Artists Make Books

Some artists draw.  Some artists paint.  Some artists sculpt.  AND there are some artists who make BOOKS!

Let's look at how a simple piece of paper can become a work of ART!  Book Art!


First there are many types of Books!
Accordion book:

An accordion book looks like the bellows or folds of the musical instrument with the same name.

Accordion books make for great displays because you can create on both sides of the page.

fill the pages with funny cartoons, fun drawings, or even paste in photos of friends and family. Then stand them up and view all the pages at once!

Evenly fold lengths of paper.  Take it to studios... collage, drawing, printing or how about FIBERS.  What would that look like?  Try cutting an interesting edge on the top of the folded paper.


Pocket Book--Take that Accordion book to the next level!

Before accordion folding the pages of your book,  fold up a portion of the bottom of the paper. Accordion fold and the bottom fold becomes a pocket!

Those prints you made last class, put them in the pockets!  What else could you add to the pockets? Drawings, collages, paintings!  Could you cut shapes into the pockets?

More Accordion inspiration...

Envelopes!
open envelopes and glue.

Could a box become a cover?

Create a fantastic cover for your book!

The cover can truly be a work of art!

Checkout this woven cover with a paper weaving.

Artists even get creative with the binding of the book.  The binding of a book describes the material used to hold together the pages, front and back cover of the book.  Most books in the library use glue or string that sews the pages together.  Let's give it an artists spin 

Try stacking paper and punching a hole at the top and bottom.  Attach a brass fastener in each.  

Try those hole punches again, this time use a rubber band and a stick.

Paper bag books!

Stack a few paper lunch bags.  Fold in half.  Saddle staple or hole punch and tie with ribbon or string.

As an artist you can get creative with the materials you select to become book pages:  maps, construction paper, puzzle pieces, tissue paper

What else can become the pages of a book?????

Key Stage 2:

Hidden Page Book

Fold 12x18 paper in half

Fold outside edges into the center crease

Unfold and fold in half like a book.  Find the folded or crease.  cut 3-4 cuts on the folded side of the paper.  stop at the crease.

Turn the booklet so that it looks like a Mountain Fold in the center.  The hidden page will be found by separating the fold at the "peak" of the mountain.

Star Book

How to fold a starburst book page:

Start with a square of paper and Fold side to side

Fold side to side in the opposite direction and corner to corner ONE TIME!

Fold corner to corner and press in the sides.

ARTIST BOOKS

Did this make you think in a new way about books?  Can you imagine how you might turn a piece of paper or a print into a book?  How will you stretch your work if you choose to make a book? 

Paper Marbling

Artists have many approaches to creating colorful paper.  We use paint, markers, crayons.  What other ways can you think of to apply color to paper? (tape, stamps, stickers, string, fabric, ...)

Marbling is a method to apply color and pattern to paper.  For Centuries, artisans who create books have created beautiful marbled papers.

Let's Marble Paper!

Name on your paper!!!!

Drip paint onto the surface area of the tray!  A little bit goes a long way.  Drip slowly and watch the paint spread onto the surface.

Slowly comb into the surface of the paint with toothpicks, skewers and pointed tools.

Gently lay your paper on top of the painted surface.

Lift paper by the corners and allow the extra paint and medium to drip off the paper.  Be patient!

Rinse in the tray of water and place onto the Drying Rack!

Next Class: 

Make books and Bookmarks

Paper garland or envelopes

Collage or Draw into the pattern.

Art inspired by Music

As you know, artists find inspiration all around!  Music can sometimes be an artists' jam. There are a variety of ways and mediums visual artists express themselves.  Like artists, musicians express themselves in many genres and music styles.  Classical, Rock n' Roll, Jazz, Pop, Country, Rhythm and Blues and Hip Hop.   

Jazz Village, by Romare Bearden

Let's look at artists who have found rhythms and beats INSTRUMENTAL to their work.  How can you tell artist Romare Bearden was inspired by music?

Romare Bearden (1912–1988), Empress of the Blues, 1974, acrylic and pencil on paper and printed paper, 

What musical instruments can you almost hear in Romare 's collage, Empress of Blues? Name as many as you can.

In his collage art, Romare pastes cut out colored papers and parts of photographs together.  (What's another word for Paste?)  The figures become compressed or look sort of smooshed together.  

Wassily Kandinsky is another artists who incorporates the movement of music in his art. He was an abstract artist deeply inspired by music.

Composition 8 (Komposition 8)

He played the violin from an early age and even gave his works of art musical titles: 'Improvisations', Compositions’, and 'Fugue.' 

Improvisation 28

Geometric shapes and curved lines create a sense of movement and rhythm.  Wassily is said to have used the music of Arnold Schoenberg as inspiration for the painting.

Wassily Kandinsky, Fugue 

Ask Mrs. Shanker what Fugue means when you are in music this week.

Another artist inspired by a love of music was Henri Matisse.  

Music was a constant part of Henri Matisse’s life and an endless source of enjoyment and inspiration. He played the violin daily, and his dedication to the structure of playing, learning and technique carried over to his artistic practice.

La Musique

Violinist and Young Girl, 1921

What instrument did Henri play daily?  How is it clear or evident he knows about violin and practice? This subject of music shows up in multiple paintings of Henri's.

We don't have to see musical instruments in the art for the art to be influenced by music.

Painter Piet Mondrian who was known to take his love of music and dancing as seriously as he took his painting.

Jazz music and the ‘boogie-woogie’ style of dancing that was popular at the time became the title of the painting Boogie Woogie. New York City has a bustling energy and night life, and it becomes the abstract subject of Boogie Woogie jazz in his paintings. 

Yvonne Osei, born 1990; EXTENSIONS, 2018; single-channel video

Jazz is a style of music and so is Hip Hop. What is Hip Hop?

Hip Hop is a style of music that has been around for over 50 years and The St. Louis Art Museum is celebrating this 50th anniversary with a special exhibit of art inspired by Hip Hop music. Let's look at how Hip Hop inspired art.

Derrick Adams, American, born 1970; “Style Variation 34”, 2020;

This Derrick Adams artwork is called Style Variations. It celebrates how we as individuals make style choices. Hip Hop music inspires Fashion, makeup, dance, hair styles, lifestyle or what we refer to as culture.  The title of this special exhibit is The Culture.  

Culture consists of beliefs and behaviors that are traditionally practiced by a group of people. culture, which includes such things as what people eat, how they worship, the language they speak, and the art they create.

Aaron Fowler,  Live Culture Force 1’s,  2022

Aaron Fowler is the St. Louis-born artist whose work is centerpiece in the St. Louis Art Museum lobby — a nine-foot-long, five-foot-high, four-foot-wide sculpture of shoes modeled after Nike’s iconic Air Force 1 sneakers.

Aaron says, "I ended up making the Air Force 1's to represent the dance battles and the B-boying aspect of this movement.”  Does anyone know what B-Boying or Dance Battles are? Break dancing is energetic and acrobatic and danced to Hip Hop Music.  Fashion and outfits are fresh and so are the shoes of Hip Hop.

Does anyone know how these circle and rectangles might be related to music?  St. Louis based artist Jen Everett, from the series Unheard Sounds, Come Through.  Speakers create this sculpture from the art exhibit.

More art from The Culture reveals what hip-hop personally means to each artist. Artist Shinique Smith’s graffiti sculpture shows the influence of mural and graffiti art that she created when she was younger. Hip Hop influenced graffiti and murals and this is how Hip Hop influenced Shinique's art.

Have you ever heard of the phrase When life gives you lemons?  Megan Lewis art titled,  Fresh Squeezed Lemonade (2022) is expressing making the best out of life.  Notice her jewelry, fancy glitter nails and hair style.

So many artists are included in the exhibit inspired by Hip Hop music.  One of them we learned about last year during Black History Month.  Can you pick out the painting by Jean Michel Basquiat? 

Hip Hop is more than just music.   It has inspired fashion, dance, art and style.  The Culture art exhibit is at the St. Louis Art Museum until January 1.  The art show celebrates the art of many St. Louis artists.  Here is a quick glimpse.  I hope you get to go to this exciting show.

Does music inspire you?

Does music change your mood, or make you more productive?

How does your Culture inspire your art?