Arty the Smarty needs a place to live!

I love the book Arty the Smarty. Nowadays it's super rare and hard to find. I read it to the pre-school group, just a few parts, in order to introduce a new art directive. This was about making an aquarium, complete with little fishy-friends (made with coffee filters and watercolor) for Arty. Just some shoe boxes and tempera paint were used to make the aquariums. The paint was applied with big sponges to  create the watery and bubbly effects. For the finishing touches, the children were given a few sea shells, pebbles, seaweed (green pipe cleaners) and model magic to create the bottom of their aquariums.

My mock-up of Arty, in the illustration style of the book.

Little Crab Friends

 

I read a part of the book Arty the Smarty to the pre-school group. It was about Mean Old Crab. At the end of it, I told the children that Mean Old Crab might not be mean anymore...if we make him some friends. And what colorful little crabs they made!

My painted image of Mean Old Crab

Cookies! (pretend)

The cookies! This was my very first directive that I came up with and worked on with a group of pre-schoolers. They started with a paper plate, or "cookie tray" and began by painting it with little sponges and adding brightly colored tissue paper. After that, they each got round cardboard "cookies" to decorate with foam "frosting", chocolate and mint "chips", pom-pom "cherries" and "marshmallows" and various other "toppings". The result was a fun, fake cookie-filled pile of creativity.

My Demo Tote Bag

To illustrate for the group what I wanted them to make, I did my own "demo tote bag". It's just to show them what the end result will be like, and to get them (and the staff) excited about the project. I passed it around so each participant had a chance to see the bag up close and hold it in his or her hands.

Front

Back

Tote Bags

Front

Back

Front

Back

This project was also done with the teenage group. I noticed how much they enjoyed painting, and I also wanted to do something that would appeal to their age group. So why not make some funky tote bags? I decided they would first paint on a piece of jean fabric with tempera paint. The next step was to add embellishments and a strap using tacky glue. The results were fab. Many of the staff who helped the participants were asking me how they could make one of their own! The tote bags were a huge hit with everyone. I was so proud of the group and saw how excited they were while they were doing the artwork.

Robots

The four pieces of artwork featured in this post may not look like robots, because it was the process that made this directive work. The group I did this with was in the early teenage years. They had varied disabilities, but they were a lively, interactive and tight-knit bunch.

When I explained the directive to them, they each received a bag of "robot parts". They were to paint and design their own robots, in any way, shape, or form they chose. Over the course of about four 30-minute sessions, they painted, glued, and embellished their creations. The outcome of the artwork had very colorful, shiny results — even a little bit of 3-D.

Abstract Waterfalls

The two pieces of art here are examples of my last directive with the sensory-oriented group. It started with the goal of creating a textured landscape and leftover pieces of window treatments. From there I determined that the group would make waterfalls, using sponges to apply a little blue and white tempera paint down the center. "Foam" was added to the bottom of the waterfalls, which was that stuff you use to make tutus. Then I found some rainbow yarn and thin, plastic-coated wire for the abstract rainbow formations. The last steps were to add some fluffy clouds - dryer sheets - and a growing vine. The green part was twisty paper and the brown twig part was flexible wire. The waterfall, or window treatment part, had full movement and was only taped onto the cardboard backing on the top and on the bottom. There were many textural and visual elements to this waterfall directive. Many odd materials may be used for a nature scene.

Soft Sculpture

This is another directive I tried with the same sensory group. I challenged myself to come up with a project that did not require any glue! It turned out that packing material, interesting fabrics, and fuzzy, brightly colored pipe cleaners did the trick. The participants enjoyed manipulating the materials as they formed their sculptures.

Texture Collage

This is my first post on artwork done at my recently completed internship. The work done in this group was very sensory-oriented, so for this directive I began with a simple piece of cardboard and textured paper. Then, the participants were given foam materials to glue down in any way they chose. Following that, the individuals were given brightly colored pieces of fabric and shiny foil for added interest. Simple and inexpensive.

Just Add Baking Soda

This was an experiment using tempera paints mixed with baking soda for texture. Really cool results.

Leaf Blower

This was inspired by one word: journey. So I traced some leaves on really old tracing paper and thought about all the paths I can take throughout my life. There seems to be quite a few.

Monkey

This was a Japanese-inspired guided imagery thing. Draw a river, a mountain, a house, an animal, a flower, etc. The field of orange flowers, I was told, is supposed to symbolize my work ethic. Produce, produce, produce!!

Mothman

What does death look like? When I was doing this I think was channeling the Mothman Prophecies movie from the night before. After that movie, I kept seeing pairs of eyes everywhere.

My Friends

I was having trouble with the idea of friendship. So I created 3 friends living on blue mushrooms.

Safe Place

I get nervous a lot. One way to cope is to picture the place in which you feel the safest. For me, it's in my apartment, on the couch, napping with my cats.

Addiction Mandalas

The above 3 mandalas were made as I listened to various types of music in order to produce a different result each time. I was trying to get inside the heads of drug addicts in different stages of recovery.

Soul Chaos

This is where I am when I'm not balanced. My insides get tangled in knots. Part of art making is a process of untangling the pieces and smoothing out your innards.

Quirky Affirmations

These cute cards can be made endlessly. Just google a list of inspirational quotes or positive affirmations. Then choose the size you want to make, small (for your wallet) or HUGE for your bedroom or wherever you feel the most energy.

Psychedelic Power

I felt swirly and relaxed while I was doing this.

Headache

After being read a story about the properties of water and how they coincide with life, I created this image. The red is a reflection of my awful headache that day. 

I'm on Fire

I am not a fan of Yanni. His music was playing during this exercise, and the piece reflects my irritation.

Panic in Godzilla Land

I like to make alternate universes. Usually there are monsters.

Welcome to the Murder Spa

I do what I can with the collage materials I'm given.

My Alter-Bitches

We all have our moods.

Slumlord Saga

Larry the landlord really makes me angry.

This is How I Pop Art

I wanna do a painted version of  this one because it might be cool.

Absurd Ideas are OK

This is a conglomerate of old random sketches from my art school days.

The Best Treehouse

The idea here is not drawing skills, especially since I had only 5 or 10 minutes. Rather, it's about remembering a place from your childhood that was awesome. I had a treehouse that I could climb up to and see all the way to the NYC skyline on a clear day.I vow to build an even awesomer treehouse when I have my own home and kids!

Searching for a Spirit

There is a book about the Hmong people of the East, called The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman. So I did a visual book report about it. I felt like using a piece of torn jeans as my canvas. The white smoke is calling a spirit, represented by the leaf, home.

Korean Ink

My first attempt at a Korean style of art. You use a special technique with a brush and ink block, on rice paper. I think it's rice paper. The patience required to just prepare the ink is intense. Very different than the American technique of rushing through everything.

Focus

 I was given photography postcards to choose from, and this picture was of someone's eye's looking in opposite directions. It reminded me of my severe lack of focus at times, as I'm pulled left and right simultaneously. I'm interested in too many things at once. The mixture of colors is an attempt to bring things into focus, or at least into the same general area.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder

I was given an article from a medical journal which was about GAD, a disorder where anxiety pervades all areas of the person's life. He or she can't or won't control it. After reading about it, I created an image which attempts to get inside the head of someone experiencing this disorder. It was not a happy place.