CLAY: COIL POTS
WHAT IS CLAY?
Clay is very fine particles of dirt which floats in a stream or river and then sink to the bottom, where they press on each other and stick together. You can generally find clay along the banks of a river or stream. This occurs by the river pulling dirt down off mountains or hills and dropping in a quiet, still part of the water body.
What is also so cool about clay (besides that it is rather easy to find in Michigan) would be that it is squishy when it is wet, so you can make it any shape you like, and then it dries hard in the sun, fairly fast, as the water evaporates out of the clay. If you dry clay in the sun you can make it soft again just by throwing it in a bucket of water and waiting between one to three days.
If you put your clay or sculpture in a fire, or in an oven (an oven for clay is called a kiln) and bake it to specific temperatures, the clay is even harder and it will not get soft again even if you put it in water for a long time. This is called firing. People first began to fire clay about 6000 BC.
Over the course of history, clay has been used for many important reasons. For example: clay has been used to build houses making bricks and drying them in the sun. Sometimes the builders would fire the bricks to make them harder and more waterproof; generally they always fired their roof tiles, which had to be more waterproof than the walls.
Potters (individuals you make pottery) use fired clay to make dishes, plates, cups, cook pots, and other functional tools for household use.
Sculptors (artists who specialize in creating sculptures) use fired clay to create statues or other three-dimensional works of art which can range from busts, masks, figurines, abstract and non-objective works, etc.
What is also so cool about clay (besides that it is rather easy to find in Michigan) would be that it is squishy when it is wet, so you can make it any shape you like, and then it dries hard in the sun, fairly fast, as the water evaporates out of the clay. If you dry clay in the sun you can make it soft again just by throwing it in a bucket of water and waiting between one to three days.
If you put your clay or sculpture in a fire, or in an oven (an oven for clay is called a kiln) and bake it to specific temperatures, the clay is even harder and it will not get soft again even if you put it in water for a long time. This is called firing. People first began to fire clay about 6000 BC.
Over the course of history, clay has been used for many important reasons. For example: clay has been used to build houses making bricks and drying them in the sun. Sometimes the builders would fire the bricks to make them harder and more waterproof; generally they always fired their roof tiles, which had to be more waterproof than the walls.
Potters (individuals you make pottery) use fired clay to make dishes, plates, cups, cook pots, and other functional tools for household use.
Sculptors (artists who specialize in creating sculptures) use fired clay to create statues or other three-dimensional works of art which can range from busts, masks, figurines, abstract and non-objective works, etc.
RIZZI CITYSCAPES
MONOTYPE PRINTMAKING AND RELIEF PRINTMAKING
Fine art printmaking involves the creation of a master plate from which multiple images are made. Simply put, the artist chooses a surface to be the plate. This could be linoleum, styrofoam, metal, cardboard, stone or any one of a number of materials. Then the artist prepares the printing plate by cutting, etching or drawing an image onto the plate. Ink is applied (in a variety of ways) and paper is pressed onto the plate either by hand or by way of a hand-run printing press. The finished print is pulled from the plate.
Often the first three or four prints are different than the rest of the edition. These first prints are called artist's proofs. The number of prints pulled from one plate is called an edition. Once a certain number of prints are pulled, the plate is destroyed so that more prints won't be printed later, thus ensuring the value of the edition. At the bottom of a print are two to three things always written in pencil. On the left is a number that appears as a fraction (e.g. 6/25), this means that the print is number six of a total of twenty five prints pulled from one plate. This number excludes the artist proofs which are designated with an A/P. In the center of the bottom of the print is the title (if any). At the bottom right, is the artist's name and sometimes a date. MONOTYPE PRINTMAKINGThis is a printing process where the artist doesn't have to worry about all of the "technical" aspects of printmaking and can instead concentrate on being creative. Energy, improvisation, gesture, impulse and chance are all characteristics of this printing process. It is the most "painterly" and immediately rewarding technique available for creating works on paper.
Monotypes are usually made by either painting or rolling inks onto a flat surface. This flat surface can be glass, plexiglas, transparency paper, or sheet metal (etching plate). With the application of pressure the image will transfer onto the paper. Pressure can be the use of an etching or litho press, or hand pressure with a Pinpress, barren or any other means that will exert enough pressure to make the image transfer. The ink used in a monotype can be applied with a brush, rag or rolled on with a brayer. During the printing process depending on the method of application and the thickness and texture of the ink, the ink may spread and blur as it is blotted or absorbed by the paper. Usually the paper is placed on top of the plate used and the transferred image is a mirror image of the original. How the ink is applied and manipulated with all of its individual characteristics will be reflected in the print, which is what makes monotypes so unique. Additionally, mono a prefix that means "one, only, single," reflects that unlike other forms of printmaking that allow the artist to create editions from the same printing plate, each monotype print only is created once. |
RELIEF PRINTMAKINGThis is printing from a raised surface. A simple example of relief printing is a rubber stamp pressed into a stamp pad and pressed onto a piece of paper. Relief printing plates are made from flat sheets of material such as wood, linoleum, metal, styrofoam etc. After drawing a picture on the surface, the artist uses tools to cut away the areas that will not print. A roller - called a brayer - is used to spread ink on the plate. A sheet of paper is placed on top of the plate and the image is transferred by rubbing with the hand or a block of wood, or by being run through a printing press. The completed print is a mirror image of the original plate.
Woodcut - Historical uses: Textiles and other decorative purposes, playing cards, calendars and book illustrations. Woodcut - Artists worth studying: Holbein the Younger, Fred Hagen, Vincent Van Gogh, and James Whistler. |
MOLAS: INDIGENOUS ART FROM PANAMA
The Kuna Indians are the native people who live on a small coral island in the San Blas Archipelago, along the Atlantic coast of Panama and Colombia. Traditionally, molas are created in colorful fabric panels; sewn with reverse-applique technique and used for decorative purposes, as on clothing or furniture, as well as wall hangings. Created with layers of bold colors, exquisite detail stitching, and refined motifs, molas hold great sentimental value and symbolism; they are widely collected as folk art and can be viewed at some of the finest museums in the world -- such as the Smithsonian in Washington, DC.
3rd grade artists created their own molas with colored construction paper and art collage techniques. Similar to traditional molas, students layered bold colors and created specific motifs in the center of their artwork -- using scissors students cut basic geometric shapes in varying sizes to construct their compositions. Additionally, students created symmetrical boarders around the edge of their molas with color and shapes. |
INSPIRING YOUNG ARTISTS
Inspiration often comes from special experiences -- for many Kent City 3rd grade students, ArtPrize 2013 sparked their creative juices.
During their field trip to ArtPrize, many students were surprised and delighted to see several artists who rediscovered items/materials that are often consider trash and transform them into great works of art.
Since September, students have been working hard at home creating miniature sculptures from various household materials that are unused or about to be disposed.
Visit often throughout the year to see photos of the work KCE students have been independently creating after their inspiring field trip!
ART PRIZE FIELD TRIP: GRAND RAPIDS, MI
CHARLES AND RAY EAMES ELEPHANTS
Third grade artists began the school year learning about the history of ArtPrize and participating in "Chair Camp" at the Grand Rapids Public Museum for ArtPrize 2013. Artists Charles and Ray Eames inspired "Chair Camp" along with the miniature paper sculptures of elephants that the students have been creating with small scale colorful details in marker and assembling with scissors and glue.
If you would like to see photos of the 3rd graders at "Chair Camp" or the ArtPrize walking tour please visit the ArtPrize Field Trip page at the top of the website.