Bright Lights, Big City

 What a great project to begin the semester with. I'd seen this idea before and it looked like a perfect, multi-step and multi-media project to welcome the artist back into the studio.

We started with simple watercolor washes to create a sky and water landscape. While our first step dried, we dreamed up real and imaginary cityscapes, then transfered those images onto foam using dull pencils to create our "printing plates." 

We then applied an even coat of printing ink with a brayer and transfered our image twice onto our landscapes to create the illusion of the city reflected on water. Basic monoprint. Fabulous results, yes?

A extra big welcome to my new students! Amber, Chaney, Beau, Ummi, Jabreel, Sumayyah, Aoife (welcome back!), Michelle, Ellie and Raziah (welcome back!).

Drawing with Wire

 Alexander Calder, (1898-1976) changed the whole definition of sculpture with his beautiful kinetic, movable "mobiles" and stationary "stabile" sculptures. He was born into a family of artists. As a child he had his own studio space where he built his own toys and artworks for himself and his sister. I especially love his early wire pieces, so at the end of last semester, we used 16 gauge wire, solder, wood and paint to create the works below. I called it Drawing with Wire. Each piece had to include a kinetic component. Here are just a few pieces. They are very impressive in size, quality and movement. 

Amelia B. created an angel with colorful, moving "solder" gems.

Leah's Penguin with Snowflakes and Snowballs.

Liris created two pieces. Hanukkah House and Christmas House. The wreath and the dreidel both move.

 Gemma with her Statue of Liberty, above and below. 

 AiLi's  Fork, Spoon and Knife!

Wow!! John created a very dimensional bird that has incredible wings that had such flow and movement .

 It's hard to see the great dimension that Topher achieved in the sailboat above. It was a gift for his father for Christmas. Really fantastic!

Lukas created this candle holder. The red kinetic piece on the right side is a gift.

 Sky astonishes us with her strength of vision and personal style. Here's her signiture cat with wings!



Kassi and her creation, above and below! Intricate 20 gage wire was used in detailing. 






Harpo in pink, during break time, acting as inspiration and muse.

 Maggie's "hand's" above. The swirl in the palm had a lot of depth, funnel-like, and the ring was her kinetic piece.

 Hady's Angel holding her cat. So fabulous.

 Amelia created this happy Red Dog. The collar is studded and moveable.

In celebration of her new puppy, Ilana created a giant paw with heart.

 Zarinah's work always has such zest and life. This had a lot of color and presence too.

 Annie's piece Love is Everywhere. Each angle had hearts bursting forth. Lovely Darling!

 

 Dimas (5) joined us a guest artist for this project and impressed us all with his sketches and his final piece.

 Thalia created this wonderful Skull with a Bow. Her work always stands out, doesn't it?

Zoey has been on a fairy and goddess them for a few projects. This one, above, is gorgeous.

 Wow James! He captured the beauty of his initial sketch with the wire. 

He mounted the eagle at a great angle too.

Mia represented herself and two brothers, all stars of course, in this piece she wanted to surprise her parents with. 

To me, Amity has an aura of kindness and focus about her and her Fawn, above, reflects who she is very well.

Simon was sick one week of this project, and then came the second week and created this wonderful owl. Great isn't it?

Look at Jesse's Striking Snake above. Amazing, huh? His kinetic piece on the tail of the snake, a bell, also added an auditory component. He has such a clear vision in the studio about his work from concept through execution. Such a pleasure to watch him at work.

Showing Off!

We packed so much into last semester that I got behind in posting some of the highlights. I'm VERY proud of how the Altered Book Bas Relief projects turned out and I'd love to show them off. Just click to enlarge each cluster of covers. 

P.S. There are more, I just need to photograph them.

Counter clock-wise from top left - Maya's Name & Cupcake Celebration, Charlotte's Kitty, Clara's Magical Sea Creature and Kassi's Unfurling Rose

I love the way Marco created this graphic Celestial cover above. The bottom yellow is a pencil, the middle an easel with the orange triangle and of course, the moon and star above.

Counter clock-wise from top left - Wow! Liam really wanted to create a bold graphic design on his cover and boy did he achieve it! Laura created a flurry of snow and a Christmas tree. Azia did a stylized reindeer. Chick on it and check out the details! Then Rebecca created this Jasper the Wonderdog cover which of course, I LOVE!

Counter clock-wise from top left - Jesse pulled off this complex Dragon symbol. Simon did a fabulous sketch of his computer and translated it into this amazing cover. Love the way he added jewels to the keyboard and curser. Next is Mia's gloved handprint. Awesome.

Above, detail of Faiths Cheetah and Peacock. She used a hole-punch to make the raised spots on the big cat!

Counter clock-wise from top left - Zoey had a theme going last semester and it involved powerful Fairy/Angels with amazing back-stories. Next is James' Dragon and Swords. A very strong piece. Then Thalia created this cover with Dog and Cat and the symbols that go along with each.

Hady did this one above. Recognize him? Totoro! I love the way it turned out so much.

Counter clock-wise from top left - Maggie had a strong vision for this cover, no pun intended. She has a natural boldness to her work and a few people have commented that it has an Egyptian feel. Next Amelia created this wonderful Green Dog with Blue Spots with a powerful sun. Then Faiths. Annie amazing Dragon Toothless, built up with multiple layers of chipboard and a fantastic sunset behind it! Bravo for pushing yourself darling!

Counter clock-wise from top left - Izzy thinks in pictures and it is just a matter of just following the blueprint in her mind! I love her easle with brush and paint. Now Liris, she too gets a vision in her head and doesn't stop until she gets all the details right. This was a hard piece to cut and paint, but I had not doubt, she pulled it off!! Then Marco's wonderful Celestial Cover.