celebrate art - iowa state universitythe word art is derived from the renaissance words arti and...

Celebrate Art4-H Visual Art Unit 1

4H-635A Reprinted February 2006

Contents

A Note to Members 3A Note to Parents 3Suggested Goals 4Celebrate Art 8Why Create 8Discover You 9Decoding Design 10Keep a Design Idea Book 11Designing with Lines 11Designing with Shapes 12Designing with Color 13Designing with Texture 13Designing with Space 13Enlarging a Design 14How to Make a Portfolio 15Media Medley 16Paper 16Fiber 18Clay 20Textiles 22Wood 24Chalk/Carbon/Pigment 26Glass/Plastic 28Metal 30Nature 32Leather 34Media References 36Big Art Says 37Applause, Applause 38Big Art’s Tail 39Alligator Riddles 40

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A Note to Members

Hi!

Welcome to the visual art project. If you’re like most young people you probably enjoy working with all kinds of art materials and trying new things.

This guide is a starting point for you, a collection of ideas. The exciting part is changing an activity and coming up with your own ideas and ways of doing things. Remember, there are as many ways of draw-ing, painting, and being creative as there are people, so feel free to experiment.

Here are some things to help you get the most out of this project:

Read the material.

Ask your parents, older brothers or sisters, or leader to help you. Visit your county extension office to find out what it has that relates to art. Set aside some time each week to work on your project.

You don’t have to do all the projects this year. You can refer to this book for two to three years.

You will like some of the things you create better than others. Don’t worry about it. Just try to figure out what you don’t like and what you might change another time. Everyone who tries to create something has some struggles. You may need to walk away from your project for awhile. When you come back to it, you’ll see it differently.

Here is a friend for you to meet–Big Art the Alligator. Big Art will lead you through the pages and point out answers to questions and safety tips.

A Note to Parents

As a parent, you are the most important and influen-tial person in your child’s life. You can nurture and cultivate interest in this project by guiding your child in planning goals, helping to carry out the project, and giving recognition for a job well done. Your child may have a 4-H group leader or project leader who can help you to help your child with a particular in-terest. If not, you can ask for help from your county extension families specialist or 4-H staff member.

Following are some things you can do to help your child get the most from this project:• Become familiar with the material in this booklet.• Take time to meet the 4-H group leader and find out how that person can help you and your 4-H’er with the project.• Take your child to visit your county extension office to find out what materials are available.• Help your 4-H’er select project goals that are realis-tic.• Help your son or daughter decide what tools, equipment, and supplies are needed and what is safe and realistic to use.• Help schedule time to allow for visual art activities.• Ask your 4-H’er about the project and its progress from time to time.

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Suggested Goals

Goals are targets we set to help get things done. Here are some goals that relate to visual art. Your goals may be similar to these or different, but they should relate to something you want to do. You may have any number of goals, but try to do at least one activ-ity in each category.

Celebrate art

Ideas to do

Make a list of the artists who live in your community.

Make an appointment to inter-view a local artist. Find out how the artist learned the skills; which parts of that art activity the person likes best and least; and where the artist gets supplies. Why does the artist create? Where does the person get design ideas?

Attend a craft fair or art exhibit in your community. Make a list of all the different media and techniques that were represented.

Arrange an art tour in your com-munity for 4-H’ers.

Visit your local library or art cen-ter, and see if an art rental pro-gram is available. Check out one of the art pieces. Find out every-thing you can about it, and give a talk to your 4-H group about the piece.

Does your community have any public sculptures, murals, or a town logo? Find out who created the pieces, when they were done, and why that particular art work was chosen for your town.

Add your own ideas.

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Things to learn Learn about art and artists in your community

Check the ideas you want to try.

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Decoding designThings to learn

Learn about design; how to use line, shape, color, texture, and space

Ideas to do

Make a design for an art proj-ect using cut paper as a design source.

Learn to enlarge and reduce a design.

Keep a design idea notebook.

Complete the line, shape, color, texture, and space activities in the design section of this book.

Analyze a craft/art item you have using the design elements. Can you see how the art ele-ments are used in the item? How would you change the elements if you had designed the item?

Study the designs of craft patterns and kits sold in stores or adver-tised in magazines. What are the sources for their designs? How would you change them if you were the designer?

Add your own ideas.

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Media Medley In the visual art program there are 10 media to explore. They are paper, fiber, clay, leather, textiles, wood, chalk/carbon/pigments, glass/plastic, metal, and nature materials. Two activities for each medium are listed in this book. Check the ones you would like to try.

Paper Glass/Plastic Papier-mâché Glass etching Paper collage Slide-making

Fiber Metal Woven hanging Wire sculpture Friendship stick Tooled picture

Clay Nature Pinch pot Seed mosaic Slab pot Sand casting

Textiles Leather Printed shirt Winter count Applique banners Leather collage

Wood Wooden sculpture Wooden toys

Chalk/Carbon/Pigment Popped drawing Foam tray printing

Things to learn

Learn about a medium.

Ideas to do

Make a list of all the ways a par-ticular medium is used in your home.

Start a notebook showing how a medium is used throughout the world.

Locate books in your library on the history of a medium.

Visit local stores and talk with clerks to see what craft supplies are available and at what costs.

Cover a box to store your supplies at home.

Make a portfolio for storing your large pieces.

Evaluate your finished art work using the questions on page 37.

Try to collect as many different samples of a particular medium as you can. (Example–different types of wood: pine, walnut, ma-hogany, paduke, balsam.) What techniques can be used with each medium?

Add your own ideas.

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Applause, Applause

Things to learn

Share your art with others.

Ideas to do

Show two 4-H members in your group what you’ve done.

Exhibit your art at your local 4-H group meetings, county fair, in a store window, or some other place.

Give a presentation or working exhibit on an art technique for your local 4-H group or a group of friends.

Work with your leader or an older 4-H’er to help arrange an exhibit of art at a nursing home, hospital, county extension of-fice, bank, library, or school.

Help make posters, bookcov-ers, or fliers for special events in your local group or county.

Arrange for an art materials ex-change at your 4-H meetings.

Create an art or craft item for a friend.

Help others learn how to do a spe-cific technique.

Add your own ideas.

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Celebrate Art

The word art is derived from the Renaissance words arti and arte. Arti was the word for the craft groups of the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries. Arte means craftsmanship.

Many people are confused by the words art and craft. In the past, crafts were often thought of as functional (useful) items–chairs, tables, woven blankets, and candleholders. Art meant nonfunctional (decorative) items, such as paintings and sculptures. After a while, the meanings of art and craft overlapped. Chairs had pictures painted on them, and sculptures were used as hat racks. In this 4-H project, both art and crafts are defined as visual art.

In the 4-H visual art project, you can work in a variety of media (media means materials; medium means one material). In this book, there are project ideas for using different kinds of media–paper, fiber, clay, leather, textiles, wood, chalk/carbon/pigment, glass/plastic, nature materials, and metal.

Why Create People create for many reasons. Some people like to make things to use in their homes, like rugs or quilts; others enjoy making things for other people as gifts. Still others like to make things to express themselves, such as painting a very sad picture, throwing a clay pot that will make you laugh, or making a wind chime to listen to that will make you want to be very quiet. Others find working with a medium a chal-lenge. They like to experiment, perhaps trying to see how big or how small they can make something. They are the “what happens if” people! Most of all, people create because it makes them feel good. It’s fun and often hard work, but they’d rather create than do something else with their time. Why do you like to create?

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Are there any artists in my community?

Artists work and live in every community. Sometimes we don’t recognize them because they may earn their living from something other than their art. Some-times someone else is supporting them. Members of the community may view their art as a hobby. Nevertheless, local artists are creating one-of-a-kind, original work all the time. Can you name some local artists and the medium or media they work in?

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Discover You

Most people have some leisure time. Leisure time is when you don’t have to be doing something like go-ing to school, practicing piano lessons, babysitting, washing dishes, eating, or sleeping. Leisure time is time when you just are. Many people enjoy creating in their leisure time. When you create you have a chance to explore your own ideas–to do something that only you can do!

How much leisure time do you have on an average school day?

Activity Hours

Sleeping hours _____________

Eating hours _____________

Health care hours (showers, etc.) _____________

School hours (including homework) _____________

Work/chores hours _____________

Leisure _____________

Total = 24 hours

List the ways you use your leisure time.

Activity Hours

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If I’m really creative, why can’t I draw?

Drawing is a learned skill, like math or spelling. It takes a lot of practice, but anyone who can see and can hold a pencil can learn to draw. You have to teach your eyes to really look and your hand to record what you see.

When someone mentions creativity, who do you think of? Artists, writers, musicians, actors? Well, think again–you and about all the people around you are creative, too. Have you ever made up a scary story for younger children, put together a costume for Halloween or the school play, or made a birth-day card for your best friend? If so, you were being creative.

What exactly is creativity? It’s the ability to do things and think things in an original way. And what does original mean? It means to stand apart from the ordi-nary; to do things that are one of a kind, unique, like no other.

What are creative people like?

Creative people ask a lot of questions. Creative people think they can succeed. Creative people want to know why or how something works. Creative people enjoy doing a lot of different things, and they want to try something different. They stand out from a crowd because they are independent thinkers.

People talk about the five senses–touching, seeing, hearing, smelling, and tasting. In a way, creativity is like a sixth sense. Everyone has it, and the more you use it, the more you strengthen it and become more creative. Creativity is not a necessity, but life is more exciting with it. You will find that the more you stretch your creativity, the easier it will be to find solutions to some of your problems. Also, you may be able to save money, time, and energy by the way you do things.

List some creative things you’ve done.

Example: Printed my family’s Christmas cards.

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Decoding Design

A design is a plan for doing something. All visual art designs include line, shape, color, texture, and space. These are called elements of design.

Lines, shapes, colors, textures, and spaces are impor-tant to all people who work in the visual arts. If you understand the design elements, then you will be more successful with whatever projects you choose in the various media.

The elements may be combined to look like some-thing real–houses, people, flowers–or they may be combined simply because they look nice together. Designs that look like recognizable things are called representational designs. Representational designs may be very realistic or stylized.

Designs that do not look like real things and have no realistic subject matter are called non-objective. A doodle, squiggle, or paint block is non-objective.

Abstract designs are based upon a subject, but the parts are exaggerated or arranged in a different man-ner. Abstract designs attempt to capture the essence of a subject, rather than to show it the way we see it.

In Unit 2 of the 4-H visual art project, you will learn more about design, including the design principles–rhythm, proportion, emphasis, balance, and unity.

stylized/representational

non-objective

abstract

You’re terrific!

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Keep a Design Idea Book As you continue to design, you will see that one idea will lead to another. Keep an idea book. Sketch your ideas in it, and add notes for further exploration. Col-lect pictures of possible design sources. All your ideas may or may not be used, but the more designing you do, the more confident you will become.

Following are some ideas for you to try.

Designing with Lines Lines can be horizontal, vertical, dotted, zig zag, curved, straight, diagonal, bold, or fine. Lines can show direction, lead the eye, outline the object, di-vide a space, and communicate.

One way for coming up with a design by using lines is to make a viewfinder:

1. Cut a rectangle 4 inches by 6 inches from a piece of lightweight cardboard such as a cereal box.

2. Cut an opening in the middle of the rectangle 2 inches by 3 inches.

3. Hold the viewfinder at arm’s length, and close one eye.

4. As you look through the viewfinder, draw the lines you see.

Viewfinders can be any size. Try making a small viewfinder 1-inch square. Place it on top of a maga-zine picture. Move it around until you find some lines you like. Draw around the opening. Cut out the 1-inch picture, and glue it in your design idea book.

Designing with Shapes Circle, squares, and triangles are words used to identify shapes. Look at the objects around you, and describe their basic shapes. Are they one shape, or are they a combination of many shapes? After doing this several times you will begin to understand what shape really is.

Here are ways to design using cut paper shapes:

1. Fold a piece of paper in half. Cut out a design. You may wish to use only straight cuts or only curved cuts, or you may wish to combine straight and curved cuts. When you open the design, it will be symmetrical, the same on both sides (asymmetrical means different on both sides).

2. Because this is such an easy way to get a design, you will want to make several and choose your favor-ite. Experiment with the paper shape that you start with. Try the cut paper design using a square piece of paper, a rectangular piece, a circle, a very small piece, and a very large piece.

3. If you cut four sheets of paper (folded in half) at the same time, you will have four identical shapes to see how the shape looks when repeated. Put the shapes all in a row horizontally, or vertically, or in a square, or have them face each other.

One simple way to create an interesting cut paper de-sign is to use your name or a short word. To do this:

1. Fold a piece of paper in half.

2. Print or write your name so that all or part of the letter touches the folded side.

3. “Fatten” the letters to make them a shape instead of a line.

4. Cut out the name; make sure the paper remains folded.

5. When opened, you will have a symmetrical name design.

Experiment, and be creative. Change the shape size of the paper. Try printing instead of writing. Use a made up word, initials, or letters of a foreign lan-guage.

Now that I have this paper design, what am I going to do with it?

Now you can use your design. It could become a latch hook rug, a stained glass window, a design on a backpack, a quilt block, a window shade, or a tote bag. What other ideas do you have for using your cut paper design?

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Designing with Color Color is described with the words hue, value, and intensity. Hue refers to the name of the color–red or blue, for example. Value tells the lightness or dark-ness of a hue. Intensity refers to the brightness or dullness of a hue.

Here is an experiment with color:

1. Take an original design, a magazine picture, wall-paper, or fabric sample.

2. Using tracing paper or paper you can see through, trace the outline of the shapes in the design onto two pieces of paper.

3. Using different colors for each outline, fill in the shapes.

You will now have three designs that are the same except for three different color schemes. Which is your favorite and why? Before deciding on a color scheme for any art piece, it’s a good idea to do some experimenting.

Designing with Texture Texture is the surface quality of an item. It’s how something feels when touched, or looks like it would feel if touched. Sandpaper is rough and hard. Velvet is smooth and soft. A picture of a brick wall looks rough.

Search for ways of adding texture to your projects. Texture adds variety and interest. To learn more about textures, try some rubbings.

1. Take a thin sheet of paper, and place it on a tex-tured surface such as tree bark, a chair seat, textured wall, coin, or the sidewalk.

2. Rub a soft lead pencil or dark crayon back and forth over the paper. What design did it make?

3. Make rubbings from as many different surfaces as possible.

Designing with Space Space can be defined as positive and negative. The positive space of a design is what you are first aware of–shapes that make up the design. Negative space is the background. If your design is not pleasing in the background, try rearranging shapes. The negative area is as important as the positive area.

To experiment with positive and negative space:

1. Cut a magazine picture into strips.

2. Lay the strips on construction paper. Leave space between the strips.

3. Shift the strips to different heights so they aren’t in a straight line.

4. When you have a pleasing design, glue the strips to construction paper. The space between the strips is negative space.

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Enlarging a Design Artists and craftspeople often need to make designs look the same; they also often need them to be big-ger or smaller. In photography, a special machine called an enlarger is used to make a picture larger or smaller.

Artists can do the same thing without a machine by using squares (called a grid). They used this idea for years before cameras were invented. As you design in the visual arts, you often will find that you will need to make some of the designs in your Design Idea Book larger or smaller. Using a grid is a simple way to do this.

1. On tissue paper, draw the design that you want to make larger or smaller.

2. Using a ruler, mark off squares over the design. Make each of your squares the same size. This makes a framework or grid.

3. Now make the same number of squares across the top and down the side of a sheet of paper the size you want your design to be. For a larger design, your squares will be bigger than your original design. For a smaller design your squares will be smaller.

4. Draw into each square exactly what you see in your smaller squares.

This is called a scale drawing on a grid.

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How to Make a Portfolio A portfolio is a protective covering for your art work. Although it can be any size, 20 inches by 26 inches is a size that will hold most art work. Mat board or cor-rugated cardboard can be used. If possible, have the heavy cardboard cut at the store where you purchase it. If you cut it yourself, place the cardboard on a cut-ting board. Use a yardstick to guide the single edge razor blade or mat knife. Be careful not to cut the yardstick. Ask for help in cutting.

Hinge Once you have the cut cardboard, you will need book tape 3 1/2 inches to 4 1/2 inches wide, or wide duct tape. Book tape generally is sold in art supply stores. Duct tape is silver-colored and sold in hardware and discount stores. You’ll need one piece 2 inches longer than your cover and one piece 1/4 inch shorter than your cover. (If your cover is 20 inches by 26 inches, the pieces of tape will be 28 inches and 25 3/4 inches long. The tape will be your hinge. Lay the long piece of tape flat on the table. Lay the cardboard as shown. Leave I inch of tape between the cardboard. Fold the ends over, and put the short piece of tape in the middle.

To tie the portfolio closed you will need a twill cot-ton tape or grosgrain ribbon at least 60 inches long. Use a razor blade to cut slits into your portfolio as shown. Make the slashes 1 inch from the edges of the cardboard and the width of your tie material. Thread through the cuts as shown.

Decorate the outside of your portfolio with paint or cut paper.

inside

outside

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Media Medley

In the 4-H visual art project there are 10 media that you can work in. They are paper, fiber, clay, textiles, wood, chalk/carbon/pigment, glass/plastic, metal, nature, and leather. Directions are given in this book for two activities for each medium. Read all the way through a medium before beginning any activity. Make sure you have all the supplies on hand. Ask your parents or a 4-H leader to help you if you have questions.

Paper

Paper was invented by the Chinese around 100 A.D. The first paper was made from a combination of bark and old cloth. Although most paper is machine-made today, handmade paper still is being made using the same methods and materials that the Chinese used.

Paper Collage A paper collage can be made from any type of paper. Newspapers, magazines, greeting cards, gift paper, paper sacks, candy bar wrappers, paper towels, nap-kins, and tissue paper all will produce different looks. A successful collage will have a main theme that could be animals, color, or letters.

1. Find a heavy piece of cardboard or thin plywood to use as backing. Glue and water may cause even heavy cardboard to warp, so you will need to prime the backing before beginning. To prime, mix one part white glue with two parts water (such as 1/4 cup glue and 1/2 cup water). Brush it on both the front and back, and allow it to dry. Or, paint the front and back with leftover housepaint.

2. Select papers with colors and textures that you like. Lay them on the backing. Rearrange them until you have them just where you want them. Then glue each one down with a glue and water mixture of one part glue to two parts water. Or, use an acrylic poly-mer mixture that is available in art supply stores.

3. When dry, paint over the entire design with the glue and water mixture or the acrylic polymer mix-ture. This will give a finished surface.

4. To hang your piece you may want to put it in a frame or attach saw-toothed picture hangers to the back.

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Papier Mâché In the 18th century, paper still was handmade. Paper was valued so highly that papier-mâché became a way of recycling paper into useful objects. Papier-mâché is a French word meaning “chewed paper.” During the Industrial Revolution in the mid 1800s, people stopped making papier-mâché and started making paper by machine.

Today you can make papier-mâché in one of two ways. In the first method, paper is torn into strips, then coated with paste, and layered onto a cardboard or paper form. The second method is to cook shred-ded paper until it becomes a doughy consistency that can be sculpted like clay.

The strip method produces a paper-like surface. Mash surfaces from the second method can be sand-ed and are smoother like wood, metal, or pottery. Here are instructions for the mash method.

1. To make 1 quart of mash, tear four large news-paper sheets into small pieces about the size of a quarter. Put them into a container that can be heated on the stove later.

2. Add 2 quarts of water. Let the paper soak for 8 hours.

3. Boil the water and paper mixture for 20 minutes.

4. Let cool.

5. Whip it with a wire whisk until soft and pulpy (like mashed potatoes).

6. Place the pulp in a strainer to remove extra water.

7. Squeeze gently until the pulp is a soft lump.

8. Put the mash back in a bowl and stir in 2 table-spoons of white glue and 2 tablespoons of dry wall-paper paste.

9. Stir until smooth.

You have made mash. Store it in an air tight container until you are ready to use it. It will keep for 2 to 3 days.

Form a shape of an animal, mask, or a puppet head out of aluminum foil or by taping cardboard boxes or tubes together. Then shape the mash over the form. With your thumb and fingers, add features or tex-ture. Use a pencil to shape small details. Most objects will dry overnight. Dried papier-mâché objects can then be sanded and painted with water base paint.

Other Paper Projects Other things to do or make with paper: paper cuts, paper sculpture, origami, decoupage, piñatas, quill-ing, diazo prints, paper mobiles, kites, paper mosaics.

Check your 4-H visual art project guide for help in setting goals and for project ideas.

Fiber

Long before recorded history, people discovered that plant fibers and animal furs could be twisted into strong cords and woven together to produce cloth. In the history of almost every culture in the world, some weaving method can be found. People weave cloth, household furnishings, baskets, and houses. Like-wise, in nature, birds weave nests and insects weave webs and cocoons.

Check the fibers that you know.

Animal fibers Plant fibers Wool Cotton Hair Jute Silk Flax (linen) SisalSynthetic fibers Coconut Fiber Rayon Raffia Acetate Ramie Nylon Acrylic Mineral fibers Polyester Fiberglass Metallic Yarns

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How do you open a skein of yarn?

1. Remove the paper wrap-ping, and lay the skein out in the shape of a circle.

2. Find and untie the knots that indicate the beginnings and ends, and hold the yarns together.

3. Ask a friend to hold the circle tight over outstretched hands.

4. On an empty spool of thread or cardboard tube, begin wrapping the yarn around the spool. Turn the spool as you wrap so you get a ball of yarn rather than a spool. Wrap loosely so as not to stretch the yarn. Continue until it is all wrapped into a ball.

Friendship Stick If you wish good luck, health, happiness, and good fortune for someone, make a friendship stick for that person. A friendship stick is a type of God’s eye found in Peru that uses only one stick.

1. Find a clean, dry stick from a tree about I inch thick and 14 inches long.

2. Take a skein of yarn, and tie a knot around the bottom of the stick.

3. Wrap yarn up the stick, leaving most of the stick exposed. When you get to the top, wrap down, cross-ing the first wrap.

4. Continue wrapping, and keep the yarn just above and right next to the previous wrap. Begin and end new colors at the top or bottom of the stick. You may have as many wraps as you choose. The stick may be completely covered by the time you finish.

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Woven Hanging Canvas stretchers can be used to make a loom that is inexpensive, strong, and easy to assemble. Artists use canvas stretchers to stretch canvas before painting the canvas. You can find canvas stretchers at art supply stores, some fabric stores, and hardware stores. A good starting size is 12 inches by 16 inches.

1. Put together the canvas stretchers.

2. Nail 1-inch finishing nails every 1/2 inch across the top and bottom of the frame. Start and finish about 2 inches in from each end. The nails should be hammered in about 1/2 inch so they are solid, but not too far or the wood will split. Ask for help if you need it! Now that you’ve finished the loom, you’re ready to warp it.

3. The warp threads are the skeleton of the fabric. They go up and down the loom. Use a cotton string (carpet thread or linen thread also is fine). Tie a knot around the upper left nail, and stretch it down tight to the lower left nail, bring it back up and around the second time from the left, and proceed as shown. This is the warp; keep it on one side (the nail side) of the frame only.

4. Start weaving by inserting a 2-inch piece of card-board under every other warp.

5. Take another piece of cardboard and weave it in under opposite warps.

6. You are now ready to begin weaving with yarn. The weft yarns go across the loom. They are the threads that cross over and under the warp threads. Cut a yarn I yard long. Leave a 2-inch tail sticking out. Weave the yarn over, under, over, under. When you are ready to add yarns, overlap the stopping and starting points of the yarn. Later you can weave the ends in. Do not tie knots. Use a kitchen fork or hair pick to pack the wefts together tightly.

7. Stop your design about 2 inches from the top of the canvas stretcher. Carefully cut the warps below the bottom cardboard strip to remove the piece from the loom. Remove the cardboard, and tie or braid the warps to create a fringe. At the top, glue the extra warp to the back of a thin board the width of the weaving. Cover the exposed warp with a cloth tape to prevent further fraying. Attach a saw-toothed hanger, and step back to admire.

Other Fiber Projects Other things to do with fibers: macramé, embroidery, braiding, string art, knitting, crocheting, basketry, cross stitch, latch hook.


Clay

Clay is a material that is found all over the world. It is dug from the earth. River beds, lakes, lagoons, and hill tops all are possible sources of clay. Clay is the name used for mineral substances that are mainly aluminous silicate. Clay is used in its moist form, but as it comes from the earth, it is sometimes sandy and rock-like.

The first potters (people who work with clay) made bowls by pressing out the sides of a ball of clay. This is called a pinch pot. We still use this method today.

Pinch Pot To make a pinch pot you will need commercial earth-en clay in ready-mixed or moist form. Before making anything out of clay, play with the clay. You will find it is cold and wet and leaves dust on your hand as it dries. Discover how you can form clay. Push it. Pull it. Squeeze it. Paddle it. Bend it, Roll it. Flatten it. Cut it into shapes. Clay is pliable.

1. Form a ball of clay about the size of a baseball.

2. Push down into the center of the ball of clay with both thumbs.

3. Force your thumbs out and begin to deepen and enlarge the hole.

4. Pinch and rotate the ball to build an even wall of clay.

5. With a pencil or other item make a design or tex-ture on the outside of the pot.

6. To keep your pinch pot from cracking as it dries, place it in a plastic wrapper and let it dry for 3 to 5 days. Large pots will need even more drying time.

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Slab Pot Cover a table with burlap. Roll out the clay with a rolling pin as if it were pie dough. A magazine on ei-ther side of the clay will keep the clay an even thick-ness as you roll. Use magazines 1/4-inch to 1/2-inch thick to get an even slab.

Take a large rock and cover it with plastic to keep the clay from sticking to the rock. Drape the flattened clay over the rock. Gently press the clay slab to the rock. Trim the outer edge to the desired shape. Cover with plastic and let dry for two to three hours. Remove the clay from the rock. Decorate the clay by pressing in designs with tools and fingers while the clay is leather hard. (See the instructions for firing clay.)

Firing Clay Once your clay piece is dry, it is called greenware. If water is poured on greenware, it will become soft again. To keep it hard, so it can no longer be soft-ened, it will need to be fired. Ask your leaders to help you find a place to fire it. Sometimes an art teacher, ceramic shop, or art center will let you put it in their kiln. (An exception to this is air-dried or oven-dried clay. These clays will dry on their own or in an oven, and will not become soft when wet. If you do not have access to a kiln or air-dry or oven-dry clay, you still can enjoy working and experimenting with clay.)

After greenware is fired, it is called bisqueware. Bisque is unglazed clay that has been fired. Red clay flower pots are bisque. Your bisque item will make an attractive flower planter or container for jewelry or coins. You can paint it with acrylic paint or wood stain and then spray with fixative if you want to add a gloss to it.

If you want to glaze your bisque item, ask the place where you had it fired if they also have glazes. A glaze is a thin coat of chemicals that is brushed, sprayed, or dipped onto a bisque pot. When fired again, the glaze will make the pot waterproof. Only glazed pots should be used to hold food or drink.

Other Clay Projects Other clay ideas to try: coil pots, sculptures, figures, wheel thrown pots, plaques, mosaics.


Textiles

The textiles and fiber media are closely related. To keep them separated in your mind, think of fibers as yarn and textiles as cloth.

In the textiles medium, you can experiment with a variety of surface decorations on cloth. One form of surface decoration is textile printing. Many cultures do block printing. Fabric made of any fiber can be printed with a decorative design, but the results vary a great deal, depending on which fiber makes the fabric–cotton, silk, wool, or synthetic. Cotton is the best choice for the beginner.

Before printing, fabric must be washed to remove sizing, then ironed smooth. Acrylic paints are easy to use. When they dry they are permanent on fabric. Other paints that can be used on fabric are called textile paints.

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Printed Shirt1. Cut a potato in half to get two flat surfaces.

2. Cut into the potato to create a design. Keep it sim-ple, like a square, rectangle, triangle, donut shape, etc. Remove the potato around the design so that the design stands at least 1/2 inch above the potato. Only the raised part will print.

3, With a paint brush, paint acrylic paint onto the raised area of the potato, Now you are ready to print.

4. Practice on a scrap piece of fabric or paper before printing on a T-shirt or item of clothing. Press the inked potato against the fabric. When you print on the fabric, some of the ink will come through to the back side, To keep it from coming through on the back of a shirt or blouse, line the shirt or blouse with several pieces of newspaper.

5. After the design has dried for 24 hours, iron it. But first, protect the ironing board from paint by covering it with paper. Heat the iron to a temperature setting compatible with the fabric. Then press the textile on the wrong side for 5 minutes. This will help set the paint, and keep it from washing out. Although you can machine wash and dry your shirt, hand washing will keep the colors brighter.

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Applique Banner Wallhangings, banners, and flags add festivity to celebrations. The earliest banners were rigid and not made from cloth. They were used to identify kings and warriors. During the Middle Ages, merchants started using banners to advertise. Today many con-temporary artists design banners to use inside and outside homes, public buildings, and churches.

To make a banner, pick a theme or idea. Your banner can express a name, word, quote, feeling, or symbol. It can tell a story or express a wish. Then proceed with these steps.

1. Sketch out the design on a sheet of paper the same size as your finished piece. A good size to experiment with is 15 inches by 20 inches.

2. Choose a fabric for the background and another fabric for the cut shapes. Felt works nicely and doesn’t ravel. Another fabric that doesn’t ravel is polyester double knit.

3. Make a copy of the design. Cut the design into pieces. These will be your pattern pieces.

4. Pin your paper pattern to fabric choices, and cut out.

5. Fasten your fabric pieces to the backing fabric. You can fasten them with white glue, sew them down by machine, or sew by hand using the cross, blanket, or running stitch. They also can be attached with a fab-ric bonding such as Stitch Witchery. Ask your leader or parent to help you decide which method would be best for you.

6. If you want, decorative items such as beads, fringe, or pompons can be added, or printing can be done over the fabric pieces on the banner.

7. To hang the banner, turn down the top edge to-ward the back of the banner. Glue or stitch the casing closed. Insert a dowel and hang.

Other Textile Projects Other things to do with textiles: quilting, reverse ap-plique, braided rugs, screen printing, tie dye, batik, trapunto, crayon batik.


cross stitch

blanket

running

Wood

In America, early colonists had to clear the wilder-ness of wood before they could build a home or till the land. People used wood for many necessities, such as shelter, furniture, and utensils. Spinning wheels were constructed of wood as were the first sewing machines. Wooden bows and arrows helped secure food for survival. For land travel, buggies, cov-ered wagons, and prairie schooners were constructed of wood as were boats for transportation on sea.

For centuries wood has satisfied our artistic and useful needs. In the past, wood was used for many things that are now made of metal and plastic. Even so, we still will have a need for wood in the twenty-first century.

Wood Sculpture Many interesting sculptures can be made by gluing together wood scraps. You can use any white glue or wood glue. Wood glue is not water soluble and will hold your piece together for many years.

1. Collect a box full of small wood scraps. Look for shapes that are similar, such as various sizes of rect-angles. You also might collect one type of wood such as pine. To keep your finished sculpture interesting, choose a variety of sizes and thicknesses of wood.

2. Using, in order, a coarse, medium, and fine sand-paper, sand all your pieces. Wipe after sanding with a tack rag.

3. Now you are ready to glue the pieces together to make the sculpture. Begin by gluing one piece to another. This will be a rather slow process. You may have to wait for the glue to dry before adding another piece so that already glued pieces will not come un-glued. Use rubber bands or masking tape to hold the pieces together while drying. In hard to reach places, use a cotton swab to wipe off excess glue.

When you’re all finished assembling, leave it natural, stain, or paint your sculpture.

As your skill increases, you may want to make larger sculptures or smaller, more detailed ones. To display your sculpture, you may want to glue it to a base so it will stand better. Keep the base simple, so it won’t detract from the sculpture. A larger block of similar wood would work as a base for many sculptures.

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Wooden Toys Simple wooden toys can be made with a coping saw, sandpaper, and 1-inch thick wood. Soft woods, such as pine, are easier to saw than hard woods such as walnut and cherry.

1. Draw simple shapes on paper. Use your imagina-tion to create all types of fantasy creatures. Cut out the shapes.

2. Using a pencil, trace the shapes onto the wood board.

3. Cut out the shapes with a coping saw. To keep the wood from moving, clamp the wood to a table or use a wood vise. Ask for help to learn how to use a cop-ing saw safely.

4. Use coarse, medium, and fine sandpaper to sand the cutout. Remember to sand with the grain of the wood. Sand the edges, too.

5. Finish the toys by rubbing a protective coating of mineral oil into the wood.

Other Wood Projects Other things to make with wood: wood collage, wood carvings, wood burning.


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Chalk/Carbon/Pigment

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Foam Tray Printing 1. Using scissors, trim the raised edges off a foam tray used for packaging meat or bakery products in grocery stores.

2. Using a pencil or heavy stick, draw a design on the foam, or cut the foam into an interesting shape with a scissors.

3. Put ink or paint onto a flat surface, and roll the brayer (hard rubber roller) back and forth across the flat surface.

4. Ink the foam printing plate by rolling the inked brayer over it. Acrylic paints or water soluble ink may be used. The ink should not flow into the drawn indentations, but should remain on the flat surface. Brayers are available at art supply stores.

5. Place paper over the inked foam drawing and ap-ply pressure evenly.

6. Peel the paper from the foam, and see the print that results from the drawing on the plate.

You could use your finished prints as greeting cards or postcards.

From an early age we use crayons, pencils, and paints to express ourselves. At first our efforts are scribbles. As we become older, our scribbles become images and shapes that we and others recognize. This media group combines materials and techniques that are often used to decorate the surface of paper or canvas.

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Popped Drawing 1. Pop a bag of popcorn.

2. Out of a handful, pick at least five popped kernels to draw.

3. On a sheet of white drawing paper (9 inches by 12 inches is a good size) draw the kernels large enough so that your drawing covers the paper. Use a soft lead pencil. Shade the shapes to get lighter and darker values.

4. Try this exercise several times. Rearrange the ker-nels, or use different kernels. Try drawing on differ-ent shapes and sizes of paper.

Choose your favorite drawing, and frame it in a simple frame.

Other Chalk/Carbon/Pigment Projects Other things to make with chalk/carbon/pigment: watercolor paintings, charcoal drawings, crayon pictures, oil or acrylic paintings, wood or linoleum block prints.


Glass/Plastic

Glass/plastic combines two materials. One is very old, and one is very new. In ancient times and in early American colonial days, glass was considered as valuable as jewelry. If you have seen a glass blower working, you can only marvel at the control of the artist over the medium. Today, wetake glass for granted. We even have many disposable glass con-tainers, such as jars.

Plastic is the most contemporary of all the media. It was developed around 1870 in both England and the United States. Part of the stimulus for the American inventor was a contest with a $10,000 prize for the person who would find a new material for billiard balls; they used to be made of elephant ivory.

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Glass Etching Glass etching is a very old art technique. It erodes the surface of glass. A decorative design results. The acid (etching cream) that’s used in the process today is sold in hobby shops and art supply stores.

1. Use window cleaner to clean both sides of the glass that you plan to etch. If you’re working with a sheet of glass, tape the edges of the glass. Have an adult help you. Cover the edges with masking tape so that you won’t cut your fingers.

2. Cover the glass with Contact paper. This will serve as a resist to protect the glass that is not to be etched.

3. Draw your design on the Contact paper using a felt tip pen or grease pencil.

4. Use an X-acto knife or single-edged razor blade to cut out the design. The parts that you remove will be etched.

5. With a paint brush, apply the glass etching cream to the exposed areas of glass (wear plastic gloves). Allow the cream to set on the glass 3 to 5 minutes. Then rinse in cold water and dry.

6. Remove the Contact paper.

If you are etching on a drinking glass or glass jar, you’re all finished. If you etched on a glass panel, you may want to frame it in a wooden picture frame. To help display your design in the frame, place a colored sheet of paper behind it.

Caution:

The etching cream is toxic and will cause skin irritation on some people. Wear plastic gloves when working with the etching cream. You may want to practice on an old drinking glass or glass jar before beginning this project.

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Plastic MobileA mobile is an object that moves according to the air currents around it. It is hung from above the viewer and changes as air moves the pieces.

Plastic materials make up lots of containers that are used in our homes and work environments. For this project, you will need to gather disposable plastic containers that are semi-rigid (hard – but flexible) and easy to cut with scissors. When describing the light coming through plastic, we use three terms, opaque, translucent and transparent. If a plastic is opaque, you cannot see through it. If the plastic is transparent, you can clearly see through it. Some plastics allow light through, but you cannot see things clearly. The word to describe this type of plastic is translucent. Some plastics you find may be colored, white, or clear.

For this project, you also will need glue that works on plastic; a paper punch; acrylic paints and brushes; permanent felt tip pens; decorative tapes; and string, yarn, ribbon, or wire to connect one shape to another.

1. Gather a variety of disposable plastics. Cut out shapes that are squares, circles, triangles, or asymmetrical. You may want to cut out paper shapes first, tape them to the plastic, draw around them with a felt tip pen, and then cut on the drawn lines. Disposable plastic containers probably will yield pieces 3 to 4 inches or smaller. That means your final piece will be made up of several smaller shapes. Most mobiles are asymmetrical to allow more movement, so you might want to start with an odd number of shapes such as 3 or 5.

2. You may choose to leave the plastic shapes the color they are, or you may want to apply additional color or designs to the flat surfaces. To decorate your plastic shapes, try using acrylic paint or permanent felt tip pen. Some plastics cannot be drawn or painted upon, depending on the finish of the plastic. If you have plastic that is very slick, you might want to decorate it by applying colored tapes, or cutting images out within the shape. Another option is to experiment by overlapping transparent

and translucent shapes over opaque shapes. You can create interesting layers on your shapes by gluing, tying or wiring them together with other shapes. 3. Once you have the shapes decorated, you can punch holes in each of the shapes so they can be connected together. You can use ribbon, string, yarn or wire to connect one shape to another. This will take some experimentation, so try several methods before you decide.

Other Glass/Plastic ProjectsOther things to try with glass or plastic: polyester, casting material, plastic etching, plastic painting, plastic rod sculptures, stained glass, enameling, glass laminating, mosaics.


Metal

Metal has many properties that make it attractive to artists and craftspeople. Metal resists breaking and can be bent and pulled. It can be hammered, welded, joined, melted, and cast. Metal is very durable and will not decay, mildew, or attract insects. It can trans-mit heat, cold, and electricity. Few of us can afford to work in gold or silver. More reasonably priced metals include pewter, copper, bronze, brass, aluminum, and tin. They also are widely available. Look around your home and try to identify the metals you live with.

Wire Sculpture Almost any kind of wire can be twisted, bent, coiled, cut, or joined with solder or cement. Soft wires, such as copper or aluminum, are easier to work with. Heavier wire, like that found in coat hangers, is stur-dier but more difficult to bend and cut. The size of the object you make will help determine which wire you select. If you’re using hot solder, be sure to ask for help from an adult.

In addition, you might also want to collect other metal scraps to add to your sculpture. Found items, such as nuts, bolts, and washers, will add interest to your sculpture. You also may need a wood base on which to mount your sculpture to help it stand. Or you could suspend your wire sculpture from a string.

1. Think of a bird, animal, person, or insect. Look up pictures of the items in books or magazines to see how it looks in different movements.

2. Using the wire, bend it into the desired shapes. You may need to use wire cutters and/or pliers to help bend the wire and cut it.

3. Wire sculptures can be one continuous wire or may consist of several lengths of wire joined together as the sculpture develops. If several pieces are joined, they may be hooked, wound, or soldered together.

4. Add other metal objects you have found to the form as desired.

5. To mount the finished form on a base, sand and paint or stain a wood block. Add a hole to secure the wire sculpture. Ask for help in drilling the hole. Or use a wood staple to fasten the sculpture to the block.

6. To hang your sculpture, suspend it from monofila-ment thread or fish line.

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Metal Tooling Metal tooling or repoussage (pronounced re po say´) involves raising designs from a sheet of metal so that they stand out from a flat background. The technique was developed by the Egyptians and has been used for centuries as a form of decoration.

To try metal tooling you will need 36 gauge copper foil, modeling tools (popsicle sticks or sharpened dowel), fine steel wool, and liver of sulphur. These supplies can be found at craft and hobby stores.

1. Draw a design on paper. Cut a piece of metal foil the size of the design.

2. Pad your work surface with several newspapers.

3. Tape the design to the foil and trace over the design with a pencil. This will mark the metal with the design.

4. Remove the paper. Place the foil on the newspaper pad.

5. Decide which areas of the design will be raised. Begin pressing these out. Work from both sides of the foil. Turn the piece right side up and flatten the background (flattened dowel works well for this).

6. Now you can texture the background areas. Dots can be added by using the pointed dowel. The tex-ture that results is called stippling. Lines also can be added.

7a. Paint the metal on the front side with a solution of liver of sulphur and water. Use 1 tablespoon liver of sulphur and I cup of water. This solution will cause the piece to turn black in 3 to 5 minutes. Liver of sulphur chemically tarnishes the metal. Without liver of sulphur the piece will tarnish naturally in ap-proximately two months. b. When the piece turns black, rinse with water to stop the tarnishing process. c. Highlight the raised areas by rubbing lightly with steel wool. The recessed areas will stay black.

8. To prepare your piece for display, sand a board and paint it flat black to set off the shiny copper. Nail the copper to the board using small copper nails. To hang, add a saw-toothed hanger.

Other Metal Projects Other things to try with metal: jewelry making, nail collages, aluminum etching, wire mobiles.


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Nature

The land is a source of survival for the people who dwell on it. In many societies, people use items from nature to make not only functional but also decora-tive crafts. In our society, we collect natural materials and use them to decorate our homes all year round.

Caution:

Plaster will harden quickly. Use containers that can be tossed rather than cleaned out. Milk cartons and cans work well. Do not wash plaster down the sink. Let it harden; then throw it away in the wastebasket. To clean hands and tools, wash them in a bucket of water; then throw the water outside.

Sand Casting Sand casting will result in a three dimensional form.

1. Line a 9-inch deep cardboard box with plastic such as a garbage bag. Fill with fine sand from a con-struction site, gravel pit, or lumber yard. Dampen the sand with water and pack it tightly into the box.

2. Scoop out some sand in various shapes and to different depths. This forms the design. Use spoons and sticks to move the sand. Spools and other found items can be pressed into the sand to create shapes. Remove the spools, etc., after using them to create shapes.

3. Prepare molding plaster as follows:a. Pour the desired amount of water into the mixing container (use a disposable or throw-away container).b. Add the plaster to the water gradually; stir as you add.c. Continue adding plaster until it is the consistency of pudding.d. Once the plaster is mixed, do not add more water.

4. Pour the plaster into the sand mold. Work quickly.

5. Before the plaster sets, add a metal ring to the plas-ter so you can hang the plaster cast.

6. Allow the plaster to harden before removing it from the box.

If your design is larger than a 9-inch square, fill the form half full of plaster. Quickly lay a piece of wire screening on the plaster. Then pour in the rest of the plaster to fill the sand mold. The screen adds stability to a large casting. You’ll need to work quickly so the plaster doesn’t set.

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Seed Mosaic Seed mosaic is a surface decoration made by inlaying small pieces to form a picture or a pattern. Collect as many types of seeds as possible from garden seed stores, grocery stores, a grain elevator, or your back-yard. Although it is possible to dye seeds, seeds left in their natural colors are most attractive.

1. Draw a design on a piece of thin plywood. Create a variety of shapes within the large spaces.

2. Cover a small area within a shape with white glue. Use a craft stick or piece of cardboard to spread the glue. Arrange the seeds in the glued space. Proceed carefully and slowly.

3. When all shapes are filled with seeds, let the mo-saic dry overnight.

4. After it is dry, spray the entire seed mosaic with acrylic spray.

To hang, attach a saw-toothed hanger to the back of a 1-inch by 2-inch piece of 1/2-inch pine. Use wood glue to glue the pine block to the plywood back of the seed mosaic.

Other Nature Projects Other things to try with natural materials: cornhusk dolls, straw weaving (corn dollies), pysanki (batiked eggs), pinecone wreaths, beeswax candles, pressed flower arrangements.


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Leather

Leather was one of the earliest and most important materials used by people. Leather footwear and clothes helped our ancestors walk long distances in search of food. People made leather containers to carry water. They made leather tents for their homes. They also made leather shields to protect themselves against warring neighbors.

Today, leather continues to play a role in our lives. Are you wearing anything made of leather?

Winter Count Many years ago, the Sioux Indians held a celebra-tion called “Winter Count.” At the winter event, tribe members discussed activities from the past year. The most outstanding events were burned into animal skins as pictures. The same skin was used for many years and became the tribe history.

1. Purchase a small vegetable-tanned skin or small pre-cut circles from a leather craft store, shoe re-pair store, or by mail. (Vegetable tanning allows the leather to accept moisture. All hand-tooled leather is vegetable tanned. Chrome tanning makes leather resistant to moisture and is used for shoe soles and some upholstery.)

2. On paper, draw designs, symbols, or pictures that tell about you or your family, Transfer your de-sign to the leather skin or leather circles. To do this, dampen the leather with a wet sponge. Lay the paper on the leather, drawing side up, then trace over the design with a pointed dowel or a special leather tool for line marking. When you remove the paper, the image will remain.

3. Use a woodburning tool to trace over the picture. This will burn the designs into the leather.

Caution:

Be careful not to burn yourself or the work surfaceas you use the woodburning tool.

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4. Leather dye can be applied to leather after burning in the design. Leather dyes are either water solvent or oil solvent. Water solvent dyes are easier to clean up. To apply either type, use a large paint brush or wool or felt swab. Apply the dye in a circular motion. Put on two coats of dye so you’ll get an even color without spots.

If you use a full skin for your winter count, plan to add designs throughout the years. Various colored dyes could be added to smaller areas later. Think of the skin as a scrapbook. Roll it up and tie it with a ribbon when not being shown to friends.

Caution:

Oil solvent dyes are toxic. Protect your skin from the dyes by wearing plastic gloves.

Leather Collage Leather collage is a composition of leather pieces glued onto a surface.

1. Put together a canvas stretcher frame. Glue a heavy corrugated cardboard or mat board on one side of the frame.

2. Collect different types of scrap leather, suede, or fur. You may be able to buy scrap pieces at a shoe re-pair shop or leather shop. Check second-hand stores and your own closets for leather items that could be recycled and cut into pieces to use for your leather collage.

3. Cover the mat board and outer edge of a frame with a piece of fabric or leather. Try to make smooth corners.

4. Use leather adhesive or contact cement to attach leather pieces to the mat board. Put adhesive on both the leather and the mat board to double bond the collage. Allow the adhesive to become tacky. Then stick the pieces onto the backing.

5. Attach a saw-toothed hanger to the back of the canvas stretcher, and your leather collage is ready to hang.

Other Leather Projects Other things to try in leather: leather tooling, sewing with leather.


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Media References

Ask at your library for additional books on crafts. Here are some that may be of help.

Paper

Hellmuth, Claudine, Collage Discovery Workshop. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold Company, 2003.

Elliot, Marion and Peter Williams, Papier-mâché. Lon-don: Anness Publishing, Ltd., 2004.

Fiber Norfors, Jill Denny and Beverly Rush, Needle Lace and Needleweaving: A New Look at Traditional Stitches. Kent: Search Press, Ltd., 1992.

Swett, Sarah, Lena Corwin and Chris Hartlove, Kids Weaving. New York: Stewart, Tabori and Chang, Inc., 2005.

Clay

Simpson, Michael, Making North American Pottery. California: Naturegraph Publishers, Inc., 1992.

Leather Maguire, Mary and Peter Williams, Leatherwork (Craft Workshop Series). Chicago: Anness Publishing, Ltd., 2005.

Textiles Kafka, Francis J., Batik, Tie Dyeing, Stenciling, Silk Screen, Block Printing: Hand Decoration of Fabrics. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1981.

Wolfe, Betty, The New Banner Book. Connecticut: Morehouse Publishing, 1998.

Wood

Meilach, Dona Z., Creating Small Wood Objects as Functional Sculpture. New York: Crown Publishers, Inc., 1988.

Chalk/Carbon/Pigments

Diehn, Gwen, Simple Printmaking: A Beginner’s Guide to Making Relief Prints. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc., 2002

Mendelowitz, Daniel, David Faber and Duane Wake-ham, Guide to Drawing. Connecticut: Wadsworth, 2002.

Glass/Plastic LeVan, Martha, Creative Glass Crafts: Painting, Etching, Stained Glass and More. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc., 2003

Metal Maguire, Mary, Decorative Tin and Wirework. London: Anness Publishing, Ltd., 2002.

McCreight, Tim, Complete Metalsmith. Kansas: Davis Publications, Inc., 2004.

Nature

Martin, Laura and David Cain, Nature’s Art Box, New York: Workman Publishing Co., Inc., 2003

Wood, Dorothy, Crafting with Nature in a Weekend. New York: F & W Publications, Inc., 2004.

General Baskett, Mickey, and Vicky Payne, Connie Sheerin, Kaye Evans, and Cindy Gorder, The Encyclopedia of Craft Projects in an Afternoon. New York: Sterling Pub-lishing Co., Inc., 2003.

Wiseman, Ann Sayre, Best of Making Things: A Hand-book of Creative Discovery. Oregon: Hand Print Press, 2005.

Gardner, Elizabeth B., Opportunities in Arts and Crafts Careers, Illinois: VGM Career Horizons, 1999.

You’re terrific!

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Big Art Says:

Be a (sm)art-allig. Learn to evaluate your work! Evaluating your visual art projects will help you to learn more about designing and improve your understand-ing of media techniques. Many people can help you evaluate your work. Among these are your parents, other 4-H’ers, leaders, teachers, fair judges, and most important, you.

Here are some questions you can ask as you evaluate your own art.

1. What medium did you work in? What materials did you use?

________________________________________________________________________________________

2. What technique did you use?

________________________________________________________________________________________

3. How would you change the materials or technique another time?

________________________________________________________________________________________

4. Describe one of the design elements and the way in which you used it.

________________________________________________________________________________________

5. Where did you get your design idea?

________________________________________________________________________________________

6. What do you like about your work?

________________________________________________________________________________________

7. What change would you make another time?

________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________

Color in an alligator track every time you evaluate one of your projects!

You’re terrific!

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Applause, Applause

Now that you have had a chance to work with some of the media and techniques shown in this guide, you will want to share your results with friends. One way of sharing is to take part in your achievement show and county fair. Ask your leader to explain how your items will be judged.

In addition to the fair, find other places where you can show your completed projects. Ask your school library, county extension office, hospital, local art as-sociation, or nursing home if they have exhibit space.

If you don’t have enough items for a show by your-self, you may want to invite five or six friends to display their projects with yours. If so, find out in advance what everyone is bringing. Ask them to have their items finished and ready for display.

Having items ready for display means having hang-ers on them if they are to hang, and mats or frames on them if necessary. Some of the items may be three-dimensional, like clay sculptures or wooden pieces. To display these, you will want to set them on something. Is there a table you can use? If you need something higher, a wood box, plastic cube, brick, or cardboard box might work. Do you need tablecloths or pieces of fabric to cover the table and other display spaces? If so, use a plain dark color. A sheet or blan-ket might work. How will you hang the pictures or flat work? Can you staple, tape, or thumb tack items to the wall? If you tape items, use duct tape. Roll the tape into a loop and put it on the back, so it doesn’t show on the front. You may need more than one loop to hold up the item. If you have several pieces to hang, you might want to consider taking a long board and attaching wires to each end. Then you can hold the board up with just two nails, yet several items can be displayed by attaching them to the board with either nails or staples.

Get permission before nailing. When hanging items, hang them so that the center of interest is at the viewer’s eye level. Another hint in hanging is to try to keep the tops of the items level when possible. Take a friend with you to help you while you hang the display evenly. Remember to put up a sign that tells about the exhibit. Also post 3-inch by 2-inch cards next to each person’s work that tell the title of the piece, the medium, the person’s name and age.

List some places in your town where you could ask to show your work.

___________________________________________

___________________________________________

___________________________________________

___________________________________________

Another way to share your skills in the visual arts is by giving presentations and working exhibits. To do a presentation, you show and tell others how to do something you are interested in and can do well. You could show someone how to make a portfolio, paper mosaics, or anything else shown in this book. Ask your leader to help you with other ideas.

There are many ways for you to combine your visual art skills with citizenship, community service, and leadership projects. Here are a few suggestions, but be creative and think of your own.• Plan an art tour of the community for your 4-H group.• Print holiday cards for nursing home residents to use.• Draw the cover design for your local 4-H program book.• Make posters for county 4-H programs.• Organize a materials exchange for art projects within your 4-H group.

average eye level

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average eye level

Big Art’s Tail

Goodbye for now, but remember to keep in touch. This book lists more than 25 activities. You’ll want to come back to try some of them again. In a year or two, when you’re ready to move on, I’ll be waiting in Art in Your Future, the project book for Unit 2.

Unit 2 will take a look at art as a career, give more tips on creativity and originality, and help you devel-op discipline in an art. You’ll have a chance to pursue your own art heritage, and learn some new designing processes.

Until then, keep celebrating!

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Alligator Riddles

1. What’s Art’s favorite drink?2. Why are alligators great gardeners?3. How do alligators invest their money?4. Why are alligators never without money?5. What do alligators have that no other reptile has?6. What did the alligator say when the 4-H leader grabbed him by the tail?

See ya later alligator ...

Answers

1. Gatoraid.2. They have green thumbs.3. In stocks and ponds.4. They always have green backs.5. Little alligators.6. This is the end of me.

This publication was printed on 70 lb. Torchglow Im-perial Ivory. The type style is Berkeley Oldstyle Book, 11 point on 13.5 point with Caslon heads. The ink is alligator green pms#553.

Originally prepared by JaneAnn Stout, former Exten-sion specialist–art and design, and Roy Hougen, former assistant state leader, 4-H youth development.

No endorsement of companies or their products mentioned is intended, nor is criticism implied of similar companies or their products not mentioned.

. . . and justice for allThe U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimi-nation in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, and marital or family status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Many materials can be made available in alternative formats for ADA clients. To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Office of Civil Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 14th and Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call 202-720-5964.Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension work, Acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, in cooperation with the U.S. Depart-ment of Agriculture. Stanley R. Johnson, director, Cooperative Extension Service, Iowa State University of Science and Technol-ogy, Ames, Iowa.

celebrate art - iowa state universitythe word art is derived from the renaissance words arti and...

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