NEW Painting and Drawing Materials Demo

Watercolor Color Pencils

Mr. Sketch Gel Crayons

Liquid Watercolor Spray bottles --Stencils

India Ink dot markers

How will these materials help you to best express your idea?



https://www.thoughtco.com/watercolor-pencils-and-water-soluble-crayons-2579319
https://cassiestephens.blogspot.com/search/label/bingo%20daubers

Black History Month 2019

Black History Month Mini-Lesson

Kehinde Wiley

Artist Kehinde Wiley was born and grew up in Los Angeles, California.  

He was one of six children. When Wiley was a child, his mother recognized his artistic talent and enrolled him and his twin brother in after-school art classes at the age of 11. "So we were on buses doing five-hour round trips every weekend to go study art which was challenging and he sometimes saw as a "pain...".   My brother ended up in love with medicine and literature and business - he's in real estate and finance now. But me, I really got the art bug."

At the age of 12, in 1989, Wiley was one of 50 American children who went to live in Russia where he studied art and the Russian language.

His experiences growing up as a young black man in the United States would strongly influence his artistic career. He says, "I know how young black men are seen."

Wiley graduated from the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts, where he had the opportunity to travel to several Los Angeles galleries.

He earned his BFA from the San Francisco Art Institute and MFA at Yale University School of Art. While at art school, he says that the most important lesson he learned was to create art that he wanted to make, not art that his professors wanted him to make.
                                           

Portraits of young, African American men rendered in the style of the old masters 

Wiley has recently had the honor of being selected by President Barack Obama to paint his presidential portrait which hangs in the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. 

“I think my life has been transformed by the ability to take things that exist in the world and look at them more closely. I think that’s what art does at its best: it allows us to slow down,”

Do you ever see yourself reflected in art?
How do you represent yourself in your art?

*Kehinde Wiley has an exhibit at the St. Louis Art Museum featuring portraits of people who live in St. Louis.  This exhibit is free and closes in a short time on February 10.  See if your grownups will take you!

https://artclasscurator.com/kehinde-wiley-art-lesson/
https://www.theartstory.org/artist-wiley-kehinde-life-and-legacy.htm

Pom Pom Embellishment - Fiber Studio

Pom Pom 

Not too tight!  

Cut an arms length of string to tie the yarn you just wrapped!

Step 3 is the most important!  Tie tightly front and back 3 times!  

Scissor Safety!  Sewing Shears do not leave Fiber Studio!  Sewing Shears are a table tool!  *Safely Carry Scissors-closed, in hand, pointed down.

How will you embellish your art in other studios?
Are Fiber materials the best materials to create your idea?
******************************************************
New Tool in the drawing studio:

Light Box

*Pencil ONLY!
*Do not move light box from the counter top.
*Turn Power off when finished.
NO SHARPIE!

Trace Parts of a photograph, an original drawing.  If you trace work by another artist, it must be altered so that it is not recognizable as the original artist.  

http://mollymoocrafts.com/pom-pom-crafts/
https://www.fiberfluxblog.com/2015/08/finger-knit-braid-scarf-for-kids.html
https://www.swiss-miss.com/2012/07/diy-pompoms.html
http://smallforbig.com/2013/05/diy-pom-pom-chandelier-neon-yarn-craft-mobile.html

Yayoi Kusama - *Studio Habit of Mind: Understand the Art World

"I convert the energy of my life into dots of the universe"

 Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama is a painter, collage artist, sculptor, performance artist and installation artist.

Yayoi Kusama is known for her repetitive polka dots and mirrored rooms that create the illusion of infinite space. 

 In addition to polka dots, pumpkins have been a source of inspiration from her childhood.

Her dream as a child was to become a painter when she grew up.  From the age of 10 she started painting many pictures.  Her mother didn't want her to be an artist, she wanted Yayoi to learn manners and marry a husband.

She moved to New York to escape.  With a suitcase full of drawings she arrived in New York to pursue her career as an artist. In NYC she devoted herself to her art. She showed her art work next to Andy Warhol and Pop Artists.  Eventually she moved back to Japan.

As a child she began to seeing polka dots everywhere she went.  Kusama has dealt with mental health challenges since a young age which cause her to have visions or hallucinations (see things that actually aren't there), visions that have inspired much of her work.  She says, "I have a flood of ideas in my mind. I just follow my vision."

Art is a healing process for her, she describes her work as therapy

She paints everyday.  "My art was made to change people's minds, I hope it can make the world more peaceful."
Yayoi Kusama has had a successful 65-year-long art career but recently her popularity has skyrocketed and has become a social media sensation. 

Based on museum attendance the 88-year-old “Polka Dot Princess”was named the world’s most popular artist. She hands-down beat out all of her male and female competition.

People have been flocking to her Infinity Mirrors exhibit at major art museums across the country.  Museum goers wait in long lines for this sold out exhibition.

With mirrors, Kusama creates the Illusion of infinite space.  What is an Illusion?

Let's take a virtual look inside several of the Infinity Mirror rooms.

We will be creating an infinity space.  An important part of Kusama's work is for viewers to interact with the art. We will use stickers as done in the Obliteration Room and a mirror like surface.  You may add stickers or dots with sharpie.  As with any museum visit there are expectations that must be followed.

"More and more, I think about the role of the arts, and as an artist, I think that it's important that I share the love and peace." - Kusama

As you think about your art, What do you want to share in your work?

Has art ever helped you express an idea or emotion when you were feeling a certain way?
As an artist, do you want the viewer to interact with your art?

Sources:
*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmFBlE4cg3w&disable_polymer=true
*https://observer.com/2015/04/the-stunning-story-of-the-woman-who-is-the-worlds-most-popular-artist/