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Archive for the ‘High School’ Category
Tuesday, February 28th, 2012
Our studio space is blessed with an entire wall of windows on our South side. That means, in the months of short days, the sun’s glorious rays stream right in…to our eyes. That kind of direct light is great for feeling like a cat- relaxed and drowsy, but sometimes tricky for working.
As you can see, we’ve turned the slight architectural inconvenience into opportunity! Every November we break out the tension curtain rods and dream up aesthetically pleasing ways to shade our worktables. I’ve been a little obsessed with rainbows and the spectrum lately so with lots of help from our volunteer, Cindy, and more help from other volunteers we put this together.
The papers might remind you of Eric Carle’s pictures. Most of them were made in one of my Eric Carle Tissue Paper Workshops. The workshop goes over the nitty gritty of adapting Eric Carle’s processes and techniques to create unique collage papers with students or just yourself. Learn more about my workshop here.
You could make similar papers yourself or with kids using with paint, tools like our Silly Brushes, and tracing paper. We put the papers in plastic document sleeves and then used a 3-hole-puncher to make holes for the 1″ binder rings that connect the sleeves together. We’ve used this display method before and have noticed teachers and parents taking pictures and talking about how they would use the idea in their class or at home.
Is this idea inspiring to you? Tell us about how you might or have used tension rods, document sleeves, and binder rings in your home or classroom.
Tags: binder rings, document sleeves, Eric Carle, Eric Carle Tissue Paper Workshop, Eric Carle-Inspired, paint, paper, tension rods, windows
Posted in Elementary School, High School, In the Studio, Middle School, Nurturing Creativity at Home, Painting, Preschool, Printmaking, Professional Development, Studio Favorites, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Thursday, February 16th, 2012
If you’ve visited the studio, you may have noticed that we’ve have out only a select set of materials for you and/or your family to play around with. For instance, you may have come when we’ve offered collage paper and glue, but no scissors. Maybe you wondered if we a.) misplaced our scissors or b.) thought we wanted to play a bad joke . The answer is c.) none of the above. We intentionally limit the variety of materials offered in our projects for many other reasons. I’d like to discuss those reasons here and invite you to respond.
One reason we offer specific or limited materials is to inspire creative problem solving. When a guest asks for a material we’re not currently offering, our response is to ask, “what is it you’re trying to do?” After hearing about their idea, we might follow up by asking “how might you do that with what’s here?” and then help them come up with ways to explore, or alter their idea. The goal is to help our guests, kids and adults alike, see the possibilities inherent in materials, and use them in ways they hadn’t thought of before.
Its like the idea that you could have lots of friends that you know only a little, or a few friends you know really well. When we have fewer materials to work with, we have the opportunity to get to know each of them really well. An unlimited choice of materials has its place in certain settings, of course, but our goal is to help people really get to know how materials “speak” to and through them. Since the majority of our guests are young children and their families, we encounter many (kids and adults alike) who are new to looking at and making art, so in our setting, limiting materials makes sense. Our Public Art Projects last for multiple weeks, in part, so that regular guests could have multiple experiences with a set of materials. It’s possible that during each visit the materials could be used in very different ways.
Limited materials also encourage our guests to take risks. Recently, during a project in which we offered tissue paper for collage with oil pastels, a boy (maybe 10 years old?) asked for “regular” drawing materials. When I asked him what he meant by “regular” drawing materials, the other kids in his group chimed in (with a tone that suggested they admired his abilities and respected his interest) to say that “he is a drawer”. My response was to start a conversation with him. I learned that drawing was his preferred way to work (perhaps his artistic safe zone), and that he especially liked the Manga style. I asked him if he already had an idea for a picture he’d like to make today, and let him know that collage was about making things with shapes. So, I suggested, “I know you like drawing, but what if for today, you made your idea with shapes? Maybe you could just give it a try?” He did. He worked for a long time, and he was pleased with his work.
Sometimes we offer limited colors to help our guests make discoveries about color or color relationships. For instance, if we offer just blue and yellow paint, a new artist (young or old) might mix them on their paper and “discover” green. In the Studio, we try to watch for these moments and help them be noticed. For another example, if I’m going to select materials inspired by a picture book about a visit to the beach, I might offer all colors, but sort them by temperature: warm colors (red, yellow, orange to suggest the sun and sand) and cool colors (green, blue, violet to suggest the water). Offering limited colors is a way for our guests and students to learn about color without us saying “today you are going to learn about color temperature” when they walk in the door.
Cathy Topal and Lella Gandini also make an interesting note in reference to working with found objects in their book Beautiful Stuff (pg. 90):
“As soon as we limit children to one color, the possibilities open up. Children become much keener and more discriminating observers- and so do the teachers.”
So, this is where I hope you will weigh in. How do you approach materials choices with children or students of any age? Do you offer specific materials? Let them have access to all their materials all the time? Something else?
Tags: challenge, creativity, limitations, resourcefulness
Posted in Collage, Drawing, Elementary School, Found Materials, High School, In the Studio, Infants & Toddlers, Materials, Middle School, Mixed Media, Nature, Nurturing Creativity at Home, Our Approach, Painting, Preschool, Printmaking, Professional Development, Public Art Program, Uncategorized | 4 Comments »
Tuesday, October 4th, 2011
 Dear Art Studio,
For almost fifteen years, my teachers and I have been inspired by Eric Carle artwork and stories. We have read, acted out, and dreamed as characters in every story. We have also created our own Eric Carle inspired art projects. In fact, several years ago in a training, our teachers created their very own “Carle-esque” storybook. This project not only celebrated their teaching talents, but the storybook became a fundraising resource in our school’s expansion.
Our school now has the opportunity to share the world of Eric Carle with the senior center with whom we have developed an intergenerational program. During February of this year, we hope to pair young preschoolers with senior citizens to collaborate on art pieces and a storybook demonstrating the various meanings of love.
I look forward to hearing your thoughts and ideas.
Sincerely, Lisa D.
Thanks so much for writing to The Eric Carle Museum about your intergenerational project plans. Eric Carle’s books are a wonderful starting point for a collaborative art project between young children and adults.
To help get your Eric Carle inspired project underway I have a few suggestions that we’ve adapted here at The Carle in our Art Studio when making tissue paper collages. I’m not sure how many children and adults will be involved in your project, but our Tissue Paper Collage activity page will provide you with step by step instructions and suggestions for getting started. Check out our recent post about Watercolor Wash Collage Papers. We’ve also created a recipe to make liquid starch glue used to attach the tissue papers to the background paper available in a printable PDF on our website’s Activities page. Or you can buy liquid laundry starch in your grocery store’s laundry aisle.
Perhaps one way the adults could contribute to the collaboration is having them prepare the tissue papers for the activity. They could cut a variety of colored and patterned tissue papers into geometric and organic shapes and put them into baskets for the children to collage with.
Another great way to have the children and adults interact is having them read Eric Carle books together before the art activity and discuss Eric’s illustration process.
When your storybook is complete, we would love to see it! Email your students’ Eric Carle inspired art to artstudio@carlemuseum.org and we may post it on the blog. Don’t forget to document the project with photographs and notes; we’d love to see all the work along the way!
Tags: Eric Carle, Eric Carle Theme, intergenerational, senior citizens, Tissue Paper Collage
Posted in Activities, Collage, Elementary School, High School, Materials, Middle School, Nurturing Creativity at Home, Preschool | 2 Comments »
Thursday, September 1st, 2011
A few days ago one of our blog followers, Meg, posted a comment asking for more information on the foam printing activity we do every year as part of our four-day program, Animals, Art and Imagination here at The Carle. Check out the original post here (last photo). Keep reading below for steps on how to make your own.
Even if you don’t own a traditional printing press you can create small foam prints using a pasta machine at home or in the classroom. Foam printing has been one of our most popular activities over the years in classes and for special events. Since we go through so many plates here in The Studio we buy 9”x11” white styrafoam trays in packs of 50 and cut the foam into circles using a sharp X-acto knife*. A circle makes it easy for kids to carry and match up the edges of their print if they want to overlap multiple colors. No matter what shape you choose, just make sure the foam plate you cut fit through your pasta machine.
To etch marks into the foam we use ballpoint pens, clay modeling sticks, wooden dowels and bone folders. Light surface scratches will not show up so the trick is to make marks deep into the foam but don’t go all the way through the foam to make holes or cracks.
Carefully roll block printing ink or tempera paint over the surface of the foam plate. Avoid over-inking by counting 2-3 passes over the surface. More than that and you may gunk up your print or the pasta machine.
Press the plate onto a piece of drawing paper slightly larger than the plate but still narrow enough to fit through the press.
Crank the print through on the pasta machine’s widest setting and be sure to guide your plate and paper as it passes through the bottom. If the plate goes straight into the table it could crack or break. Young children can work together with an adult to print. Older children can print by themselves with help the first couple times.
Peel back the paper and you’ve got a print!
Try overlapping your original print in a contrasting color, or go back into your plate to make additional lines and marks before reprinting it.
Wet prints will dry quickly on a temporary clothes line strung below a table or have students stack their prints on a table to keep work organized.
I recommend this project for ages 3-5 yrs. with one-on-one help rolling and printing. Ages 6 + can roll and print by themselves but should have an adult supervise their rolling and printing technique. If you have several children doing the project at the same time setup two pasta machines and two inking stations on opposite ends of the room to prevent crowding.
*Note: Once the pasta machine is used with paints it should not be used with food. Instead of purchasing foam trays you could recycle trays from the grocery store. Make sure they’re properly sanitized before use. Of course if you don’t have a pasta machine prints can be hand printed instead.
For a similar printing activity, check out The Carle’s Activities page and click on “Printmaking with Foam”
Happy printing everyone!
Tags: cheap printmaking, Easy, printing, printmaking, printmaking activity, printmaking with children, printmaking with kids, prints
Posted in Classes, Elementary School, High School, In the Studio, Preschool, Printmaking | 3 Comments »
Thursday, July 28th, 2011
This past Sunday we had perfect weather for making some fun summer outdoor art here at The Carle! One Sunday a month we have an additional art activity in The Studio for visitors to try. This month, the Studio’s summer intern, Alison, designed the perfect project for a sunny summer afternoon, creating colorful collage papers.
Visitors started in The Studio drawing pictures with magic markers onto color-diffusing paper (very similar to coffee filters).
The next step was bring the drawings outside and get them all wet! Using a variety of liquid watercolors in spray bottles and pipettes to add colors. The magic markers and watercolors mixed together and created beautiful washy designs.
We hung the wet papers in the sunshine….
and in a little while they were dry ready to be cut and made into collages!
The paper we used for this project was donated to us on a giant roll from a mystery source (anyone have an idea where it could have come from??) and you could get similar effects from coffee filter paper or prepackaged color diffusing papers from any art supply catalog. Once this type of light-weight paper is dry, it is thin enough to be cut and glued using just liquid starch glue. Combine handmade papers with store-bought tissue papers at home to create unique collages, cards or gifts using our step-by-step guide here. Make your own liquid starch glue with our recipe here.
We have a printable activity sheet for this project in the works, but until then take a look at some of The Carle’s other printable activities here. For more information about the next Special Sunday and other upcoming events click here.
What’s your family’s favorite outdoor art project?
Tags: Eric Carle Activity, Eric Carle Theme, Special Sunday, Tissue Paper Collage
Posted in Activities, At The Carle, Collage, Elementary School, High School, In the Studio, Infants & Toddlers, Materials, Middle School, Painting, Preschool, Public Art Program | 2 Comments »
Monday, June 6th, 2011
Welcome to Making Art with Children, a blog from the Art Studio at The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art. Whether you’re a parent, educator or artist, we hope the ideas shared here inspire you to create meaningful experiences with children and art.
The Studio is a space for visitors of all ages to explore materials and techniques, ignite their imagination and discover their own visual language. With a commitment to education through art, our goal is to foster creative and intellectual development through making art.
Open during regular Museum hours, the Studio has a staff of artist-educators and volunteers ready to help you experiment with materials. We offer professional development workshops, classes for children, outreach programs, group tours and activities for the visiting public.
Learn more about The Studio’s approach here.
Tags: Amherst, Art Studio, Massachusetts, Museum
Posted in Activities, At The Carle, Classes, Collage, Drawing, Elementary School, Found Materials, High School, Infants & Toddlers, Materials, Middle School, Mixed Media, Nurturing Creativity at Home, On the Road, Our Approach, Painting, Preschool, Professional Development, Uncategorized | No Comments »
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