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Creativity is the ability to conceive and develop rich, original ideas, discover unexpected connections, and invent or make new things.
Artists and designers exercise their creativity by experimenting with forms, structures, materials, concepts, media, and art-making approaches.
Oil Paint Skin Exploration by Angel Otero
Over the next few weeks we will:
Have artistic investigations: We will go beyond our usual ways of making to generate new ways of seeing, knowing, and creating art.
Collaborate: We will working together to imagine, explore and create
Explore / Experiment: the serious business of playing with art materials so we can discover all the things we can and cannot do with the materials. This requires that we ask:
1. I wonder what would happen if I (action) with this (material)?
2. I wonder what would happen if I combine (actions) or (materials) with each other?
3. How can I use my art making discoveries to create something new?
Make maquettes: a maquette is a practice work of art. Maquette usually refers to practice sculptures, but we will use maquette to refer to any practice work of art that is not a sketch.
We can experiment with the limits of the following materials:
We can experiment with the limits of the following materials:
Mark Makers
Mark Makers
Oil Pastels
Markers
Watercolor paint
Liquid tempera paint or acrylic
Regular and colored pencils/erasers
paintbrushes
chalk
ink, brayers, printing plates
Papers
Papers
Construction Paper
Printer paper
Cardstock
Butcher paper
Newspaper or newsprint
Paper Towels
Tissue Paper
Stiff and Flexible Materials
Stiff and Flexible Materials
Felt
Assorted Fabric
Assorted Cardboard
Aluminum foil
Polymer Clay
Cutting Tools
Cutting Tools
Scissors
Ceramic Safety blade
Tearing
Adhesives and Fasteners
Adhesives and Fasteners
Elmer’s glue: stick and liquid
Masking and cello tape
Tacky glue
Hot glue guns and sticks
Brads and paper clips, laundry pins
Useful Bin
Useful Bin
Bottle caps, bubble wrap, cello spools
Threads, yarn, and strings
Marker tops, combs
Condiment cups, plastic forks
Assorted bits and bobs
Each Class, I will know I am successful when:
I can explore a variety of art-making approaches.
I can invent ways or techniques of working with materials
I can experiment with art materials to learn all the things they can and cannot do.
I can use my new discoveries about my art materials to make a work of art.
I can reflect and describe my new art making techniques, and how I used them to create my work of art.
Let's make our thinking visible!
Let's make our thinking visible!
In groups of 2 or 3 make a K-W-L Chart about our available materials. What do we know, what do we wonder, and leave space for what we will learn.
Over the next few sessions, we will explore and invent art-making techniques and approaches inspired by the work of 6 different artists. As we learn about each artist's explorations we will ask:
Over the next few sessions, we will explore and invent art-making techniques and approaches inspired by the work of 6 different artists. As we learn about each artist's explorations we will ask:
How can exploring new materials and experimenting with processes affect an artist’s work?
I wonder how my own approach to art making might change, after taking the time to experiment, explore, and play?
Lesson 1: Shara Mays Painting and Drawing Exploration
Lesson 1: Shara Mays Painting and Drawing Exploration
Shara Mays is a California based artist who started her career making small paintings of people. In 2020 she grew tired of painting people, so she began experimenting with painting and binding fabric scraps.
Now her studio practice is to roll out large loose canvases and experiment with her own physical movement while making marks with her paint brushes and tools, in order to create abstract landscapes inspired by the history of her birthplace.
Let's See -Think-Wonder about Shara Mays's artwork below:
What do you see? What do you think? What are your wonderings?
Let's compare and contrast her older work with her newer, experimental work? What are the similarities? What are the differences?
Think-pair-share your ideas with your elbow partner.
Approaching Abstract Exploration
Approaching Abstract Exploration
Here is where I would place a recorded video giving a few tips about approaching abstraction and open-ended making. This sketchbook video is a place holder for a future video
Painting/Mark Making Exploration
Painting/Mark Making Exploration
Like Shara Mays, we will explore working with paint and other mark making materials.
You may use any of the available materials to experiment and play while making.
You may use any of the papers available while making.
Using any material available, try to invent a new way or new tools to make marks.
We are collaborating! Grab your art partners. chat about what you'd like to start with and go.
Painting/Mark Making Reflection
Painting/Mark Making Reflection
Join a buddy that you did not collaborate with. Discuss the following:
What did you invent or discover while exploring painting and mark making today?
What is your favorite thing about your process today?
If you had more time, what would you like to try?
If you had any advice to give an artist exploring painting with the same materials, what would it be?
Shara Mays talks about her process.
Shara Mays talks about her process.
Artists share about their ideas, inspirations, and processes.
Let's watch Shara Mays talk about her exploration in this short video clip.
Lesson 2: Favianna Rodriguez Monoprinting Exploration
Lesson 2: Favianna Rodriguez Monoprinting Exploration
Favianna Rodriguez is an Peruvian-American artist who is most famous for her social justice relief printmaking.
Recently she began experimenting and exploring monoprinting with brightly colored inks, which produces one original print, instead of potentially thousands of black and white prints.
Let's See -Think-Wonder about Favianna Rodriguez's artwork below:
What do you see? What do you think? What are your wonderings?
Let's compare and contrast her older work with her newer, experimental work? What are the similarities? What are the differences?
Think-pair-share your ideas with your elbow partner.
Earth Power
Bonded
Plant Wisdom, IV
Approaching Monoprinting Exploration
Approaching Monoprinting Exploration
Here is where I would place a recorded video giving instructions about approaching and open-ended making and exploration with monoprinting. This video about making a printing plate is a placeholder.
Monoprinting Exploration
Monoprinting Exploration
Like Favianna Rodriguez, we will explore working with monoprinting
You may use any of the available materials to experiment and play while making.
You may use any of the papers available while making.
Using any material available, try to invent a new way or new tools to make impressions.
We are collaborating! Grab your art partners. chat about how you'd like to start with and go.
Let's observe and reflect!
Let's observe and reflect!
Let's do a 10 second tidy so that our work is clearly visable . We can gallery walk to view everyone’s creations and experiments with monoprinting.
Grab a buddy you did not work with today and tell them about your discoveries.
What did you invent or discover while exploring painting and mark making today?
What is your favorite thing about your process today?
If you had more time, what would you like to try?
If you had any advice to give an artist exploring painting with the same materials, what would it be?
Favianna Rodriguez talks about her process.
Favianna Rodriguez talks about her process.
Artists share about their ideas, inspirations, and processes.
Monoprinting about plants, organic shapes, removing her black outline, and removing text organic shapes are still a very new exploration for her.
This video clip is from a few years ago when she first started monoprinting.
Lesson 3: Zsudayka Nzinga Collage Papers Exploration
Lesson 3: Zsudayka Nzinga Collage Papers Exploration
Zsudayka Nzinga
Zsudayka Nzinga
Zsudayka Nzinga is a DC based painter who started making paintings inspired from her poetry about pain and stress. After a few years of exploring different ways of making; she is now famous for creating mixed-media collages using a mixture of painting, found and made papers, and found and made fabrics. Her mixed-media collages are inspired by connecting with her family while sheltering in place.
Let's See -Think-Wonder about Zsudayka Nzinga's artwork below:
What do you see? What do you think? What are your wonderings?
Let's compare and contrast her older work with her newer, experimental work? What are the similarities? What are the differences?
Think-pair-share your ideas with your elbow partner.
Approaching Collage Exploration
Approaching Collage Exploration
Here is where I would place a recorded video giving instructions about approaching and open-ended making and exploration with collaging papers. This video with a sketchbook collage exploration is a placeholder.
Collage Exploration
Collage Exploration
Like Zsudayka, we will explore working with collaging papers and fabrics
You may use any of the available materials to experiment and play while making.
You may use any of the papers available while making.
Using any material available, try to invent a new way or new tools to make your collage.
We are collaborating! Grab your art partners. chat about how you'd like to start with and go.
Let's reflect on our process!
Let's reflect on our process!
Grab a buddy you did not work with today and tell them about your discoveries.
What did you invent or discover while exploring painting and mark making today?
What is your favorite thing about your process today?
If you had more time, what would you like to try?
If you had any advice to give an artist exploring painting with the same materials, what would it be?
Zsudayka talks about her inspiration.
Zsudayka talks about her inspiration.
Artists share about their ideas, inspirations, and processes.
Collaging with papers and fabrics is still a very new exploration for Zsudayka.
This video clip is from a few years ago when she was still mostly painting with acrylics.
Lesson 4: Kwang-ho Lee Woven Materials Exploration
Lesson 4: Kwang-ho Lee Woven Materials Exploration
Kwangho Lee is an artist from Seoul Korea who started his career creating large hyper-realistic paintings of cacti. After some experimentation with new materials and techniques; he is far more famous for his sculptures of furniture, clothing, and abstract items made of woven ropes, wires and cords.
Let's See -Think-Wonder about Kwangho Lee's artwork below:
What do you see? What do you think? What are your wonderings?
Let's compare and contrast his older work with his newer, experimental work? What are the similarities? What are the differences?
Think-pair-share your ideas with your elbow partner.
Approaching Weaving Materials Exploration
Approaching Weaving Materials Exploration
Here is where I would place a recorded video giving instructions about approaching and open-ended making and exploration with weaving. This color theory sketchbook video is a placeholder.
Weaving Materials Exploration
Weaving Materials Exploration
Like Kwangho Lee, we will explore working with yarn and fabrics
You may use any of the available materials to experiment and play while making.
Using any material available, try to invent a new way or new tools to make your creation.
We are collaborating! Grab your art partners. chat about how you'd like to start with and go.
Let's reflect on our process!
Let's reflect on our process!
Grab a buddy you did not work with today and tell them about your discoveries.
What did you invent or discover while exploring weaving?
What is your favorite thing about your process today?
If you had more time, what would you like to try?
If you had any advice to give an artist exploring painting with the same materials, what would it be?
Kwangho Lee talks about his process.
Kwangho Lee talks about his process.
Artists share about their ideas, inspirations, and processes.
Let's watch Kwangho Lee talk about his exploration in this short video clip.
Lesson 5: Claes Oldenburg and Coosje Van Bruggen 3D Materials Exploration
Lesson 5: Claes Oldenburg and Coosje Van Bruggen 3D Materials Exploration
Claes Oldenburg (Swedish-American) and Coosje Van Bruggan (Dutch-American)are an artist couple famous for collaborating together to make large scale sculptures. Claes started with mostly pencil sketches, but began experimenting with soft materials when collaborating with his wife, Coosje. They discovered collaboration and play fueled their creative motivation. Eventually they became world famous large scale sculptures of everyday objects, exhibited in public spaces. Their art about everyday things is inspired by playfulness, the pervasiveness of store bought products, and the uniformity of global society influenced by mass produced items.
Let's See -Think-Wonder about Claes Oldenburg and Coosje Van Bruggen's artwork below:
What do you see? What do you think? What are your wonderings?
Let's compare and contrast their older work with his newer, experimental work? What are the similarities? What are the differences?
Think-pair-share your ideas with your elbow partner.
Claes Oldenburg and Coosje Van Bruggen created quick sketches for their sculptures before they began building their sculptures. Sketches help you express an idea quickly before you dedicate time, energy and materials for a work of art.
Many times artists make thumbnail sketches of their plans before they experiment.
When have we made thumbnail sketches before?
Remember you should spend less than one minute on a thumbnail sketch of your exploratory sculpture maquette.
Approaching Sculpture Materials Exploration
Approaching Sculpture Materials Exploration
Here is where I would place a recorded video giving instructions about approaching and open-ended making and exploration with sculpture materials. This pop culture sculpture video is a placeholder.
Sculpture Materials Exploration
Sculpture Materials Exploration
Today we will experiment with a few sculpture/building materials. In addition to all of the materials we’ve explored since the beginning of this unit, we are adding: thin cardboard, thick cardboard, corrugated cardboard, cardboard tubes, newspaper, aluminum foil, plaster craft, and assorted useful items from the useful item bin.
You are welcome to use any art supply on our supply cart to support your making exploration (supply cart has frequently used items such as scissors, glue, markers,etc).
Let’s think about our new available materials. Let’s popcorn (to blurt out ideas without raising our hands in a controlled way) some art verbs to describe the actions we can use on our materials (Cutting! Folding! Gluing! Layering! Wrapping! Rolling! Sticking! Taping! Bending! Squishing! Standing! Waiting! Painting! Inking! Dropping! Spinning! Tabbing! Stamping! Dipping!...etc)
Take 10 seconds to think about what you’d like to build and how you’d like to try to build it. Your item can represent a real thing, an imagined thing or completely abstract.
You have 15 minutes to use the available materials in experimental ways to make a 3D object or sculpture maquette.
We are collaborating! Grab your art partners. chat about how you'd like to start with and go.
Let's reflect on our process!
Let's reflect on our process!
Grab a buddy you did not work with today and tell them about your discoveries.
What did you invent or discover while exploring weaving?
What is your favorite thing about your process today?
If you had more time, what would you like to try?
If you had any advice to give an artist exploring painting with the same materials, what would it be?
Friends of Claes and Coosje talk about their process.
Friends of Claes and Coosje talk about their process.
Artists share about their ideas, inspirations, and processes.
Let's watch Claes Oldenburg and Coosje Van Bruggen's friends talk about their collaboration and exploration in this short video
Lesson 6: Open Ended Work of Art
Lesson 6: Open Ended Work of Art
For the last project of this semester, we are creating open-ended works of art. An open-ended art project is a project where everything is your choice!
You literally can make whatever you choose as long as you use the tools and strategies you invented over the past few weeks.
Look at your maquettes and remember what techniques, tools, and projects you created for each material exploration.
The Steps for this whole project are as follows”
Design your project
Plan your materials, tools, and techniques
Create your project
Make a video reflection of your project.
You may collaborate with friends or build independently.
You are welcome to use any art supply on our supply cart to support your making exploration (supply cart has frequently used items such as scissors, glue, markers,etc).
Let’s think about our new available materials. Let’s popcorn (to blurt out ideas without raising our hands in a controlled way) some art verbs to describe the actions we can use on our materials (Cutting! Folding! Gluing! Layering! Wrapping! Rolling! Sticking! Taping! Bending! Squishing! Standing! Waiting! Painting! Inking! Dropping! Spinning! Tabbing! Stamping! Dipping!...etc)
Important questions
What are you making?
What shapes and forms will you need to make it?
What materials will you need to make these forms?
How big do you need your project to be?
How will you attach materials and forms?
I know I am successful because:
I can explore a variety of art-making approaches.
I can invent ways or techniques of working with materials
I can experiment with art materials to learn all the things they can and cannot do.
I can use my new discoveries about my art materials to make a work of art.
I can reflect and describe my new art making techniques, and how I used them to create my work of art.
Approaching Open Ended Creations
Approaching Open Ended Creations
Here is where I would place a recorded video giving instructions about approaching and open-ended making and exploration with all available materials. This sketchbook video is a placeholder.
Soundsuit by Nick Cave
Let's Reflect on our Processes
Let's Reflect on our Processes
As you are finishing your open -ended projects, create a reflection video and answer these questions:
What did you create?
What media did you use?
What artist invented tools or strategies did you use to make your project?
Tell us the story of your project.
What is your favorite thing about your project?
If you had more time to work on it, what would you do next?
Nick Cave talks about his inspiration and processes.
Nick Cave talks about his inspiration and processes.
Chicago Based Sculptor, Nick Cave, is famous for creating large wearable mixed media sculptures he calls "Soundsuits". He created these soundsuits as an armor from the injustices of the world.
He performs, with dancers, wearing his soundsuits for community building events. It is mentioned that his earliest work was not figurative, nor performance art, but there is no clear statement on his earliest work.
In recent years, Nick Cave has been experimenting with creating larger than life sculptures meant for both private museum spaces and public community building events.
His work Augment is a sculpture made of inflatables that he used for a parade he founded in 2019 in Boston, "The Joy Parade."
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