Jim Dine inspired heARTs by Linda Hess

In my roll as an art teacher I love to expose the students to new artists as well as materials.  Ask any of my students (no matter the age) what is the favorite medium and you will get a resounding "CLAY!".  What better way to introduce my 3rd graders to the work of Jim Dine than with a mixed media project that includes Delight™ Air Dry Modeling Compound!  Let's get to work.

I have my 3rd graders once a week for 45 minutes.  This project took a total of 3 weeks to complete.  Today's blog post shows the first week of creation: the heart 💜

Materials:
Delight™ Air Dry Modeling Compound
watercolor markers (my classroom is stocked mainly with Crayola⌐)
texture tools (plastic texture sheets, wire tools, toothpicks, etc)
damp paper towel

Step one:  I opened each package of Delight™ clay and cut the block of clay into 8 pieces.  Each student received a piece of clay with instructions that the entire piece of clay had to be used during classtime to create a heart.  The piece of clay needed to be divided into however many colors each student wanted for his/her heart.  Once divided, the clay pieces can be placed on the damp papertowel and the towel folded over to keep the clay moist until ready for use.

The really cool thing about the Delight™ clay is that it accepts color easily.  I demoed how to dab the marker onto the clay and then fold/mix the color in.  Deeper color saturation can be achieved by dabbing and mixing multiple times. (PLEASE NOTE:  Colors will dry lighter than they appear while "wet")

Many of the students were so into the mixing process that I had to remind them to start creating a heart!  Others only heard the "dab color and mix" ignoring the separate colors instruction (ooops).  Thankfully I only had one or 2 who ended up with "mud" clay.

Step two:  Begin forming the heart.  

This (of course) is a freeform project.  I demoed how to take a ball and roll it to form a teardrop.  The teardrop was then flattened and then top dented in with the back of a plastic knife to create the heart shape.  If working with children you will need to give helpful hints such as "Do not flatten it as thin as a piece of paper!" "Use gentle pressure" and "make sure it does not stick to the table!"

The students quickly got into layered hearts much to my excitement.  2-3 hearts were stacked (in different colors), snakes of clay were wrapped around, dots of clay embellished...we had a whole lot of creativity going on!!

  Step three: texture and embellishment
I am all about embellishment!  A plain, colored heart makes more of an imact with the addition of texture and design.  We looked again at pictures of Jim Dine Hearts.  They are so vibrant in both color and design.  The 3rd graders immediately started using wire tools, texture sheets, toothpicks and pencil tips to bring the hearts to life.  Oh My Goodness, so gorgeous!!

I always tell my students "Your piece is not going to look like mine or your neighbor's or your best friend's.  It will look like Yours and that is the way it should be". One of the students who ended up with "mud" during the mixing process was much happier with his heart once the detail was added. 

Step four:  Set the hearts aside to dry
I have stackable wire racks (a clearance find a few years ago) that I placed the hearts on to dry.  The wire rack lets air circulate around for more even drying.  If left on the wax paper (seen above) the top will dry, but the bottom may stay damp.  Since I only see my 3rd graders once a week, the hearts had plenty of time to dry by the next class.

Next up:  More pattern and texture!
Materials:
craft sticks (I used the thinker tongue depressor type)
crayons
watercolors

Step one:  Craft stick crayon resist
Next class I had each student retrieve his/her heart.  Then they chose enough craft sticks to create a surface large enough for the heart to be mounted on without overlapping (most took 6-7 for the base and 2 more for the sides).  FYI for teachers: Have students write names on the back of every single stick!  Trust me, it will make life much easier if anyone doesn't not complete the "backing" in one class!

We talked about crayon resist and the need for a firm pressure when creating the patterns on each stick.  Students were instructed to add patterns to every stick, leaving space between the patterns for paint.  Of course I had a few friends who decided to just color and not paint (gotta love those "dare to be different" friends 💜).  Once the patterns were completed, they began to watercolor.

 We let the sticks dry before arranging them to form the backing. (NOTE:  I used 6 sticks,side by side, for the backing and then glued one more stick along each edge to hold the frame together.  Students decided if the glued pieces would become the top/bottom or the sides of the frame.  Once complete, the hearts were glued in place.

Art by Olivia M (left) & Angelina O (rt)

Step two: Wire & beading

This step was completed during the third class.  I predrilled holes, one in each corner and one in the center of each side and the bottom.  Beads and wire were put out. 

As you will see from the pictures, some of my students do not understand the term "less is more" (haha).  They definitely had a great time embellishing.  I sadly had a substitute for this final day, but she sent me process pictures and I got to see the finished mixed media hearts upon my return.

I think Jim Dine would be amazed at how the children were inspired by his art.

 Art by Olivia V (left) & Paige E (rt)

 Madison C (left) & Kendra (rt)

 Jasmine D-V (left) & Isabelle G (rt) 

 Diego R (left) & Alexis C (rt)

Making Magic!

Earlier this month one of my crafty friends sent pictures of some wands she created.
I was so inspired that I thought I'd try making my own wand with clay.

To make the wand you will need:

Creative Paperclay®modeling material
3/16" x 12" wooden dowel
small screw-eye
drill
white glue
trinkets, yarn, or other embellishments
acrylic paint
sandpaper
rolling pin
craft knife

Start by drilling a small hole in the center of one end of the dowel and inserting a screw-eye just far enough to hold it firmly.  This will be what you hold on to while sculpting, and what enables you to hang your wand to dry.

Using sandpaper, taper the other end of the dowel and round off the tip

Coat the entire dowel with white glue, thread a piece of string through the screw-eye and hang the wand to dry.

Roll clay slab to approximately 22" x 14" and 1/16" thickness.  The dowel should be able to fit as shown.

Cut clay along the edge of wand, then into a triangle with curved edge as shown.

Dampen the dowel and place it at the edge of the triangle.  Pull clay up and smooth/attach it to the dowel.  Roll the clay around the dowel.  When the triangle is rolled onto the dowel, wet fingers and smooth as desired.  I chose to leave mine with an irregular spiral along the length.


Hang wand to dry.

While the wand is drying, gather up some embellishments you might want to use for your wand!

After my wand dried, I decided to add another spiral of clay wrapped around the wand with runes drawn into it.

If you choose to do this, cut the strip of clay, attach one end to or near the bottom of the wand by wetting the dry clay then pressing the wet clay onto it.  Continue wetting the dry clay and adding the strip a little bit at a time all the way up to the tip.  The runes were pressed/drawn into with a toothpick AFTER the strip had been attached to the wand.










Paint and embellish as desired.


I used layers and washes in several shades of blue & green, walnut, and iridescent blue, then added a simple gold cord and star drop earring.

Thanks for joining me here again!  As always, play, experiment, and have fun


Tori
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Tori's Tip - Stencils Aren't Just for Painting

I was recently looking through some of the stencils in my file and found this old and well-used heart stencil that I cut from card stock.  With Valentine's Day coming up, I thought it might be fun to try it with Creative Paperclay and one of my favorite texturing tools - scrunched up aluminum foil!

and since I saved the cut-out, I can try it in reverse!

I might use these for card embellishments or a special project for my sweetheart!

This fun technique can be used with just about any stencil and texture tool or texture sheets.

Thanks for joining me here again!  As always, play, experiment, and have fun!

Tori

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Art Dice - Inspirational and Educational

I am lucky enough to be my youngest grandson's art teacher (I may have mentioned this one or two times before ☺) While researching project ideas for his lessons, I was inspired to create these art dice from the book "Tinkerlab - A Hands on Guide for Little Inventors" by Rachelle Doorley.   As she explains in the book "Art dice games are a creative way to jump-start drawing.  Every toss of the dice becomes an opportunity to explore and expand art vocabulary, drawing skills, color recognition, and shape identification."  Of course I don't see any reason they have to be just for kids, I think they can also be a way to practice or try something new in creating my own drawings as well - throwing one or all of them - could be a great way to try a limited palette or try a new style.

Or, you can make dice for any game you choose -  Some suggestions for other types are at the end of this post.

To make the dice you will need:

Creative Paperclay® modeling material

sanding block with coarse or medium grit sandpaper

file or emery board

cardboard

craft knife

ruler

pencil

paints

varnish

plan or pattern - the themes for these dice are:

• Shapes- square, circle, oval, heart, rectangle & triangle)
• Lines - vertical, diagonal, zigzag, wavy, spiral, and dots
• Colors - blue, red, green, yellow, purple, orange

My dice are 1" square, so the instructions will be for those proportions.  If you want larger or smaller dice adjust accordingly.

Begin with a 1/8" thick, flat, dry sheet of clay (for my instructions on how to make a flat sheet click here)

Measure and mark the grids for your die or dice.  If desired, carve a design or indentation into each side.

Cut the squares apart.  Measure and mark cardboard - for each die you will need two 2" square pieces of cardboard with a one inch square cut out of the center

Using the sanding block, sand each side of each square towards the center at any angle greater than 45° (this goes pretty quickly with coarse grit sandpaper, so make sure you don't sand too much off the edge!)  Go as close to the edge of the square as you can though, without losing the edge.

Now test fit four of the squares into your cardboard square form as shown -

If they all fit, wet the connecting sides of each square and place in the form.  Add the second square of cardboard over the first.

Now re-wet an inside corner and apply a roll of clay

Press the clay firmly into the corners to join the pieces, and repeat with remaining corners.  Pull the second piece of cardboard up to the top of the clay square and set it aside to dry.

When the clay is dry, remove the cardboard forms, clean off any stray bits of clay and file the inside corners at an angle (if needed).

Now test fit the top and bottom squares.  You will most likely have to file the edges of these down a bit and increase the angle of the interior of the square to get them to fit within the cardboard forms again.  When you've finished adjusting the top and bottom pieces, make a mixture of clay and water to the consistency of thick paste.  Wet the top rim of the square and the edges of the piece you are adding.  Place a heavy layer of your paste mixture along the inside of the cube then place the top section on and press firmly.  Repeat with bottom piece, then place the entire cube back into the cardboard form to hold the cube together securely while it dries.

When all is dry, remove from the form and sand any rough spots or clean up as necessary.  Paint as desired.

To play with the dice, throw one or all three, then draw a picture using the elements shown on the dice.  It's up to you and the other people you are playing with as to how strict you want to be with the elements - just suggestions? or perhaps you want to play with a timer and each person HAS to use all three of the elements in his or her drawing.  

Blue, Triangle, Diagonal Lines, Go!

Some other suggestions for creative dice making:

• Animal dice - each person would have to act like that animal, make a noise like them, or say a fact.
• Story dice - make dice with different pictures pasted on them and the players have to make up a story about what comes up - or, paste pictures of family and friends on the die or dice and then their photo comes up they have to tell a story (about themselves, or, make something up)
• Monster dice - one or two dice with the names of body parts - eyes, legs, antennae, teeth, etc. one with numbers, and one with colors.  Players make a picture of a monster with whatever they roll, for example, green monster with 6 eyes.

The possibilities are limitless!  The author of "Tinkerlab" suggests textures, emotions, movements, etc.

Thanks for joining me here again!  As always, play, experiment, and have fun!

Tori

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