lesson idea: silhouettes

I'm currently doing a mini-portrait project with my year 7's for the end of term and we have been having some fun playing around with the starting point 'silhouette's' so I thought I'd share a few of the activities we have been doing! We started by creating a set of photographs so each student had a photo of themselves from a side view. From the photographs we made our initial silhouette. I got my students to create the silhouette by tracing around the outline of their figure onto tracing paper, cutting it out and then placing and cutting round it onto black paper! We then mounted them onto white cartridge!

Rather than just leaving it there though, I wanted to start to put more detail in! We are working up to creating a design on a ceramic tile so I wanted my students to create more layers of colour and more shapes to work with. We used grey paper to add sections of detail, focusing on things like hair, ears (if visible!) and clothing. I showed the students some examples of framed silhouettes too to inspire them to create a black paper-cut border.

Next we came back to drawing! We took the silhouettes out to our photocopier and I showed them how to create a positive/negative copy. The black areas are transformed to white enabling them to draw back into the silhouette shape. Working from their photograph they put back in the detail of their facial features, hair and clothing!

Then finally back out to the photocopier to create a second positive/negative copy this time reverting the image back to it's originally state! I also showed them how to do a one colour copy to liven it up a bit into some brighter colours! It's worth checking if your copier has this setting there's a whole range of colours to choose from - red, blue, yellow, orange, green etc. etc.

My students really enjoyed it and have made some exciting designs in preparation for our ceramic tiles! As always if you try out this technique we'd love to see what you and your students create!

- Claire ❤

technique: drawing with thread pva

Just a quick post to share my excitement with this technique! I love the idea of working with thread but not every student is going to be into the idea of sewing so if you've got any students like this get them to give this a go! 

Drawing with thread & pva

what you need: 

- embroidery floss (I used black but you can use any colour!)

- pva glue

- a flat plastic surface (I used a paint palette)

- glue stick or brush 

method:

1. Pour a layer of pva into your palette (approx. 5mm thick) - you can pour and tilt your palette or push the glue around to make a particular shape that suits your drawing or go right to the edges for an even shape

2. Cut stripes of thread to work with - if your using embroidery floss experiment with separating the 6 strands into different thicknesses so that you can get a range of line in your drawing

3. lay the strands thread into the pva to create your drawing - if you can't get them in the right position use your glue stick or brush to push them into place. You can also create loose threads around your drawing by hanging them outside of the glue area! 

note: the threads will start to sink into the pva and will look faint but the glue will dry clear so do not worry! 

4. Once you have completed your drawing leave to dry! This could take 24-48 hours depending on the thickness of the glue!

5. Once completely dry carefully peel your drawing away from the palette to reveal! 

extension: you could work into your drawing with machine or hand sewing OR cut away areas of glue to leave loose threads 

tip: I used a slightly dirty paint palette (you could paint the palette before hand if you wanted more control over this aspect) - the pva will pick up the paint from the surface which can add an interesting effect to your drawing, if you want it to dry clear use a super clean one! 

As always we'd love to see anything you create if you followed our instructions!

- Claire ❤

3W: Cayce Zavaglia

who: Cayce Zavaglia 

what: photo realistic embroidered portraits 

why: These portraits are incredible! We can't get over the beauty of them and attention to detail... the video below is well worth a watch as it shows the incredible process that goes into creating these pieces. 

Cayce Zavaglia // Interview // Vimeo video process 

Cayce Zavaglia | Portrait and Process from Garrett Zavaglia on Vimeo.

Review: BP Portrait Award and Oil Painting CPD

Back in June I was fortunate to get a place on the National Portrait Gallery Oil Painting CPD, it meant giving up a Saturday but I figured it would be worth it! To give a bit of background on me and oil painting, I've never done it before! In fact despite being an art teacher I have little experience of painting in general. I said that during the introduction at the CPD and felt I got some peculiar looks! I guess it's interesting isn't it - people always think if you do art that you can paint! But i've always done different types; printmaking and graphics at college, drawing and embroidery during my degree and knit during my masters. I mostly teach Graphics and Textiles so whilst we approach painting it's never been a big thing! Right, ramble over, back to the event itself! 

The CPD day itself was really good fun! It was in conjunction with the BP Portrait Awards and to start the day we were asked to visit the exhibition and sketch from the two portraits we found most inspiring - we would have to work in the style of one of these later in the day. We were also lucky enough to meet this years winner Susanne Du Toit, she spoke to us about the portrait and then back in the 'classroom' spoke us through her painting process. It was really interesting to get this insight and was good to hear before we launched into our own paintings! 

Whilst we were painting I took a few in progress shots which I'll share with you then explain a little. One of the best bits of the day was that the whole sessions was subtly tailored in a way to make you confident in an approach to delivering oil painting yourself... 

Now I know my painting isn't incredible but it was enjoyable and the session left me feeling like I wanted to have another go! We had to choose a painting from the portrait awards (I chose Kholiswa by Lionel Smit) and select a black and white photograph to work from. In the morning we did a burnt sienna wash in acrylic to 'lift' the colour, then sketched out an outline and finally added a bit of tone all using acrylic. I felt semi comfortable at this point. We came back after lunch and started with the oil and that's when it got challenging! We were starting by adding skin tones - I found this a nightmare to do especially as we were working from a black and white photo. I think that approach could be interesting if you had students who were experienced painters but for a totally beginner like me I wouldn't recommend it! Once the skin tone was down it was time to add colour and details. In total we painted for about 2 hours, stopping intermittently to be shown different techniques for mixing, layering, using colour and finally adding the finishing touches. 

Overall it was a brilliant day and I'd really recommend it! Check out the National Portrait Gallery CPD page for info on their upcoming sessions! There's another oil painting one in October and if you wanna book really ahead there's another BP Portrait Award/Painting one next summer, this time with acrylic paints! The BP portrait awards were also great and it's free so check it out if you can! It closes on September 15th!

- Claire ❤

3W: Ryan Berkley

who: Ryan Berkley

what: Animal portraits

why: because we love animals and all things vintage looking so this is the perfect combination! We came across the talented Mr. Ryan Berkley on Etsy where he has an incredibly successful shop 'berkleyillustration' which has sold over 30,000 prints since starting up in 2007. So the story goes, Ryan, a self-taught artist started drawing animal portraits in 2006 for an Art Fair. The 'ancestor' themed animal portraits were so popular that it has become a labor of love ever since with a growing army of dedicated followers eager to see what his clever little pencil will draw next. Painstakingly rendered and brilliantly life like it's not hard to see how he has made such a success of his shop. We are even considering buying multiple prints ourselves! Head on over to his shop to see an almighty array of animals from meerkats to sharks!

lesson idea: Maurizio Anzeri inspired embroidery

I'm currently doing a self-portrait project with my BTEC Level 2 Art and Design students as part of Unit 2: 2D Mark-Making. We're in the experimental stage of the project so we've been trying lots of different techniques but today we looked at textile approaches. The lesson worked really well so I thought I'd share what we did... 

Starter: How many marks can you make with a pen? 

I was inspired by this blog post by illustrator/artist Jill Bliss and now whenever I'm doing something mark making related with my students I use this as a starter! I like to give a good 10 minutes for them to really doodle and get into it with just the simple aim of making as many marks as they can with just their pen. If I can I like to join in and do my own on the white board too! 

Main: Maurizio Anzeri inspired embroidery

materials needed:

vintage photos photocopied onto heavy weight paper

needles

embroidery thread

scissors

I made 2 copies of each photograph so that the students could have one photo for translating the marks they'd made in the starter onto the photograph using a pen and the other to stitch on to, this helped them plan which areas they wanted to place their marks in. We then discussed the work of Maurizio Anzeri and afterwards got stuck in stitching for the rest of the lesson! I think it's best to let them be experimental with the marks they make but it's also a good chance to highlight and explain a couple of simple embroidery techniques that they could use and highlight where Maurizio Anzeri has used them on his work. I did it up on the interactive white board... 

Plenary:Class Exhibition

A chance to showcase what they have done and discuss what else they could do to enhance the image further - embroidery is a slow process so they will be able to take away the work and continue if they are really keen on the technique or want to extend and push themselves further! 

My students really enjoyed sewing and it was nice to have a lesson where we could all sit down and have a conversation at the same time as working. We discussed everything from the sort of sewing they'd done in school to imaging people looking back at photographs of us in years to come and them looking as old fashioned as the photos we were using do to us! As always if you try the lesson, or something similar, we'd love to hear from you about how it went!

- Claire ❤

3W: Carne Griffiths

who: Carne Griffiths

what: drawing/portraits

why: because these wonderful portraits have been created using some slightly unusual materials. Although primarily drawn using inks there's also some more offbeat liquids in there - tea, brandy, vodka and whisky! It's the tea that got us thinking we can't wait to have a go using his work as inspiration for the portrait project we're currently delivering, dripping inks & tea here we come! 

3W: Serena Cole

Serena Cole 'Search and Destroy' 2011

who: Serena Cole

what: Mixed media portraiture

why: because these portraits are meticulous in detail, alluring in their high fashion couture subject matter and beguilingly dark and mysterious all at the same time. Serena's work swings wildly from the surreal to the simple with works such as the above 'Search and Destroy' venturing into the fantastical comparing starkly with her  'Black Mirrors' portraits set against an ominous black background. Serena works in pencil crayon, that long forgotten medium now having a revival back to acceptability and combines this with watercolour, ink, gouache, photo transfer and gold leaf to exquisite effect. Her work would be a great introduction to the complexities of the portrait as a subject matter for students and this combined especially considering her chosen media. Check out this interview with Serena on The Block Magazine website for further insight into her artwork. 

3W: Noah Kalina

who: Noah Kalina 

what: Photography

why: This is not a new concept, however it is the longest take on the '365' photographs idea that we have come across lasting a whopping 12.5 years and comprising of an outstanding 4,514 self portraits (and counting)!! Noah has become somewhat of an internet sensation following the earlier release of a video showing his 'everyday' project at 6 years in. He has also posed with a series of famous people such as Paris Hilton and Mark Zuckerberg after being named No. 14 on the Top Internet Superstars of all time by VH1. Noah, who is based in Brooklyn, has also worked on many other interesting projects such as 'interiors'  where he attempted to photograph every single restaurant in New York empty.

blog // twitter 

3W: Daniel Kornrumpf

who: Daniel Kornrumpf

what: paintings with thread

why: because their wow! They remind us of the brush strokes of a Van Gogh painting and the detail of each hand embroidered portrait is incredible. Daniel Hornrumpf manages to capture every detail from the hairs on people's faces to the bags under their eyes and we love it. A fun class activity would be to consider his style compared to the work of photo realist painter Chuck Close and then create abstract inspired portraits by each artist. Go on... give it a go!

Daniel Kornrumpf // pinterest idea

3W: Evelin Kasikov

who: Evelin Kasikov

what: fun pixelated portraits

why: because their original, bright and all based on the same embroidery grid. The works above are part of The Portrait Project where Eveline Kasikov is stitching 10 portraits using different methods, thicknesses and colours of thread. The grids consist of squares, crosses and diagonal lines and it isn't until you stand back that you begin to see the beautiful pixelated faces hidden within. Have a look at the link below where you can see the before and process photos of the embroideries before she completes all 10!

The Portrait Project // Interview with Evelin Kasikov

3W: Charlotte Caron

who: Charlotte Caron
what: c'est chic animal portraits over photo portraits
why: because it's such an amazing idea and we wish we had thought of it! French artist Charlotte Caron has painted animal heads on top of photographic portraits of her friends from art school aiming to highlight the masks people assume in everyday life. In her artist statement Charlotte's intention was to "create osmosis between the two mediums" - To fall in love with the collection like us view the links below where you might just have to commission one yourself!

Justapoz Magazine // Trendland