Sunday, December 23, 2007
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Mock Stained Glass Windows Part II
Happy Birthday, Esther and Ashton!
Be sure to check out the link to Esther's writing under Artists and Authors in my sidebar.
I've had such a time getting my pictures to post, and had to unplug my computer due to thunderstorms at various times. Today is a sunny day, and I hope the tech things are working better today.
Be sure to check out the link to Esther's writing under Artists and Authors in my sidebar.
I've had such a time getting my pictures to post, and had to unplug my computer due to thunderstorms at various times. Today is a sunny day, and I hope the tech things are working better today.
Ashton and I have made some examples, which I have scanned to show as steps in the process of making this project.
I have an old photo (above) that shows the Mock Stained Glass Windows displayed in one of my old art rooms. You can tell it is old. Check out the bell bottoms and "natural" blouse! That was a wonderful room for art-huge, wonderful big windows, and you could not hurt it. But, it took a lot of strength to get the windows up in hot weather, and sticks to hold them up. It was freezing in the winter with the heater almost to the ceiling, burning up under a tin roof in hot weather, no shelves etc, few art supplies, and I stayed sick from the years of dirt and grime ground into the concrete floor of the old ag shop, and the open drain in the floor. Still it could have been a great place to work. It was sad that, instead of fixing it up a bit, it was divided up into 3 classrooms. Glad I got to move to another school and didn't have to be confined in that small space. At least they kept the windows.
I have already given the steps for creating this project in the previous post, so, I'm going to add these photos as a slide show, which may make for another post.
I have already given the steps for creating this project in the previous post, so, I'm going to add these photos as a slide show, which may make for another post.
We ran into a small problem when we were glueing our pieces of tissue paper onto the back of the windows. My glue bottle kept clogging up, so I opened it with an unbent paper clip. It still clogged with little blobs of thickened glue. I cut the hole larger, and then too much glue poured out. We didn't have waxed paper to put under our projects, so we used empty soft drink cartons, the waxey side, and parchment paper. The parchment paper rolled too much so, if I used that again, I would tape it down to a work surface.
We solved the glue problem by putting a small amount of glue onto the drink carton, then used stirring sticks, I used plastic and he used wood, to dip out the glue and apply it to the construction paper. (That is really a slow way to glue things!) Then we placed tissue paper on top.
The glue leaked through some, so we lifted the projects and let the glue dry a bit, then placed them on top of some empty aluminum soft drink cans to finish drying. In class, we could hang our projects with clothespins from string draped across the room to dry, or, we had a drying rack for larger projects. At home, we had to experiment a bit.
I tried a different design using a star and made one window with one solid sheet of tissue paper in the back, just to show how that would look. A lot of students liked to do that as it was easier and faster. Some would put strips of tissue paper rather than cutting out the individual shapes. That really didn't capture the idea of stained glass, though. We were doing these to create a project that was colorful, could be displayed, and taught a bit of how stained glass was made, and was still inexpensive. It would have been nice if we could have used real stained glass, caming, and things that go into stained glass work. But that was not possible in a class with a tiny budget.
I thought that these always came out well and added a lot of color to our room. Especially in those big ag shop windows! And, those who we gave them to really appreciated them, too.
Friday, December 14, 2007
Project-Mock Stained Glass Window Part I
This is another project for Lisa, for teachers, for kids, and the young at heart, or anyone who likes to make things. Have fun with this, no matter what age group you are in. If you try this, or the other project, that results in something that you would like to share, please send me a picture. I would love to add it to my blog and show what you came up with.
Before Christmas, I liked to have my students make these paper, stained glass windows. As they made them, we taped them to the windows. Almost every year, we filled the windows, allowing light to shine through, giving us a very colorful room. In one of my rooms, an old ag shop, a large building with huge windows on the north and south sides, the room was almost like a cathedral, when we had the windows filled. It was very warm and cheerful, almost breathtaking, on a sunny day. And, so sad after we took them all down when we left for the holidays. Usually, the paper was faded and the projects were filled with dust, by the time we were dismissed for Christmas. So, they ended up in the trash can. After we realized this would happen, I told students that they could make more than one. One to display, and one to keep. Some made several, just to make sure that the large windows were totally filled.
Besides filling our art room with these colorful windows, we sometimes shared them by taking them to the local nursing home and to the hospital, along with greeting cards, and little crafts we had made. The residents and patients really enjoyed having the students come to visit them and the colorful things for their rooms.
In order to share the project, my grandson and I are making examples, and I am scanning and saving the results. I do have one old photo that shows a few of the projects in our huge windows. Unfortunately, I didn't think of taking the picture when the sun was shining through the windows, but the focus was on our door decoration that year. You can see some of the "stained glass windows" in the back ground, filling the windows about half way up-as high as we could reach!
I would suggest that, if you would like to do this, and keep your project, you might use better quality paper. Construction paper does fade and become brittle easily. (Teachers use it because it is less expensive.) There are art or craft papers that would work for this. Use a heavy paper that has some body to it, and that says archival or acid free.
When teaching, I would try to find examples of stained glass windows to show students, and I would call attention to places in town where they might have stained glass windows. And we would talk about how the real windows are made. Usually, these would be in churches, but there are other buildings and homes that might also have such stained glass windows. Small stained glass projects such as boxes and light catchers for windows might be something that students could look at or may be familiar with.
In some situations, there might be budgets that allow for making actual stained glass projects. But, the cost, for most schools, is prohibitive, so we teach about them, and find ways to teach about the design, construction, and appreciation at a low cost.
Mock Stained Glass Windows
Materials
Black or dark colored construction paper (1 sheet)
colored tissue paper (assorted or pick the colors you like)
White crayon or white charcoal pencil
Elmer's or other white craft glue
Clear tape for hanging in a window
Old newspaper to protect work surface
Scissors
Alternate Materials
Black or dark colored construction paper (1 sheet) or larger black acid free paper
(You could do this very large, if desired)
waxed paper
iron
Old newspapers
Cup towels to protect iron (optional)
Crayon shavings
White charcoal pencil or white crayon
Craft or Elmer's glue
Scissors
(you can use a stencil or X-Acto knife for very delicate, precise cuts, on better paper)
Clear tape for hanging project in the window
Method
1. Fold a sheet of black paper in half, vertically. ("Hot dog" style, for younger kids!)
2. If you want to make a very neat project, with a covered back, you can use two sheets of paper, folded together, for a backing, so that they will come out the same.
3. With the paper folded, use the white charcoal pencil, or crayon, to draw your design on the black paper. Remember that the paper represents the lead caming, or the black metal that holds the different shapes together. It shouldn't be too thick. The black lines should be fairly thin which would allow more of the color to show through, and also, if you think about a true stained glass window, too much lead would make the windows far too heavy. If it's too thin, of course the "lead" will not support the glass.
Also, remember not to cut the outside edges. That represents the edges of the window, the part that will go in the window frame and hold it all together. A small piece of tape can correct an accidental cut, possibly.
The design can be free form, a picture, a design using a symbol, etc. You can make them up as you go, or use a pattern that you have drawn, or even from something like an old Christmas card. It is much easier if you follow the KISS principal of keeping it simple, especially in your first few efforts.
The above design was drawn by my 10 year old grandson, using the white charcoal pencil shown. He chose to do a design using free forms.
4. The second design I am showing is an angel surrounded by shapes, suggesting a church window. This is the one that I am doing.
5. Cut out the inside of the shapes. Be sure to leave the "lead caming" to connect your shapes!
I used a small pair of scissors but my grandson improvised so he could get the scissors in easier. He had removed the blade from a pencil sharpener and he used this to put a small slit in each shape. (Be sure you use a pad of old newspapers under your work so that you do not cut your work surface!) A stencil knife might be better, or anything to make a small hole to put the scissors into easier. However, note that cutting construction paper with a stencil knife does not leave a smooth cut. There might be some ragged edges that will still need to be trimmed.
I tried my grandson's technique and it did work, but you lack the safety of a handle by using such a small blade.
6. After the shapes are cut out, you might save the inside shapes to be used for another design. My grandson liked his designs and wants to paint them on a t-shirt!
If you do this for a class, you might save all these little bits of paper to be used for things like paper mosaics.
7. Select colors of tissue paper that you like for your design. You can use large pieces, or cut each piece to go behind the shapes in your "window". You may, for example, prefer to use only certain colors in your design, or you might like to use any bright colors, or one color combination.
8. Use glue on the back side of your "lead caming" or strips between the "glass" shapes.
9. Place the colored pieces of tissue paper on the back of your "window" to cover each opening.
Note that, sometimes, there is a right and wrong side to the tissue paper. Hold it up to the light to find out which side will allow the most color through before you glue the shape in.
10. If you cut two pieces of construction paper, place the second sheet behind the first, then glue it into place. This will cover any ragged edges and make for a more finished look on both sides of the window.
11. Place the finished "window" inside a window in your home or building. Use clear tape to secure them. (Don't press the tape too hard or you will have a job cleaning off tape later!) Lights at night will shine through them so that people outside can enjoy them and, during the day, as the sun shines, those indoors will be able to enjoy the colors and designs.
Alternate Method
Follow steps above numbers 1 through 6.
7. Use two sheets of waxed paper, the same size as your black paper.
8. Place crayon shavings on one sheet of waxed paper. You can select colors or randomly arrange them on the waxed paper.
9. Put the second sheet of waxed paper on top of the sheet with the crayon shavings.
10. Place old newspapers on your ironing board or surface where you can iron.
11. Put the two sheets of waxed paper, with crayon shavings between them, on the newspaper padding. Add more sheets of newspaper to protect your iron.
12. Iron until the crayon melts and the waxed paper sticks together.
(If you accidentally get crayon on your iron, you can remove it with sandpaper, after the iron has cooled.)
13. Remove the waxed paper from the newspaper and place the waxed paper over the cut out paper "window".
14. Use white glue on the inside of the "lead caming" or areas of the construction paper to glue the waxed paper in place.
15. If you made double cut outs, glue the second window on the back to make a neater finished back of the project.
16. Tape in a glass window to show.
I seem to be having trouble with adding pictures again. I keep getting a message that it "cannot contact blogger" and then that it is "saving" . But, the pictures won't add. I will add those in a second post like I did with the last project.
Originally, I had tried another version of creating Mock Stained Glass in which the instructions call for floating paper in trays of water with Wesson Oil to get the stained glass look. But, I didn't have the trays, and, in my experimenting, I just had a very oily mess! I don't recall what kind of paper it required, or the directions, but that might be something that others have had better luck with than I did. I know that you can marbelize paper with the oil, but, again, I didn't have the equipment for that, and I found that the projects with oil was too messy.
Enjoy!
Before Christmas, I liked to have my students make these paper, stained glass windows. As they made them, we taped them to the windows. Almost every year, we filled the windows, allowing light to shine through, giving us a very colorful room. In one of my rooms, an old ag shop, a large building with huge windows on the north and south sides, the room was almost like a cathedral, when we had the windows filled. It was very warm and cheerful, almost breathtaking, on a sunny day. And, so sad after we took them all down when we left for the holidays. Usually, the paper was faded and the projects were filled with dust, by the time we were dismissed for Christmas. So, they ended up in the trash can. After we realized this would happen, I told students that they could make more than one. One to display, and one to keep. Some made several, just to make sure that the large windows were totally filled.
Besides filling our art room with these colorful windows, we sometimes shared them by taking them to the local nursing home and to the hospital, along with greeting cards, and little crafts we had made. The residents and patients really enjoyed having the students come to visit them and the colorful things for their rooms.
In order to share the project, my grandson and I are making examples, and I am scanning and saving the results. I do have one old photo that shows a few of the projects in our huge windows. Unfortunately, I didn't think of taking the picture when the sun was shining through the windows, but the focus was on our door decoration that year. You can see some of the "stained glass windows" in the back ground, filling the windows about half way up-as high as we could reach!
I would suggest that, if you would like to do this, and keep your project, you might use better quality paper. Construction paper does fade and become brittle easily. (Teachers use it because it is less expensive.) There are art or craft papers that would work for this. Use a heavy paper that has some body to it, and that says archival or acid free.
When teaching, I would try to find examples of stained glass windows to show students, and I would call attention to places in town where they might have stained glass windows. And we would talk about how the real windows are made. Usually, these would be in churches, but there are other buildings and homes that might also have such stained glass windows. Small stained glass projects such as boxes and light catchers for windows might be something that students could look at or may be familiar with.
In some situations, there might be budgets that allow for making actual stained glass projects. But, the cost, for most schools, is prohibitive, so we teach about them, and find ways to teach about the design, construction, and appreciation at a low cost.
Mock Stained Glass Windows
Materials
Black or dark colored construction paper (1 sheet)
colored tissue paper (assorted or pick the colors you like)
White crayon or white charcoal pencil
Elmer's or other white craft glue
Clear tape for hanging in a window
Old newspaper to protect work surface
Scissors
Alternate Materials
Black or dark colored construction paper (1 sheet) or larger black acid free paper
(You could do this very large, if desired)
waxed paper
iron
Old newspapers
Cup towels to protect iron (optional)
Crayon shavings
White charcoal pencil or white crayon
Craft or Elmer's glue
Scissors
(you can use a stencil or X-Acto knife for very delicate, precise cuts, on better paper)
Clear tape for hanging project in the window
Method
1. Fold a sheet of black paper in half, vertically. ("Hot dog" style, for younger kids!)2. If you want to make a very neat project, with a covered back, you can use two sheets of paper, folded together, for a backing, so that they will come out the same.
3. With the paper folded, use the white charcoal pencil, or crayon, to draw your design on the black paper. Remember that the paper represents the lead caming, or the black metal that holds the different shapes together. It shouldn't be too thick. The black lines should be fairly thin which would allow more of the color to show through, and also, if you think about a true stained glass window, too much lead would make the windows far too heavy. If it's too thin, of course the "lead" will not support the glass.
Also, remember not to cut the outside edges. That represents the edges of the window, the part that will go in the window frame and hold it all together. A small piece of tape can correct an accidental cut, possibly.
The design can be free form, a picture, a design using a symbol, etc. You can make them up as you go, or use a pattern that you have drawn, or even from something like an old Christmas card. It is much easier if you follow the KISS principal of keeping it simple, especially in your first few efforts.
The above design was drawn by my 10 year old grandson, using the white charcoal pencil shown. He chose to do a design using free forms.
4. The second design I am showing is an angel surrounded by shapes, suggesting a church window. This is the one that I am doing.
5. Cut out the inside of the shapes. Be sure to leave the "lead caming" to connect your shapes!
I used a small pair of scissors but my grandson improvised so he could get the scissors in easier. He had removed the blade from a pencil sharpener and he used this to put a small slit in each shape. (Be sure you use a pad of old newspapers under your work so that you do not cut your work surface!) A stencil knife might be better, or anything to make a small hole to put the scissors into easier. However, note that cutting construction paper with a stencil knife does not leave a smooth cut. There might be some ragged edges that will still need to be trimmed.
I tried my grandson's technique and it did work, but you lack the safety of a handle by using such a small blade.
6. After the shapes are cut out, you might save the inside shapes to be used for another design. My grandson liked his designs and wants to paint them on a t-shirt!
If you do this for a class, you might save all these little bits of paper to be used for things like paper mosaics.
7. Select colors of tissue paper that you like for your design. You can use large pieces, or cut each piece to go behind the shapes in your "window". You may, for example, prefer to use only certain colors in your design, or you might like to use any bright colors, or one color combination.
8. Use glue on the back side of your "lead caming" or strips between the "glass" shapes.
9. Place the colored pieces of tissue paper on the back of your "window" to cover each opening.
Note that, sometimes, there is a right and wrong side to the tissue paper. Hold it up to the light to find out which side will allow the most color through before you glue the shape in.
10. If you cut two pieces of construction paper, place the second sheet behind the first, then glue it into place. This will cover any ragged edges and make for a more finished look on both sides of the window.
11. Place the finished "window" inside a window in your home or building. Use clear tape to secure them. (Don't press the tape too hard or you will have a job cleaning off tape later!) Lights at night will shine through them so that people outside can enjoy them and, during the day, as the sun shines, those indoors will be able to enjoy the colors and designs.
Alternate Method
Follow steps above numbers 1 through 6.
7. Use two sheets of waxed paper, the same size as your black paper.
8. Place crayon shavings on one sheet of waxed paper. You can select colors or randomly arrange them on the waxed paper.
9. Put the second sheet of waxed paper on top of the sheet with the crayon shavings.
10. Place old newspapers on your ironing board or surface where you can iron.
11. Put the two sheets of waxed paper, with crayon shavings between them, on the newspaper padding. Add more sheets of newspaper to protect your iron.
12. Iron until the crayon melts and the waxed paper sticks together.
(If you accidentally get crayon on your iron, you can remove it with sandpaper, after the iron has cooled.)
13. Remove the waxed paper from the newspaper and place the waxed paper over the cut out paper "window".
14. Use white glue on the inside of the "lead caming" or areas of the construction paper to glue the waxed paper in place.
15. If you made double cut outs, glue the second window on the back to make a neater finished back of the project.
16. Tape in a glass window to show.
I seem to be having trouble with adding pictures again. I keep getting a message that it "cannot contact blogger" and then that it is "saving" . But, the pictures won't add. I will add those in a second post like I did with the last project.
Originally, I had tried another version of creating Mock Stained Glass in which the instructions call for floating paper in trays of water with Wesson Oil to get the stained glass look. But, I didn't have the trays, and, in my experimenting, I just had a very oily mess! I don't recall what kind of paper it required, or the directions, but that might be something that others have had better luck with than I did. I know that you can marbelize paper with the oil, but, again, I didn't have the equipment for that, and I found that the projects with oil was too messy.
Enjoy!
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Holiday Craft Project-Flower Pots Part 2
I started these to send to Lisa, who is substituting for art. I couldn't just tell her, so I thought that, maybe some pictures might help. I decided that the best way to get them to her was through my blog. And, maybe, they will help her and her students, and, at the same time, share what worked for me with others who might be looking for something to do with their own students or children. Adults can do these too. I found that most levels can do the same things, but just a bit differently or, perhaps, with a little different group of materials or time limits. I hope that these help.
I couldn't get my pictures to add on the first post on this project, so I'm trying again in a separate post. Instructions were in the first part. These are some examples of what we did. Remember that these were done at Easter time, but you can adapt these for a Christmas theme. I have decided that these would make some interesting wise men, or shepards, angels, or other characters.
I couldn't get my pictures to add on the first post on this project, so I'm trying again in a separate post. Instructions were in the first part. These are some examples of what we did. Remember that these were done at Easter time, but you can adapt these for a Christmas theme. I have decided that these would make some interesting wise men, or shepards, angels, or other characters.
The picture on the left shows a flower pot bunny, nestled in Easter grass, along with the plastic buckets that I used for storing my acrylic paints. I liked to sort them by red, yellow, blue, neutrals, metallics, and specialty paints. In case someone forgot to close the lids, I hoped that this would keep the paint from drying out quickly. I also used them to keep trim, scissors, pencils, crayons, oil pastels, and for use when larger water containers were needed.
The picture on the right, shows one approach in which the pots were painted brown, then details painted in.
The picture on the left shows how the pots were stacked and the top pot used as a head. This one was painted with a cartoon look.
This photo shows another variation of a character. You can also see the waxed paper under the project. The metallic colors were very popular.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Holiday Project-Flower Pot Craft
Holiday ProjectFlower Pot Craft
I was asked about craft projects that students might do for Christmas and thought I might share some of the things that worked well with my students and my children. I have a few photos to demonstrate what I am talking about.
This project is fairly easy to do and is something that might last for years to come. Kids, and adults, seem to enjoy doing them.
Materials
Assorted small clay flower pots (You can buy these at a garden center or craft store)
Strong white craft glue (I bought some from a hardware store that worked really well.)
Assorted acrylic craft paints
Small brushes (size will depend on the size of your pots)
mixing trays,
Water containers (I use clean, empty cans or plastic containers, or plastic cups)
waxed paper / newspapers to protect work area. Waxed paper keeps the bottoms from sticking to paper, if paint should drip.
Assorted trim
buttons, ribbon, wiggly eyes, lace, cotton balls, felt, rick rack, etc.
Crystal Clear Glaze or Clear Gloss Spray for finishing
Method
I always started out with one idea, but, as we worked, our projects might easily turn out to be something totally different! Sometimes, we had "happy accidents", or things would change our schedule, so that might change a project.
Originally, we were going to make Christmas characters like Santa Claus, angels, toy soldiers, and such. I did not intend to use a pattern and insist that everyone make the same thing. I would suggest something basic, and then we all took off in our own directions. Sometimes things came out like we intended, but usually, everyone had something very different and creative.
At this particular time, we started to make Christmas things, but we ran out of time, and ended up doing this for an Easter project! So, my pictures show bunnies and spring designs, rather than Christmas. But, you can get the idea of how to put these together for any holiday, even Christmas as I originally intended. We had characters, but some people made candle holders, candle sticks, or even just decorative sculptures.
1. Allow about 5 flower pots of varying sizes, to be stacked and made into a character or object.
2. Begin with one pot, upside down for a base, then reverse the next pot, and so on up to build on the base. The top pot might also be upside down, if you want to use that one for a head.
The top photo shows how you might stack the pots for a character, or sculpture.
3. Use white craft glue on the rim of each pot in order to stick them together, stack, and let them dry. Do not put glue on the bottom, where it will rest on the paper.
4. Place newspaper on your work area to protect it, then place a square of waxed paper on top. This should help to keep your project from sticking to the newspaper, and is easier to remove than painted paper, if your paint should drip.
5. Place small amounts of acrylic paint in the wells of a mixing tray. Styrfoam trays work well for this, as well as the little plastic trays made to hold paint. I like to keep my small bottles of acrylic paint in plastic buckets. I also like to use the buckets for trim, buttons, and even for larger containers of water.
6. Determine what character that you are going to make, and assemble colors that you might need for that character. If you need help in visualizing your character, you might find a picture of Santa or the character that you want to make. You could sketch it, and use pencil to draw lines on your pots to show where you want the parts to be in your painted version.
7. Use brushes and acrylic paint to paint your character or object on the pots. I like to start with a lighter color, and begin at the top. By starting with a light color, it is easier to cover up if you change your mind or need to correct something. I also like to start at the top and work down, although some people seem to prefer starting with the bottom and moving up. Larger areas of paint could be applied with a sponge or rag.
8. Let the acrylic paint dry thoroughly. Be careful because, sometimes, paint may appear to be dry on the surface, but have little pockets of wet paint underneath. You don't want your paint to be too thick. But, it does need to cover the pots.
9. In order to get a glossy finish, that looks like ceramics, spray your project with gloss spray. This is best done outside, with lots of ventilation. Do not try to use one or two thick coats. Instead, spray several light coats, allowing your project to dry in between coats. Let your project dry before the next step.
10. Use the white craft glue to add decorations. A white cotton beard, cotton for fur, buttons, ribbon, or whatever you desire to add to complete your character. You could use something like Super Glue, but be cautious when using this. Be very careful not to get it on anything where it should not be, like in your eyes or on your fingers.
11. If you want a nice finish on the bottom, you could glue a piece of felt on the bottom pot. This will protect furniture or shelves.
12. Some variations are, of course, various holiday characters, nativity scenes, candle sticks (you might be careful if you use the gloss spray on your candle sticks. I'm not sure if that might be a fire hazard. We never actually used candles in them, but, instead, put in candles for decoration only. No flame, just a candle in a holder. They also might be handy for things on a desk, kitchen decorations or holders for items like wooden spoons, etc.
If you like a little sparkle, you could add some glitter to your project. I think that glitter can get too messy, and, over the years, it doesn't look as fresh as it did when it was new. I try to add interest with more lasting, and neater, trim or with the paint itself.
I have more images to show the steps, but I seem to be having some trouble with blogger. I didn't post for several days, although I tried. One day, we had thunderstorms so the computer was unplugged. Then, I couldn't get an image to post. Next came problems with getting on the internet. And, now, I get a message, on and off, saying that it cannot contact blogger, then it says saving, so I don't know if I have a post or not. When I tried to add an image, it seemed to not do anything. I may have to add my other images in another post.
I did want to get something out. I wanted to remind everyone to send your drawings of your hand, if you would like for me to put them in a slideshow. Don't be shy! Since I am kind of behind on my posting, you have a little more time to work on it. Mine is a lot more complicated to draw now with so many tiny wrinkles!
I remember when older people would say to a child, "Can you believe that my hand used to look like yours!" I know I couldn't believe it, when they would compare their wrinkled, gnarled hands to my tiny smooth hand, with dimples. And, now, I look at a young grandson's hand, and say the same thing! All these tiny wrinkles that cover tiny scars, not to mention bigger joints and some joints that cave in instead of curving out. Hands certainly show something about the journey through life and the person. Someone once told me that I had the hands of a sculptor. A ballet teacher said that my hands, as a child, were very expressive. (She didn't mention my dancing, though!) I did like to do sculpture, including punching the clay. But, that became a bit painful in recent years. I couldn' t lift the heavy blocks of clay, or the kiln lid anymore so I had to stop the large heads that I enjoyed doing. In fact, I had to move to lighter weight projects that didn't require as much lifting, or cleaning. Before my hands became so wrinkled, I had a star shaped scar on the back of my hand. The result of the first fire ant sting that I ever had, back in the 70s when those critters first invaded this area. I was told that I was allergic to them, and had a bad reaction to it. I was also told that it was like an immunization and they shouldn't bother me anymore. That was not true! The stings still hurt and I had a violent reaction to multiple bites, at one time.
Your hand, too, can tell a story. So, send it along. I look forward to seeing your efforts. Send it as a jpeg file to the contact address in my sidebar.
Check out the links on my sidebar. Cecilia, the singer, has some new things, just in time for Christmas. Enjoy her work!
Friday, December 7, 2007
Drawing Your Hand- Contour
Drawing Your Hand
Contour
8.5" x 11"
pencil
If you are having trouble drawing your hand, and even if you aren't, this is something that you might try. This will help your focus and your observation.
This is called a Contour drawing.
1. Place your paper on the table in front of you. You can use masking tape on the edges to prevent moving it around.
2. Shake your hand, or relax it, and drop it loosely near your paper-not on top of it. Be sure that you are in a comfortable position so that you can keep your hand still while you finish your drawing.
3. Pick a spot to begin. I started just above my wrist on the top side of my arm.
4. Place your pencil on this spot, then draw a continuous line , slowly, carefully, examining the outline of your hand.
Do Not Trace!
5. As you draw, imagine that your pencil is touching the outside edge only of your subject. That is, your hand. Move your pencil in one continuous line, and try not to lift your pencil.
6. Look at, and draw, every little lump, bump, curve, and dent that you see and continue all around one side of your hand, and end on the opposite side.
7. Do not draw any interior lines.
8. Do not add any textures or shading. This type of drawing only deals with the outside edges.
9. If your pencil or paper slips, you can reposition your pencil. Otherwise, just try to keep going all the way around.
10. If you feel confident, you can try this with a pen or marker.
In my drawing above, you may see a double line in places. I did go over mine again as the pencil was very light. I didn't think it would show up in the scan, so I darkened my line.
Also, my hand was folded over a little so that my thumb is in the interior, so it is not shown.
I used just an ordinary #2 pencil for this drawing, and 20 # copy paper. You may want to use a little better paper, if this is something that you would like to save.
I tried scanning this several times as there are some little dots on the paper that do not show up when I look at the paper. I cleaned the paper with an eraser, and cleaned my scanner glass, but they keep showing on my scans. So, just ignore the little dots. They aren't there for any purpose, but won't seem to go away.
Contour drawings can be used to draw many things. They can be the basis for working with design, or for futher, or more realistic studies. While they show outline and placement, they do not show things like form, texture, light and shadow. They can also be a quick way to put down placement and size of some part of a picture.
They really do make you look at whatever you are drawing.
I hope that you will try this out, as practice. You can try your hand in many different positions.
I firmly believe that everyone can draw. Even those with disabilities can draw although they sometimes have to improvise methods that will work for them.
Too often I hear people, even young people, say, "I can't draw." And, they make themselves belive this. But, what they actually mean is that their drawing is not what they want it to be. Or, they are not able to draw or paint realistically. They cannot see that their own style is of value. Or, even more commonly, they don't understand that it takes practice and study to get where they feel that they should be with their art. It's like anything else whether that is playing a musical instrument, writing, playing a sport, cooking, sewing, gardening, or driving. You have to be willing to learn, and practice, in order to improve or to gain that skill.
We all start out to draw the same ways. It is part of our development. Stick figures, circle eyes, lollipop trees. Some people just give up while others work on their observation skills, and seek to improve through practice and study.
I know that from drawing, I have become much more observant than I would have been if I had not drawn throughout most of my life. But, I didn't start out drawing any better than anyone else. I just stayed with it, was curious, and tried to improve. I'm still trying to learn and improve. We all change, too, as we grow older and change.
Now, I know that you too can draw, so I hope that you will try recording your hand, for my challenge. You can send me, as a jpeg file, your drawings of your hand, both realistic and contour, to include in a slide show.
Even if you think you can't draw, give it a try and see what you can do. This will give you, not only some practice in observation, and drawing, but also something that you can keep. A piece of art work that will show what your hand looks like today. I hope that you will take pride in what you do.
Try to do this by next Wednesday, for my challenge. Hope you have some fun with this, and even surprise yourself!
Happy Drawing!
Let me know if you see something that you are interested in. And thanks for sharing with others. If you haven't joined my group, or subscribed to my blog, I hope that you will consider that. There is a subscription box in the sidebar, and you can click on my group to go there and join that way.
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Hand Drawing-Another Year
Hand DrawingAnother Year
8.5" x 11"
pencil
This is another drawing that I did of my hand, in the past. A little different style. In this drawing, I used a #314 Berol Draughting penicil, my favorite kind to work with.
In doing a sketchbook assignment, I had my students to write their names, the date, and what time they started and stopped on a drawing. I told them to draw at least 1 hour a week, and graded their work accordingly. For some, it would be easy to draw for an hour a day, which was preferred, but not always possible, so I set the minimum time of 1 hour a week, or they could try 15 minutes a day.
This drawing is one that I showed my classes how I wanted them to identify their work.
I hope that you will find time to try the challenge I gave yesterday, to draw your own hand, then scan and send it to me. This is something that everyone should be able to do, in their own way. After all, this is something that you have been looking at for most of your life.
I'm looking forward to seeing what you can do. And, I will put those into a slide show, which is always fun to see.
Happy drawing!
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