Monday, November 24, 2014

Pseudo Origami Box.

 I was looking at my auto upload from the past couple of years, and came across this gem from a training a few years ago, and thought I would share.


You might want to click to make it bigger.

I called it a pseudo origami box because if you cut and glue it is not really origami. 






You can put anything inside, but we made them into books in a box. 

To make the pages, you want to fold the paper in a cross and an x then bring the corners together


 It will give you a nice square


you want to glue these together by alternating the direction of the paper and gluing the flat parts of the squares to each other (I'm sorry but Blogger will not let me upload that photo!)

There you have it a quick little project, you can have them write stories or whatever in the book. 

The Artsy Girl 






Monday, September 15, 2014

Back to School Wreath (Dollar Tree)

If you follow my seasonal board it might look like I am obsessed with wreaths. I am a little, but it is a passing thing. Sometimes I am totally on top of it and sometimes I wave at the opportunity to make a wreath as it fly's by. Sometimes this happens even though I bought the supplies months ago. 

This time however, I was totally on top of it! My back to school wreath:

First I cut a ring out of cardboard. and split it into sections.


Then I glued pencils onto the section dividers This helped me make sure I was gluing the pencils at the same place all the way around.


And then I filled between each section with pencils and crayons. all the way around. (I originally bought the box of 64 crayons at dollar tree, thinking that I didn't want to waste the good ones. It was a total fail, those crayons are all in blue wrappers. I can't even.)


I added a strip on the back for the hanger (I ended up putting a string through it)


And its done!

And it only took me a month to show you!

3 pencil boxes - $1 each
crayons- on hand
cardboard- on hand.

The Artsy Girl

Monday, August 25, 2014

What are your stregnths?

My Principal loves themes for the school year. LOVES THEM. If she isn't given one by the district, god help her, she makes one up. Some people are annoyed by this, but I think its cute. She even had a non-theme theme year, that didn't go too well. Next years theme is strength. Specifically what are your strong traits. We are part of a pilot program (another thing she loves) about looking at your strengths as a teacher/student (I think that's the thing, I'll change this info as I learn more.)

As part of this process she gave everyone a book called Strengths Finder 2.0 which tells you your top 5 strengths as a person, and what they mean. Most people rolled their eyes at this because, it is a homework assignment, but you guys: I LOVE TESTS! I really do. I don't even care if you know. I will take a test to tell me my top 5 anything. Sometimes it is super enlightening, as I defiantly believe there are things about yourself you might not notice otherwise.  In light of this years theme I decided to take some other tests to tell me how I am, and how I relate to the world around me. I will of course link to them, as I know you don't care about my answers, but about your own. If I take more over the year I'll add them later.

Strengths finder 2.0
So this was intense. You buy the book, get the code out of the back, and go online to take the "quiz" which consists of selecting on a spectrum which of 2 choices you agree with more. The thing is, sometimes the choices aren't opposites, and the often aren't mutually exclusive. But you only have 20 seconds to make a choice and you cannot go back. It was really nerve wracking! But I got my top 5 strengths. Here they are, with antidotes about why they are so spot on.

Strategic-Sort through the clutter and find the best route.
Sometimes in meetings I make a suggestion and everyone thinks I'm nuts, or out of my depth because they are still hung up in the minutia of the discussion. They usually land at the same decision as me, but hours later.

Responsibility- Take psychological ownership of projects and have a hard time letting things go.
I haven gotten physically ill from missing a deadline. The worst are the deadlines I forgot I had, because I committed to something in passing and promptly forgot about it.

Relater- You are drawn to people you know, and must find a way to relate to someone to like them.
I am so reserved and not myself around people whom I have nothing in common. I have been tricked and led to believe I have things in common with people, only to find out that no, I cannot relate to them at all, so I wait now.

Restorative- Love to solve problems.
Untying knots is relaxing. I have problems with this one because I am supposed to let my students solve their own problems. It's hard.

Achiever- Incredible drive, must achieve something everyday.
I once had a biology professor in college tell me that because I scored high in the artistic/visual intelligence learning style that I should drop his class because I wouldn't do well. I told him to F off, that he didn't know me, and proceeded to make the only A in that class. I have since heard that he doesn't make his classes take the learning style test anymore. This probably would have been #1 if I was still in college.

My whole team had to chart our strengths to see where we as a whole were strong. We are amazing at relationship building. We suck at influencing.

I made this shield as an example for a Heraldry project and used my strengths as the symbols I used.



Sorting Hat Quiz
Ok this one is a little annoying, because you have to join the website, "buy" your supplies to attend Hogwarts (which includes a mini quiz to match you with a wand) and THEN you can take the quiz. I promise you don't have to continue playing the game anymore after you take the quiz. Really.
My results:
BOOM! I've been saying it for years, and I finally have J.K. approved conformation. Other less reputable quizzes have told me that I should be in Hufflepuff. But its not hard to put anyone in a house who takes anyone, am I right?
Important Ravenclaw info:
House colors are Blue and bronze.
Element is Air
Animal is an Eagle (not a raven?)
Motto: "Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure."
Traits: Inelegance, Wit, Wisdom, Creativity, Originality, Individuality & Acceptance.


Which Doctor are you?



















This one is obviously not serious, but LOOK! I got my Doctor. Love him. 


Friday, August 8, 2014

Printmaking TAEA

Hello Region 13 Mini conference people! If you made it to our workshop thank you! If you made it here because you heard good things welcome! This post is by no means complete. I will be updating it after the presentation with photos of the couple of processes that we did not have time to re-make for photos.  I am also going to update as soon as I figure out how to link a document in Google Drive to this so you can have the lesson plans digitally. Of course you don't need the lesson plans, because these methods can be used in any lesson you make up. Let me know if you have any questions or want to add anything helpful.
-N.L. & D.C.

Block Printing

For both process below, to finish the project, ink the block with a brayer then print on paper using either a baren or printing press.

 Linoleum-Once you have decided on a design you would like to carve, draw the design on the piece of linoleum with a washable marker. Keep a wet sponge or paper towel handy so that mistakes can be “erased” from the block.  Your design will be a mirror image, so keep that in mind if including text. Next decide if the area you drew is going to be carved away, or if the negative space is going to be carved away. Once you have decided, begin carving with the cutting tool, away from your body. Go slowly, and try to keep the tool steady…sometimes the tool can jump if your carving is inconsistent.  A bench hook will keep the linoleum still while cutting without putting your fingers in danger of being cut. Here is a link and another and another to more info.

Carving along the drawing

Rolling with the brayer

Using a spoon as a barren
The print!

Foam- Once you have decided on a design you would like to carve, draw the design on the piece of clean foam (like a meat tray) with a washable marker. Do not press too hard, sometimes the marker can create a dent in the foam. Also be careful not to lean your body weight on the foam, as that can also leave dents.  Keep a wet sponge or paper towel handy so that mistakes can be “erased” from the block. Your design will be a mirror image, so keep that in mind if including text. Next decide if the area you drew is going to be carved away, or if the negative space is going to be carved away. Once you have decided begin carving the design with a wooden stylus or a ball point pen, being careful not to dig completely through the foam.


Drawing with marker

Digging in with pen. use short strokes so you don't tear the foam.

Ink is rolled out

The Print!

Collagraph
Used by Artists such as Romare Bearden and Glen Alps, this is a process that became popular during wartimes in the USA due to lack of metal. You can use a brayer or paint brush or even rags to get the ink into the places you would like on your plate.  If not using a printing press to print, put some newspaper between the paper and your hands while printing for a nicer result. Here is a link and another to info.

Cardboard- Use varying types of cardboard to cut out and create a design. Arrange cardboard on a larger piece of cardboard or thin wood and glue down. You can also use pre-cut adhesive fun foam or thin found objects to make this project quick and easy for younger students.  It is recommended to varnish the plate if you plan to reuse it multiple times. 
Cardboard with glue as a varnish.

Ink rolled out.
Use a rag to get ink into the nooks and crannies.

The print.


 Glue- On cardboard or thin wood draw your design with pencil, then trace with glue. Tacky glue is recommended, but any think glue that doesn't spread easily will do.

A collagraph with glue
Other materials- You can use anything to make a collagraph as long as it is not too thick, and you varnish it before printing.
Fun Foam

Organic found objects. 

Oil pastel- On glass/plexi glass/ or lamented paper draw a design in water soluble oil pastel. Using a sponge, wet a piece of paper then put the wet side down on the image. Using a sponge wet the back side of the paper that is face down on the image. Rub the back of the paper with your hands or the back of the spoon. Peel up the paper and let dry. 

laminated paper.
drawing with water soluble oil pastel.
Wet the paper
place wet side down and wet paper again.

The print!
If you know a way to make the pastel print work better let us know. 

Ink- 1. Roll a thin layer of ink on glass/plexi glass/ or laminated paper. Place paper on top of ink, and carefully draw an image on the paper without putting hand down. Peel paper up and you should see the image that was drawn on the back in ink on the front.

rolling ink on laminated paper.

Careful not to lay hand down when drawing

The result with too much ink. 

The result with a thin layer of ink
 2. Quickly paint a design on glass/ plexi glass/ or lamented paper with printing ink. Place a piece of paper on the painting, rub with hands, and pull paper up.

Painting with ink on laminated paper. 

Press paper into ink.

The print!

Screen- One inexpensive method of screen printing uses fine a mesh such as tulle or pantyhose pulled taut in an embroidery hoop. The design can be drawn directly on to the mesh or traced from a pre-drawn sketch. Use Mod Podge, glue, masking ink, or acrylic paint to mask all areas with that you want to remain white. After thoroughly dry, draw a line of ink across the top of the image and carefully squeegee the ink down in a single stroke, if possible. An old credit card or hotel room key can be used as a squeegee. Carefully lift to reveal your image.
Tulle pullet tight in hoop

Draw design, block out areas you want white

Paint area on top of wax paper! (wax paper not shown :( )

When paint is dry lay down ink and pull through with credit card or squeegee (even a rubber spatula.)

The print!
Found object- Just as the name suggests this type of printing is created by finding objects in the environment, dipping them in ink or paint and printing on paper. This creates some very nice backgrounds, but can also be used as the main focus.




 Gyotaku- You can use a real fish or rubber fish. Students can use a brayer to roll ink on the fish or a paint brush. After the fish has been inked take a piece of lightweight paper and place it on top of the fish.  Then rub the body of the fish with the palms of your hands and “tickle” the fins with your fingers to get all the parts of the fish on the paper.  Optional: Have the students create stamps out of foam, and print them red in the corner and sign their name. Here is a link and another for more info.

Roll out ink on fish

Rub the body and "Tickle" the fins. 

The Print!

Signing prints
When your print is dry you are going to want to sign the work. The proper method of signing prints is directly under the print using a super sharp pencil. Align the title to the left, and your signature on the right. In the middle you address the type of print that you have created.
AP- Artists proof. This is good for a trial run of a print, a first print, or if only one print was made.
3/20- The number the print was made in a series. This is the third print in a series of 20.
MT- monotype
Signed print!