut around the shape first, then cut in to get closer to your drawing line.

All shapes cut!

Flip the shapes to the blank side, Sharpie and Color again.

Front

Artist Tip: The back may be different from the front.

Back

Example: I wanted the cheetah to look 3D so I sketched and colored the back of its head. I also bent its tail to make it look like it's wiggling.

Bend the parts you want to look like it is sticking out.

Example: I wanted the bear to look like it was sitting with its arms open for a hug.

For the separate parts, fold a tab at one end and tape it to the main shape with clear tape.

My bird is flapping its wings, my elephant is flapping its ears.

Punch a hole at the top of your shapes.

Artist Tip: make sure you have enough space on all sides, so the hole will not rip.

Artist Tip: If you don't have a hole puncher, you can use anything that's pointy and sharp to make a hole.

Cut pieces of string, put it through the hole of each shape, and tie.

To make the hanger, put two sticks at a cross, tape it between the cross, up, under, over and all around.

Tie the shapes to the hanger,

hang the hanger from where you like,

and watch your drawings spin in the air!

Artist TIp: Moms, Dads, Siblings and Caretakers, please help with this part.For best results, tie a long string at the middle of the cross and hang it from the ceiling.You may have to play around with the balance.