Arts Guild – Page 5 – Blackbird and Company

Posted on October 11, 2016 by BBCo

Art of Words

Collagraphy is printmaking process that is related to the art of collage. Do you see the connection between the words? It is sometimes called "relief printing" because the subject to be printed is raised from the print block. You can print anything this way, from fiber to sandpaper, feathers to paperclips.

Stopping to think about the word origin, one comes from the Greek word koala, meaning "glue" and graph, meaning "write". I thought to myself: "Glue…? Write…? …WORDS!"

So our collagraphs were made by glueing words backwards and in reverse onto chipboard to create our print plates. The more words the merrier. Simple enough. From there, the possibilities are endless. Offer a variety fun colors and let students cloud words onto large scale paper in the style of pop artist Sister Corita Kent. The results will surprise you.

-Kim

Posted on September 26, 2016 by BBCo

Head in the Clouds

Before the observing begins, explore the science of clouds. The invisible air around us contains droplets of water we can not see until they mingle above to form a cloud. This formation is the result of warm water on Earth evaporating and condensing in cooler pockets of sky above. We've all interpreted the shape of clouds, but scientists have categorized and named them. There are cirrus clouds and cumulus clouds and others too, and there are variations in many combinations: altostratus, cirrocumulus, cumulonimbus.

Now you are ready to explore. Over the course of many days, observe the sky, making little sketches of what you see. You will discover that no two clouds are alike. Clouds may have similar attributes (puffy, streaked, swirling), but from there, when you look closely and really think about what you are seeing, the similarities disappear.

So how do artists recreate clouds in two-dimensions? They begin just as you've begun, by looking. Using chalk pastels is a fun way to capture the essence of a cloud on paper. Begin by sketching your cloud shape in white, then begin smudging shades of blue in your sky space and tinted white. Sometimes clouds have bits of pink, yellow, blue, even purple, look closely.

With a handful of chalk pastels, a small stack of 3 x 5 rectangles of bristol board, an aerosol of spray fixative (to spray on completed drawings so they won't smudge), pre-cut mat board, and your head in the clouds, you too can create a wonderful little museum of clouds.

Posted on January 25, 2016January 25, 2026 by BBCo

Leonardo’s Big Idea

When Leonardo Da Vinci died he left the world more than 6,000 pages of ideas.

Think revolving bridge, winged glider, or self-propelled car, and you will begin thinking like Leonardo.

Now, think colossal horse, and you will most certainly be moving in the direction of the Renaissance man. Most of us have heard of Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, but, Il Cavallo? Not so much. Read more here.

So this past week, we gathered to learn more of this marvelous dreamer, and to be inspired by his prolific idea making. And after reading Leonardo’s Horse by Jean Fritz (and ogling over the illustrations by Hudson Talbott), we got to work.

As I tried to imagine the complex engineering of the inner scaffolding, what Leonardo had to consider to create the clay model, let alone the bronze cast, I decided to focus our art making on the bones of sculpting. So from pipe cleaners, pom pons, yarn, and a lump of air drying clay we fashioned our horse.

And what a horse. It’s not Leonardo. No. But it is certainly an inspired idea. And I imagine, this would make Leonardo smile. For he knew, better than most: “Art is never finished, only abandoned.”

~Kimberly

Posted on October 14, 2015 by BBCo

Look See: Poem of Spongy Bone

Write a poem incorporating an interesting fact you’ve recently heard or read. It doesn’t necessarily have to be concerned with the physical sciences, although that is a great place to start. Andrea Gibson uses this device in her spoken-word poem, , using lines such as “‘Cause it is a fact that our hearts stop for a millisecond every time we sneeze / And some people’s houses have too much dust” and “It is a fact that bumblebees have hair on their eyes / And humans, also, should comb through everything they see.”

Example:

This Isn’t Happiness

They say that the average person laughs 15 times per day… each time I hear that, I wonder whether that includes the people whose cats have just died or who just spilled coffee on their blouse… I wonder whether if it includes those people who don’t really laugh, but exhale through their noses in unusually quick succession with laughter in their eyes… and I wonder whether those good laughs, the kind that rips your stomach raw and warms your eyes with saltwater, count as two (or maybe fifteen) of the kind of laugh you measure out during irritatingly semi-casual events.

Now, visit our . Can you spring from here to your poem?

-Constance

Posted on October 7, 2015September 6, 2020 by BBCo

The ABCs of Art and the Lively Lines of Picasso

Picasso was a master of line. Check out his . Try to make an owl of your own.

Now, think poetry. One of the significant ABCs of poetry is sound. Try to write a poem using only this one element. Try to repeat one sound throughout your poem, write a poem based on a singlular sound.

Example:

hoo of an owl

frosted stars twinkle

and the hoo of an owl whittles

a tune on shadowy branches

-Kim & Constance

Posted on October 2, 2015 by BBCo

The ABCs of Art and the Oeuvre de Léger

When I teach children to read and write, I begin with the ABCs—phonics to words to phrases to sentences and beyond. The possibilities are limitless.

When I teach children to appreciate and make art, I again begin with ABCs—line, texture, value, shape, and color. Again, the possibilities are limitless.

When it comes to introducing the potential of shape in visual art, French artist, Fernand Léger (1881-1955) is always invited to the Guild.

In art, we begin by looking. And for this Léger lesson we looked at one of his wonderful "studies" titled, Étude Pour L' Anniversaire, 1950 (pen and ink on paper):

And after a thorough session of looking and discussing all the wonderful integrated shapes, the drawing began:

The strokes were sketchy at first, until the apprentices were satisfied that their shapes echoed the original work.

Next, we inked in the drawing, erasing pencil lines as we went.

When the observing, sketching, and inking was completed, we stood back from our studies and discussed what happens next by exploring Léger works related to his study:

L’ Anniversaire, 1950 (gouache on paper)

Birthday, Two Women, 1950 (oil on canvas)

-Kim

Posted on May 28, 2015September 6, 2020 by BBCo

Moths of Summer

In the scheme of biological classification, butterflies and moths fall into the Order we call Lepidoptera. Typically speaking, butterflies are brightly colored diurnal creatures. Moths are nocturnal and lackluster. But there are some exceptions. Leave it to Van Gogh to lend his artistic curiosity to the Great Peacock Moth that began with a sketch, and ended in a painting.

We began with a close observation of the artists palate, imitating each color with acrylic paint. We stored the colors in pint-sized mason jars knowing that the paintings could not be accomplished in one sitting.

The apprentice painters began by lightly sketching the composition in pencil on canvas, all the while marveling at Van Gogh’s marvelous composition.

Next came the brushes, the paint. The artists began with the lighter colors, blocking in the delightfully organic shapes, until layer upon layer, the moth began to emerge in its surroundings. The last colors to be painted were the deep blue-green outlines and the popping crimson accents.

I’d like to imagine Van Gogh smiling.

Metamorphosis is transformation.

-Kim

Posted on May 21, 2015 by BBCo

The Tempo of Texture

Once again, I was inspired by the lovely textural drawings, especially, Tempo by artist, Vija Celmins as a starting point for exploring texture with my students:

"I really didn't fudge around or erase or smear. The graphite went on quite clear."

Texture in drawing translates the sense of touch into the sense of sight.

This particular series of drawings by Celmins are drawing of the surface of the sea. While we did not have the luxury of sitting on the beach observing for hours and hours before diving into our drawings, we did close observations of photographs and film footage to explore the sea's texture. We used prints of the artist's work to study technique as we created our our own textural seas.

Posted on April 11, 2015 by BBCo

Observing Pumice

A few years ago Sara brought me a handful of pumice from Mount St. Helens and so I began the lesson with research of the volcano. We moved from there to the chemistry of carbon. When it comes to Observation, the possibilities are limitless. At last, directed the group of Observers to create a close observation drawing in conduction with the research in their Observation Journals—including a close focus section.

This little jar of fodder has proved more valuable than any textbook. This drawing by Marlo began with value—organic shapes of darks and lights. Once she was satisfied with the large shapes, she began to look for texture, began to mimic what she saw with varied lines on the page. Smaller still, she added dark marks to represent the deep bubbled areas on the volcanic stone. Most significantly, Marlo kept going—she kept looking. Perseverance is a skill that can not be be taught from a textbook.

Can anyone learn to draw like Marlo?

Indeed, YES!

Yes, yes you can. You can draw like Marlo, but first you must learn to observe.

Observation is a foundational academic. Learning to "look closely" across all domains of learning will strengthen the student's Creative Critical Thinking skills. For this reason, Observation exercises should be integrated into the weekly routine to transform this crucial skill to a Habit of Being.

-Kim

Posted on March 16, 2015 by BBCo

Worth 5-minutes of Your Time

Do you want your hands to learn to see?

Not possible you say?

Read on…

Wherever you are this very moment, look around, hone in on a cluster of objects.

First, look. Trace the edges with your eyes.

Next , grab a chunky marker and a piece of paper. Beginning with your eyes focused at the bottom of one of the objects, begin to follow the outline edges (very s l o w l y), moving the pen at the same speed and direction as the eyes. Do not look at the paper—keep your eyes off the page! No peeking! And, do not lift the pen! Try to make the pen in your hand "see" all the curves and bumps that your eye sees.

Don't rush. Making a connection between the eyes and the hand is a slow motion exercise. Only when your eyes are back where you began can you lift the pen from paper to see with your eyes what your hand saw.

You might giggle the first time you try blind contour because it takes a few tries to sync the sped of eyes and the hand. But when you stop giggling, you will see that the lines achieved during a blind contour are unique, beautiful in their own way.

Remember, the ultimate goal of blind contour drawing is to practice "seeing" the world with your hands. If you practice often, you will begin to notice moments when these drawings are more realistic than the drawings you made using eyes only.

-Kim