Writing and the Visual Arts: Student Work

Well I had an incredible time at the Fernie Writer's Conference.  This is my attempt to get a picture of the Ghost Rider, hopefully this doesn't bring me bad luck or something!


The kids were a pleasure to work with.  They created some truly amazing pieces.

Thanks so much to Sally, my partner teacher for this workshop as well as Natalie who coordinated everything, baked the snacks, brought us lunch, you name it!

By the end of the workshop the kids had created :                                       - a gel glue batik shirt of their main character                                             - a paperbag book outlining their story                                                    - and a mixed media canvas of their main character containing text from the story 

The shirts were made using the batik method I described in one my first ever posts HERE.                                 We slid a piece of cardboard covered in wax paper inside the shirt to keep both the glue and paint away from the back of the shirt. 

For the canvas we started out with a framed gessoed canvas.  I then had the kids add texture to the canvas using this product.  They applied it using plastic spatulas and then used a variety of tools to make imprints and designs into the Spackle.

The pink turns white when dry, about 6 hours.  The Spackle product adheres very nicely to the canvas yet is easily scraped off tools and the work surface for easy clean up.

After the canvas was dry the kids painted them with acrylic paint.

For the character they cut the general shape out of some heavy corrugated cardboard.  These were then coated in gesso.  If the kids wanted add texture to them they could embed burlap, cheesecloth or crumpled tissue paper into the gesso.  Once dry the excess is just cut away.

When the cardboard had dried they were painted with acrylics and additional layers added.   Some added eyes, clothing and accessories in extra layers.   These were created using more cardboard that was gessoed and painted and then glued onto the main shape.

When the canvas was dry text was added with sharpies, paint, or even cut out of cardboard.  Normally you would include a "found" item into the collage but instead I brought a bag full of collected items for the kids to search through.  These could be painted or altered and then glued on with tacky glue.

After all the layers are attached the canvas was then sealed with a coat of Mod podge.

 The how to on the paperbag book was outlined in the last POST.   After everything was completed the kids selected one item to present at a showcase at the Fernie Arts Station. Terrific work everyone! 

Thanks so much for inviting me.

Windsocks for Father's Day

Grade 1 completed Koinobori Windsocks for their Father's Day project this year.

I have posted the instructions for this project before here but I wanted to give you a few hints when working with a larger # of kids.

Before doing our glue batik I had each student to a practice version on paper.  We folded it in half and practiced keeping our heads at one end and tails at the other.

We also made sure if we were writing in words that that they were not upside down once the fish was folded over on the center line.           The fabric has a layer of wax paper underneath and then is placed on an art board.  This year I was fortunate to find a nylon sportswear fabric on sale so these windsocks should hold up quite well in the Canadian weather.( Incidently the one my son made 2 years ago still looks as good as the day he brought it home lasting thru all kinds of weather) 

I drew a line down the center of the fabric to keep the kids on track.         Once they completed the side closest to them I flipped the art board around and they worked on the other side. 

When they had finished applying the gel glue we put them to the side to dry overnight.

The next day we painted them with acrylic paint which was thinned out with a litlle water.     I asked them to cover the entire area so no white was showing.

Set these aside to dry.

I then soaked all 44 windocks in a wash tub of hot water for an hour or so.  I scrub each windsock a little bit  with a nail brush to make sure the glue has released and to take off any excess paint the kids layered on.  Place in the dryer to dry.            This year instead of using wire in the casing to form the opening of the windsock I used large plastic ties.  Don't know why I didn't think of this before!

With the help of a trusty parent volunteer (thanks Ruth!) we strung the socks on natural bamboo plant stakes (extra long ones) from the garden store.  We used a little duct tape to ensure the sock will stay tied on to the pole.   That's it....great job Grade 1!...every person walking down the hall had to stop and admire these windsocks and I'm sure all the Dads will be thrilled.

Earth Day Glue Batik

Continuing with our "Big Blue Marble" theme here is a glue batik pillowcase we made in honor of Earth day.

Very easy for the kids to do and you get fantastic results.

I have a beginner glue batik post here.  For this project I took a piece of gator board (it's like a plastic version of corrugated cardboard) and I covered it with some wax paper.  You could use an art board or a piece of cardboard just don't forget the wax paper. 

You want it as close to the same size as the pillowcase as you can get.  My gator board is smaller so I'm making my design smaller to account for this.

Slip the pillowcase over top the board.  This keeps our design from bleeding thru to the other side.

It helps if you have a reference photo.  You also need washable gel glue.  I use the dollar store brand or Elmer's school glue.

To get a nice round earth I'm taking a large bowl and tracing my design in with pencil.

Don't worry too much about the pencil lines...as long as they are light the tend to get washed out later.

Here my helper Tika the cockatiel gets into the act.

Once you have traced out your design in pencil you can start going over your lines with the gel glue.  Draw it out just like you did with the pencil.  Any areas you want to stay white fill in with the gel glue.

Let dry....it will take about 24 hrs. Make sure to leave the board in the pillowcase.

Before painting just lift the pillowcase up a bit in case it is stuck to the board but keep the board in place for painting.

Using acrylic paint, paint in your design.   To stop the colors from mixing you can let one area dry a bit before painting next to it with a different color.

Here I painted the land parts first and by the time I went to paint the ocean the edges of the land area was dry.

Fill in your background areas.  You can water your paint down a bit to make this go faster.   I kept my border white as my board is smaller than my pillowcase and I like the way it looks.

Let the paint dry with the board in place.

When the paint is dry remove the board and soak the pillowcase in very warm/hot water for about 30 minutes.  If the glue has not washed away by then you can scrub it a bit.  Dry and you are good to go.


That's it.  I LOVE using the gel glue batik method and there are numerous applications.  You can even design your own fabric to then create with.

Give it a try.

Before I forget here is an updated "big Blue Marble" project I did with Grade 1.  We traced out our circles and then painted but I had them paint the entire Earth marble blue. 

Then using templates I made we traced out the land on green or brown contsruction paper.  We glued this on our blue marble and sponged on some clouds with white paint.  I found this was easier for them.

Click on the photo to see bigger.

Children's Day - Koinobori Windsocks

May 5th is Kodomo no Hi or Children's Day in Japan.


These Koinobori or flying carp windsocks are a great way to celebrate. I have 2 tutorials to share... the fabric version with the glue batik and a bit of sewing and a easier version using paper and pastel resist.

So let's get started

Fabric Version

MATERIALS REQUIRED:

some lightweight fabric, cotton works well

Elmer's gel glue

acrylic craft paint

paintbrush

sewing machine

12-14" length of wire

pole...we used a natural bamboo garden stake

fishing line

fishing swivel (optional)

I had the kids draw out their design first on paper. Because we are making a fish with 2 sides but folding it in half it's good to get them to practice how it is laid out.


Cut a piece of fabric approximately 24 inches long and 16 inches wide. Lay flat on top of some wax paper. We also have ours on top of an art board so I can move it easily.

Using Elmer's blue gel glue recreate your fish design on the fabric.


This glue works the best when doing this glue batik technique. It is the no run gel formula. I find the glitter version hard for the kids to squeeze and the clear version will run messing up your design.

We did half of ours using the glitter glue so you could see our design in the picture.


Put aside and let dry overnight.






Using watered down acrylic craft paint..put some color on to your fish.



Set aside to dry.

When dry soak in some hot water in a sink or bathtub...after about 20 minutes the glue will have softened and dissolved. You may have to lightly scrub or agitate it to remove the glue.

Let dry.



Fold over about 2 inches at the mouth of the fish and sew the width of the fish creating a pocket for our wire.

Insert the wire at this time.

Bring the ends together forming a circle for our gaping fish mouth. Twist the ends on top of each other... you may have to use some pliers.




Your fish mouth should look like this.



With right sides facing sew a seam the length of the body..sew up the tail leaving a small gap it the center of the tail to allow some air to flow thru your wind sock.







Here is the gap. Cut away excess fabric from the seams. Turn the fish right side out.




Your windsock should look like this.



Attach a 16 inch piece of fishing line to each side of the mouth. I find the fishing line is stiff enough that you can just poke a hole thru the fabric with it.

Try to get the places where you are attaching the line to be even to one another.

Attach to pole. You can use a fishing swivel to prevent the windsock from getting tangled in the wind.

Paper version

MATERIALS REQUIRED:

heavy brown kraft paper..I used a paper bag

scissors

pastels

tempera paint

paintbrush

glue

string

pole

Take your paper or paper bag and cut a piece 16 inches wide by 20 inches long.

Fold in half.

Trace out a fish shape. Cut out shape keeping as much of the fold on the top of the fish as you can.



Open up flat and start coloring in your fish using pastels.




When finished carefully crumple up.

Open up flat and smooth out a bit. Taking some tempera paint, paint over top the pastel. It will resist the paint and cause it to bead up making it look like your fish is underwater.

Cover your fish completely.

Let dry.






Take 2 pipe cleaners and loosely twist together.

Run a bead along the inside of the mouth edge of the fish.

Roll the edge up enclosing the pipe cleaner.

You can use some clothespins to hold it into place until it dries.

Run a bead of glue along the outer edge of the fish. Leave a gap in the tail to let the air flow thru the windsock. Fold the fish over.

You can hold it into place with some clothespins until it dries.

Bend the wire into a circle to form a gaping mouth.

Poke a hole into both sides of the mouth to attach the string.

Attach to pole.

Here is our paper version.

Give it a try and have your own Children's Day parade.

see you next time

gail