MaryAnn F. Kohl, process art and treasures of childhood

September ArtsyKidsNEWS

You can see the very latest in leafy art ideas at this link!
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Posted below are jpgs of the ArtsyKidsNEWS. The links are not active in the jpegs, but if you go to the link above, you will have full access to the newsletter. 

I hope you will join the mailing list! (I give a free book every month to mailing list members in a random drawing.) 

MaryAnn

 

 

 

 

Alexander Calder Sculpture: MaryAnn F. Kohl (from the Gryphon House blog)

Visit a recent Gryphon House blog post about how MaryAnn suggests being inspired by Alexander Calder, making Wire Sculptures!

http://blog.gryphonhouse.com/2012/04/10/wire-sculpture-for-kids-inspired-by-alexander-calder/

Wire Sculpture for Kids
(Inspired by Alexander Calder)

April 10, from the Gryphon House blog

By MaryAnn F. Kohl

Kids of all ages can be inspired by the great masters of art: inspired to create in their own ways; inspired to learn more about art, the masters, and history; inspired to discover; inspired to invent and experiment; inspired to learn more about everything; inspired to dream.

Alexander Calder is an artist that kids easily relate to because his sculptures are playful, colorful, and, well, they are SCULPTURES, and kids love to create sculptures!

Here’s some fun information about the great American artist, Alexander Calder, you might enjoy sharing with your kiddos.

 

About Alexander Calder
July 22, 1898 – November 11, 1976

Alexander Calder, called Sandy by all who knew him, was born in Pennsylvania and came from a very artistic family: his great-grandfather and his father were both sculptors, and his mother was a painter. When Calder was young, he and his sister used to play with toys and gadgets that Calder made. In 1909, when Calder was in the fourth grade, he sculpted a dog and a duck out of sheet brass as Christmas gifts for his parents. The sculptures were three-dimensional and the duck was kinetic because it rocked when gently tapped. When he grew up, he continued to create such things as games, toys, jewelry, sculptures, drawings, paintings, costumes, movie sets, and more. Through his construction of wire mobiles, he became the founder of a new art form – kinetic sculpture, which means ‘sculpture that moves.’ He created sculptures in sizes from very small to tremendously large, as well as mobiles (suspended moving sculptures), standing mobiles (anchored moving sculptures), and stabiles (sculptures that do not move). Calder is the most famous kinetic sculptor in the world. 

From Page 58, Great American Artists for Kids by Kohl and Solga.
© MaryAnn F. Kohl and Kim Solga 2012

See samples of Calder’s sculptures at www.nga.gov.
Learn and see more about Alexander Calder at www.calder.org.

How to Introduce Kids to Calder and His Sculptures

First, show the kids some of his works on the Internet or in a book, or if you are lucky enough, visit his work in person at a museum or exhibit. Help the kids to take special notice of wires and see the possibility of movement in his work. Teach them the word “kinetic.” Even a two-year-old loves new words!

Examples of Calder-Inspired Sculptures

  

Kinetic Sculptures with Pipe Cleaners

For kids to try their hands at an easy Calder-inspired sculpture, you will need:

Materials:

• Pipe cleaners (or other craft-wire on-hand)
• A base (such as a rock or a block of foam insulation or foam packing. Other ideas: a can of gravel or sand, a cup of playdough, or a colander turned upside down.)
• Decorations (any items you have on hand, like: buttons, paper scraps, stickers, beads, paint chips, bottle caps, hardware nuts, macaroni noodles, etc.)
• Glue or tape for sticking things together (or other ideas like ribbons, string, or stickers)

* You can see I’m always saying “or”, “or try this, or try that, or what do you have on hand?” because there are so many options, and no right or wrong way to do these creative sculptures. Sometimes the special things you and your kiddos find together will inspire the sculpture to take on new life and design in ways MaryAnn Kohl never thought possible, so have some fun!

Basic Steps:

1. The kids push the pipe cleaners into the base, or wrap around a base such as a rock. If using Styrofoam, push the wires in deep so they will be strong and hold up well.
2. Bend the wires into designs and shapes, or leave straight. It’s inspiring to cut the wires into different lengths with scissors. Pipe cleaners cut pretty easily.
3. Add decorations! Buttons will thread right onto the wires, and it’s easy to sandwich the wire between two gluey scraps or two stickers. Pony beads thread well onto the wires as do macaroni noodles and hardware “nuts”. Have fun choosing from whatever is on hand. You can always add cotton balls or even lumps of playdough! No rules! Wide open ideas.
4. Wiggle or blow on or shake or otherwise enjoy the movement of the wires and decorations. Movement = Kinetic.

Note: One of the brain-challenges of this sculpture is bending and arranging the wires so the sculpture will not fall over.

What else?

Did you ever think of hanging the sculpture upside down so it becomes a kinetic mobile? Consider adding strings or ribbons too! This project is absolutely wide open for creativity and possibilities. In fact, I once saw a child hammer nails into a block of sculpture and then drape yarn from one nail head to another and say, “Look at my Calder!” That could work here too! Or add some golf tees or toothpicks. Or, or, or.

I love this kind of project because it is completely dictated by the materials on hand and the willingness of the child to explore.

The project above is "a twist" on the pipe cleaner idea: 
Colorful craft wire wrapped and wrapped around itself,
and stapled to a block of wood  -- Calder in a different direction!

Shown below: Kids work with pipe cleaners and Styrofoam to build Calder-inspired sculptures at the annual Art Night, Mountain View Elementary School, Ferndale, WA, 2011. Each child creates in his or her own way, exploring and discovering through the process of art. The finished product is fun too, but it is the process that captured their creativity and individual thinking.

 

 

MaryAnn and a young friend in North Carolina are shown below, each creating a Calder-inspired sculpture with wire and foam insulation (cut into small blocks). May 2011.

 

MaryAnn F. Kohl is the author of over 20 books about art for children. Her books are published both by Gryphon House and by her own company, Bright Ring Publishing. Connect with MaryAnn online on Facebook, Twitter, and her own blog!

 

Alexander Calder Sculpture

Alexander Calder Stabile Sculpture

Using only pipe cleaners, a rock (or other base like a chunk of Styrofoam), build a "stabile". Add whatever you have on hand. We had buttons and paper scraps and beads to add to ours. Any kind of wire will work, including the new plastic-coated wires in craft stores (in colors).

This idea is found in "Great American Artists for Kids" by Kohl and Solga.

 

Great American Artists for Kids: A Look at Ansel Adams

Ansel Adams was a photographer most famous for his magnificent California nature pictures. However, during World War II, Adams surprised the art world when he traveled to the Japanese concentration camp in Manzanar, California. Here he photographed many of the American families imprisoned there, documenting the hardships and positive spirit of these brave Americans. I believe the pictures from Manzanar are among Adams' best work.

Adams' Manzanar photographs can inspire children to see how powerful photography can be.

How can children be inspired by Adams portraits?

One idea is to encourage children to express themselves through portrait photography. In the page below, second grade children chose, completely on their own, how they wished to be photographed: how to pose themselves, what props if any they might like to include, and also titled their portraits -- all as a way of expressing themselves and their current interests or emotions.

The most successful part of this project was seeing inside children in a different way than I usually saw them. I learned much about children who did not necessarily wish to express themselves through words. I was surprised on many levels -- surprised, delighted, and moved.

For this project, I handled the digital camera and took the pictures, though children could also take on this part of the projects. Children came into the photo area alone and assumed their pose, having previously thought it over (and some practiced). I snapped the picture, and later each child was able to view the picture on the computer where they chose a title and talked a little about it if they chose.

I recommend you explore portrait photography with your kids,  inspired by Ansel Adams. There's more to the photo than meets the eye.

 

~ MaryAnn

* This project can be found in the book Great American Artists for Kids
by MaryAnn F. Kohl and Kim Solga. The book is available in paperback
and in an eBook format. 

More information about Ansel Adams.  Wonderful display of his nature photos.

In the Style of Diebenkorn (Stain Painting)

 

click on the book's pages above to see a larger version in a new window

© Note ©
These two pages are copyright protected. 
You may enjoy them for personal use, 
but may not share or disperse them in any form.
For permission to reprint or share, contact [email protected] 
© copyright MaryAnn Kohl 2011 

Richard Diebenkorn

April 22, 1922 - March 30, 1993

Diebenkorn was born in Portland, Oregon in 1922, and grew up in the San Francisco Bay area where the colors of fog and sea and mist were his everyday companions. His paintings reflect his ocean environment and exposure in abstract works, especially through his famous "Ocean Park Series" paintings.

Though Diebenkorn did not use stain painting technique, children can create paintings that reflect their own special colors too, in an easy to do project called "Stain Painting" based on Diebenkorn's abstract designs. Use bits and pieces of art tissue painted onto paper with water. Once blurred and wet, the art tissue is then removed, leaving a captivating blurred stain on the paper. (Some artists prefer to leave their art tissue on the paper and not peel it away.)

Pages 76 and 77 in "Great American Artists for Kids" shows an example by Richard Diebenkorn as well as four different artworks by children of various ages.

Kids love how the colors blend and blur and bleed from the art tissue, and yes, you can use crepe paper too! Enjoy this project, compliments of Bright Ring Publishing! If you have scans or pictures of what your kids make, send to MaryAnn and I can post them on this blog if you like.

 

Cut-Up Repeat (in the style of Matisse)

Matisse Cut-Up Repeats

Try these wonderful bold cut-outs, much like the style of Henri Matisse.

Make a little stack of 5 or 6 colored squares, and staple once in the corner to hold together. Then cut one shape from the stack. (Little kids need less paper to cut through easily, and older kids can experiment to see how many they can handle.) Some kids can cut free-hand like Matisse, and others will prefer to draw a shape first. 

Glue the shapes in any pattern or design on a background paper. Black or bright blue is particularly effective, but any color works fine.

Matisse's cut paper leaves spray across the paper in wild abandon, and yet placed with care and great visual pleasure for the viewer.

 

 

 

 

Polynesia by Matisse

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Matisse cuts his famous paper shapes. When he became too ill to paint, he invented his wild and wonderful paper shapes. He was called a Fauvist, which means "wild beast", for no one had ever created art such as this before.

 

Matisse is shown in his studio in his home in France with his artwork surrounding him. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Matisse poses in his garden. I think his face shows the kind of person he was, as beautiful and cheerful as his artwork.

When he became too ill to leave his bed, he painted his grandchildren's images on the ceiling above his bed using a broom handle with a paintbrush tied to it so he could enjoy looking at them when they were not with him. That tells me everything I need to know.

 

More Kid Art Works after Matisse

Exploring the Art Museum with Kids

 
Exploring the Art Museum: 

Making the Most of Your
Child's First Visit

by MaryAnn F. Kohl

 

Taking children to an art museum can be an outing that is both fun and educational. You do not need to be an expert or an art historian to introduce young boys and girls to the wonderful world of great art. Children will love exploring the museum and discovering interesting and familiar subjects in the paintings and other pieces. All you need is a little planning and an hour or two to enjoy visiting the museum's exhibits. The following ideas will work well for you and your child, or for you and a group of children. If bringing a group, be sure to enlist extra help to give you a hand. If you prefer, you can even break up into smaller groups. 

Planning a First Visit to an Art Museum 

Before the Visit

• Talk with your child about what an art museum is and how it might look. Check out a few books about museums and artists to read together so your child is introduced simply and gradually to the idea. Discuss how a museum is different than a store.
• Look online at the museum's website and preview the special exhibits or artists who are part of the current displays or collections. Make note of a few your child might like. You can also write to the museum and ask for a current brochure to be mailed to your child.
• Together, look online at the museum's website, sharing with your child what you've found, and paying attention to his or her interests as the two of you browse.
• Together, look through a few books about great artists' lives and works. " If your child is interested in something specific, be sure to add that to your plan.

Preparing for the Visit - the Game Plan

• Ask the museum what the least crowded times and days might be, and work that into your plan.
• Leave time in you plan for snacks, breaks, restrooms, and rest. Two hours is about as long as any child can handle.
• Visit at a time of day that is most comfortable for your child.
• Bring the notes of what your child is most interested in seeing and mark the museum map so you can find them easily.

The First Visit 

Museum Rules 

• Most museums don't have many rules, but running is never allowed.
• Children may speak in a normal voice; whispering is not required.
• Don't touch artwork unless it's in a children's hands-on area where touching is encouraged.

Who's Driving the Visit?

• Kids will want to see definite things and completely skip others. Relax and enjoy the visit as it unfolds. Let your child drive the visit.
• Some children may want to bring a sketchbook and pencil to make notes or draw things along the way.
• Reading labels of the artworks can be educational and interesting, but only read those in which your child is most interested. Less is always best with young children who are being introduced to a new experience.

Ideas to Make the Visit an Adventure 

Some ideas from which you can choose to make the visit interactive are listed below. Searching or hunting for special things in artwork will make the visit an adventure that will stay with your child long after the trip is over. As you and your child find things of interest, talk about them as you view the artwork, and follow up at school or home if your child is still interested. 

Choose to look for: 
Animals or strange creatures: notice animals and talk about their colors, shapes, or features. 
Funny or interesting faces: try to imitate the expressions of faces in paintings or sculptures. 
Places to live: notice different kinds of homes and buildings. 
Dress-up, clothing, and costumes: notice different kinds of clothing, and consider creating a costume when you get home. 
Play: find children, people, or animals at play. 
All kinds of colors: crazy, lovely, and new - make note of colors and find them or mix them with paints at home. 
Shapes and textures: look for shapes like circles and rectangles, or textures like blurry and scratchy. 

Choose to be creative: 
Tell stories: make up a story about a painting or sculpture. 
Imagine: traveling through time and living in the painting. 
Talk about: how the objects in the artwork would taste or feel or smell? 

Choose favorites

• Remember a favorite painting from the visit.
• Remember the name of a favorite artist from the visit.
• Remember an artwork that is - the biggest, funniest, weirdest, tiniest, most colorful, etc.
• Remember a favorite moment from the visit - something interesting, funny, or special about the experience.

Before the Visit Ends

• Before the adventure is over, visit the museum gift shop and encourage your child to choose a postcard that shows a favorite artwork or artist from the day's outing. You can be sure that your child will never forget this particular special image.
• Don't worry if you didn't see everything you planned. Your child will be better equipped for the next visit and you will both be able to choose special things to find or revisit.
• Plan to visit again!

Recommended Books about the Masters
by MaryAnn

Class Project Video: The Art of Pointillism

These kids do a great job with their class project of explaining pointillism through their video. At the end of the video, they show some of their own works in pointillism. Wait until you meet George Seurat, the Father of Pointillism! Very cute, but more important, very well done. via www.youtube.com

KidsArt Lessons

My friend and often collaborating author, Kim Solga, has launched a blog you might enjoy called "KidsArt Lessons": an ongoing collection of art projects, presented by KidsArt.com (on-line catalog of art teaching materials). You can subscribe to have these art lessons appear in your email. Here is an example of an art lesson from  Kim's blog: 

Paint a Rainbow

Take the kids outside on a misty morning, when the grass is wet and the sun is just peeking through the clouds.  You might be lucky enough to see a rainbow arching high through the sky.  They say there’s a pot of gold where the rainbow touches the ground, but no one has ever found this treasure.

But young artists can create a rainbow treasure with paints and white paper.  This is a great project for learning how to mix colors too.  Use just the red, yellow and blue paints in a watercolor set.  Show young kids how these primary colors mix together on a mixing tray or plate to make green, orange and violet.

Paint a picture with a rainbow in it, then paint the sky blue and the rainbow colors in the right order: violet at the bottom of the arch, then blue, green, yellow, orange and red at the top.  Look at photos of rainbows from books or on the Internet, and learn more about the science of rainbows at Science Kids.

Materials: red, yellow and blue watercolor paints, heavy white paper, paintbrushes, a jar of water, a plate or tray for mixing colors, a pencil and a couple paper towels.

Time: 30 minutes

Kim Solga and MaryAnn Kohl have written two books together: 
 "Discovering Great Artists" and "Great American Artists for Kids".

via kidsart.com

Children in Art • video•

via www.youtube.com

A beautiful video showing children's images in fine art. This is a lovely collection. Grab a cup of tea and sit back, listen to the music, and enjoy.

Mondrian Style Art

via teachkidsart.blogspot.com

This is an easy way for kids to try art in the style of Mondrian. I like using colored masking tape to make lines, but this is a good way if you only have crayons and paper handy.