Making Rainbows!

After we created our Colour Mixing Rainbow, there were lots of paint sample sheets left over, so thought the children might like to make their own rainbows.  I cut the samples sheets up so we ended up with lots of shades of each colour. 

I then needed a rainbow template, so downloaded one from the internet and enlarged it using Publisher. 

I didn't think the paper rainbow would take the weight of the colour sample sheets so transfered the rainbow onto card.

You could draw one by hand, but I do admit to being a bit of a

perfectionist!

The children then began to create their rainbows. 

They chose their own colours and were very focused on staying within the lines!

I mixed all the colours together in one pot as I wanted the children to identify the colours and this led to conversations about the different shades.  The rainbow closest is mine! I find the children are more willing to join in an activity if I am doing it and infact look at me very suspiciously if I try to get them to do something that I am not joining in!

The children decided themselves what colour they wanted each section of their rainbow to be.

At one point we started to run low on yellows.  So noticing me cutting some more, J was keen to join in this part of the activity as well and set about cutting her own. 

Almost finished!  J's interest was waining a bit at this point so we made the activity into a race - who could finish first!  Being highly competitive her rainbow was finished in no time!

After cutting all those little squares it seemed a shame just to throw the rest away, so I added them to our resource wall and the children can use them for gluing or anything else they can think of!

Links to EYFS:

PD: Using Equipment and Materials (using the scissors and glue spreaders)

CD: Exploring Media and Materials (talking about the shades of colours / selecting particular colours)

Yet more Eric Carle!

Had a bit of time with just me and my youngest daughter on Saturday, so we made this collage of her name, inspired of course by Eric Carle.  Anna at The Imagination Tree gave me the idea of using the collage sheets in this way when she made a 'C' for her daughter's name in the same way.  But of course, my daughter wasn't happy with just an 'L' and insisted we did her whole name.  We must have printed about 15 sheets of tissue paper between us.  I then cut these into squares, triangles and semi-circles whilst she stuck them onto card to form a collage.  Once dry I cut her name out.  We thought the finished result was quite effective and she is now nagging her dad to put it on her wall.  I am thinking of making these as leaving presents for two of the children I look after who are leaving soon.

Butterflies - Eric Carle style - version 2!

No, I'm not totally obsessed with butterflies / Eric Carle!  I wanted a really simple activity I could do at the Childminding Group along this theme.  Although the butterflies we already created looked fab, they were never going to work with 20+ children ranging in age from 6m - 4 years in 2 hours.  So I decided to simplify the process and print straight onto the butterfly templates.  I got my guinea pigs (oops I mean children) to work! 

First I got them to pick a colour to paint the butterfly with.  I needed to restrict the amount of paint they used, otherwise I could predict our butterflies ending up that horrible purply brown colour.  So I thought one way of doing this might be to paint using our hands, which of course they were more than happy to oblige.  This generated lots of giggles as the paint was 'cold and tickly'. 

Once we had the majority of the butterfly covered, I got them to select another colour. Again the idea should be to select contrasting colours, but I wanted to allow the children as much freedom as possible during the activity.  This time they used their brushes to make big marks on the paper, again needing encouragement to avoid focusing only on the centre of the paper. 

They then got to pick the resource they would like to use for printing and selected another colour.  We stuck to the ones we had used for the other butterfly activity - stickle brick, duplo brick, carpet square and cardboard tube.

Here are our finished butterflies.  Hmmm not bad and much quicker to do!

Links to EYFS:
CLL: Language for Communication (following instructions)
CLL: Handwriting (making lines across the paper with the paint)
PD: Using Equipment and Materials (using equipment, developing hand / eye coordination)
CD: Exploring Media and Materials (differentiating colours, creating collages)

Hungry Caterpillar Style Butterflies

We thought we would join in the celebrations of Eric Carle's birthday (author of the Hungry Caterpillar) and create some butterflies this week.  We watched Eric's unique technique for painting on his website and decided to use the simplied version  Anna at The Imagination Tree had thought up.

Luckily we already had some very thick tissue paper. Thicker is better as it tends to tear whilst the children are trying to paint it.  Although the idea is to use contrasting colours, I didn't want to be too prescriptive and let the children select the colours they wished to use.  So we chose the colour of tissue paper we wanted and then the
first colour paint and made large brush marks across the paper. 




This took quite a lot of encouragement initially as the
children both seemed to want to colour in the centre
of the paper with lots and lots of paint! We then
selected another colour and made some more large
brush marks. 

Next was the part they enjoyed the most, stamping, evident in the big smiles!  They each selected an object to use, we used small squares of carpet, duplo bricks, sticklebricks and a small cardboard tube andstamped onto their card using another colour paint. 

We went on to create about 15 sheets of tissue paper (cooking lunch in the kitchen was a bit of a struggle!). 

While we waited for our masterpieces to dry, we created a butterfly template on the laptop, blew it up and printed it off.  Okay, so I did the butterfly and they raced round the garden like lunatics! (I think those creations required more concentration than I had realised!)

However, keen to be involved in every stage of this  project, I had two very willing volunteers to help me piece the 9 A4 sheets of black together, just like a giant jigsaw!  They also insisted on helping to stick it together, consequently this part took quite a long time and a lot of unsticking and repositioning!  We then used our template to cut out some butterflies from card.  

After resorting to the hairdrier, I cut up the  paintings   into small squares and triangles (with hindsight I probably cut ours a bit too small and they would have been more effective if they were larger) and the children stuck them onto their butterfly templates.

And here are our finished creations!

Links to EYFS:
CLL: Language for Communication (following instructions)
CLL: Handwriting (making lines across the paper with the paint)
PD: Using Equipment and Materials (using equipment, developing hand / eye coordination)
CD: Exploring Media and Materials (differentiating colours, creating collages)

SPRING CLEANING - or - SHOWING OFF YOUR SOUVENIRS

It is that time of year again - time for Spring Cleaning.  Time to clean out the drawers, organize, and clean,

Below see the collage I did for my niece Mallory using souvenirs she collected after spending a year in Europe.  She didn't want to put them into an album - she wanted to be able to look at them and share them with her friends.  She recently moved into her first apartment, so I put this together as a housewarming gift for her.

This is an inexpensive way to create a piece of art that is uniquely your own using your memories.   I have done several of these for friends using souvenirs from trips or special events.   I use the original material selectively and copy others, changing the scale and dying the paper.   I then add embelishments that might include rice paper, thread, or anything that is appropriate.

This is another example of what I call a "memory collage".  My father rebuilt pianos, and also knew how to tune them.  This was something he loved doing and I inherited his book on piano tuning - which included notations my dad had made in his handwriting.  I copied some of this and did a collage entitled "Showing of the Piano" - which is a term piano tuners use when the piano is ready to be played.  This collage keeps my father's memory alive with something he really loved!

Do you have materials stuck back somewhere that you would like to organize and "show off" in a piece of original art?   I'd be happy to put something together and work closely with what is important to include for a reasonable fee.   If interested, contact me at vickiemartinarts@comcast.net

Also, if you have done collage along these lines, share them with me!

ARTICLE IN THE ATLANTA JOURNAL ABOUT THE ATLANTA ARTS FESTIVAL

Check out this article in todays AJC (9/9/09). I am mentioned as a demonstrator!!!!

ART EVENTS

I had a goal to get my artwork out and noticed. Now that I look at this list I can honestly say I have am pretty sure I have achieved that goal
.
WHERE MY ART IS CURRENTLY:

Emerging Art Scene, located in the Stacks in Cabbagetown in Atlanta. Sign up to be part of the group on Facebook, because there is always something going on.
Michael Joseph Gallery, located in Ft. Lauderedate, through 8/31 - The show is celebrating 100 artists.
Hartsfield Jackson International Airport, the Canvas Project with the Arthouse Coop

COMING UP

Artlanta Art Festival, September 12-13. I will be demonstrating the art of collage in Piedmont Park, details to follow. I'm very excited about this opportunity and I hope some of my collage friends will stop by and help me demonstrate.

East Atlanta Strut on September 19th, This is one of the funkier parts of Atlanta, so come and enjoy the day!

Alliance Theatre - September 23-27. The 2009-2010 season's opener is "Come Fly Me To The Moon", with vocals by Frank Sinatra and dance by Twyla Tharp. I have been given the opportunity of setting up my work prior to the performances the opening week of the show. I will be in the lobby an hour prior to the show and during the intermission.

October - the Atlanta Collage Society is having a group show at the Georgia Perimeter College. Details to follow. However, it is important to note the National Collage Society will be held at Mason Murer Gallery in the month of Novembert, so look for alot of collage events around town in October and November.

Chastain Park Art Festival - October 17 and 18th
Because I know the promoters of this event, I expect this to be a high quality professional art festival.

December - The Atlanta Collage Society will be having a group show at Quinlan Art Center in Gainesville. I am excited about being part of a show in such a prestigious venue.

December - Winter Solstice, group show of the Shadowline Artist Group at the Limelight Gallery in Binders in Atlanta. We began as a critique group and have been together since 2004. This is our first group show in a couple of years!

THINGS NOT CONFIRMED:

Oakhurst Art Festival October 10th
Cabbagetown Chomp and Stomp - November 7th
Terrific Thursdays in Decatur in November and December.

RHYTHM OF MY LIFE SHOW

I currently have a solo show up at the Sandy Springs Library, here in Atlanta. The piece to the left, MUSIC OF THE WORLD, is one of the pieces I am showing. Because I am the daughter and the grand-daughter of piano tuners, I have always turned to music for inspiration. I have always like the way music looks on the page.


Also, the piece on the left side of the banner (above) is in the show. This piece began with a page from a book of music I found at the Goodwill Book Sale. Each page was devoted to a different composer, with the top half devoted to a short biography, and the bottom with a simplified version of a piece of music often associated with that partciular composter. This one was devoted to Bizet, and the music is from Carmen. I used the word "passion" prominently because that best describes this music.

Enjoy. Come to the show at the Sandy Spring Library on Johnson Ferry Road, through 6/31.

Let me know what you think of these pieces. If you use music in your artwork, please share!

BLOGGING ABOUT ART

I am taking a four week blogging class. Today's assignment was coming up with 20 topics to blog about in the future. So - here goes:
Gallery Happenings in Atlanta;
How My Rhythm of the Series is evolving right now
The Importance of Learning Art History
Who are my ancestors in Art?
The importance of having an organized studio
Are we ever going to install the flat files in the studio? Or are they going to stay in the dining room?
Spring Cleaning is late, Atlanta skipped Spring this year
Festival Happenings in Atlanta
Are Salons making a comeback
Everything in my kitchen is fair game to be used as art materials
Should I stop collecting junk mail for collage materials, and jar lids for circles?
Review of a movie about art - maybe Who The *&%* is Jackson Pollack
Why I love my Critique Group - Shadowline Artists
the National Collage Society national show is in Atlanta this year
I know How important it is to do blind contours, so why don't I do them?
My dress series is evolving into men's clothing

I have a google alert for Atlanta Artists, and Atlanta Collage Artists, and my recent posts are popping up in there!!!

THIS WEEKEND

I will have a booth at the Sweet P Festival in Marietta this weekend. I'm still in my "dress rehearsal" phase - trying to get my tent to look professional and enticing! I have had greeting cards, as well as bookmarks printed - so I'm ready to go sell!!!!
Sweet P's is locatd at 1975 Johnson Ferry Road, Marietta Ga. at the Episcopal Church of St. Peter and Paul.

THE UNIVERSE WE KNOW

This consists of 4 canvases, each measuring 20x24. I started with the sun on the left, and moved to Mercury, then Venus, Earth and Mars, complete with the moons each one has. All of the planets, and the sun contain collage material that pertains to them. For example, the sun has a tarot card with a sun on it. Earth has a picture of my house from google earth. I used a lot of layers to create a very tactile environment. This was done with collage, as well as modeling paste and paint. I did this as part of my TRANSFORMATION show at Georgia Perimeter College in October. Maybe someday I will go back and finish the entire universe as we know it - but I have to admit, I quit when I got to Jupiter, it is just SO BIG!!!!

PASSION OF THE DANCE - ABSTRACT DRESS

Because Valentine's Days is coming up, I thought I should post a painting that I believe shows the romance and passion of the holiday. This is a large piece - 24x36". I built the texture with paint, and added paper. All of the paper has references to the dance of the tango, either how to dance it with the footsteps, or narrative in both English and Spanish.

Enjoy - and feel free to leave a post!

REPRESENTATION WITH MICHAEL JOSEPH GALLERY IN FT. LAUDERDALE

Below is the press release that was sent out by Michael Joseph gallery. I will be sending 6-8 pieces down there this week to be exhibited in a group show, with an opening on 11/14. Read about the gallery by clicking on the following link. All of my pieces are available as prints too.


http://michaeljosephgallery.com/





VICKIE MARTIN
Award winning abstract Atlanta artist Vickie Martin uses a variety of material to create her mixed media work. Among them are acrylic paint, ink, pastels, charcoal and collage. She is inspired by different themes including music, geometric shapes and architecture.

Vickie’s art has been described as a dance of shapes, textures and rhythms. Being the daughter and grand-daughter of piano tuners, using rhythm is natural for her.

Textures are created using several things, many of which are found around the house. Collage is one of things used to create texture. Some of the things she regularly uses are old maps, dress patterns, insides of envelopes, old books (in any language), newspaper, stamps, tissue paper, produce bags, or anything that may attract her attention.

Some of the things she uses to create a tactile tecture are sand, coffee, tea and salt (from table salt to rock salt). Not afraid of experimenting, she has also used baby oil, alcohol, even miracle grow, and has been known to set canvases outside during a rainstorm. The layering of all of this creates a depth and the more one looks at the work, the more unexpected things being appearing.

TRANSFORMATION SHOW AT GEORGIA PERIMETER COLLEGE

WELL, the time has finally arrived for us to hang the show at Ga. Perimeter College's Dunwoody campus. Donna and I have been working on this since April, and I think the hard work is going to pay off. I have 24 pieces that I have completed for this. This is the debut of both this work and using this space in the library for a gallery. My work consists of multi-layered mixed media, using everything in my studio from ink, pen, pencil, pastels, acrylic, to salt and coffee. I hope people will come out to see the work. Located on Womack Drive in Dunwoody (off Tilly Mill), the show will be in the library.