Polish Paper Design and First Fridays at BAM

 
Today we learned about 

Wycinanki 

 

"Vee-chee-non-kee" is the Polish word for 'paper-cut design.  Polish folk art paper cutouts are known through out the world as a beautiful craft. They have a distinctive look, and are made by hand in rural Poland.

Multiple layers of colored paper are folded, cut, and sometimes embossed to create stylized patterns. The complexity of the designs is created by repeating symmetrical patterns and folk motifs inspired by nature and geometric shapes. Folk Paper Cutouts  come in different sizes.

 

•Two styles that developed in the northern area of Warsaw are gwiazdy (g-vee-azda), cut from a round piece of paper

•

•and leluja (le-lu-ya), cut from paper folded lengthwise.

We also have more chances for art.  Mrs. Fornia (my co-teacher today) will be a facilitator for the first Friday events at Bellevue Art Museum.  Bellevue Art Museum is a wonderful place to experience art.
Here are the details:

Mary Lee Hu: Knitted, Knotted, Twisted and Twined

Date:  Friday, March 2nd
Location:  Bellevue Arts Museum
Workshop Name:  March First Friday
Time:  5:30 - 7:30 p.m.
Age:  5 and up
Cost:  $30.00/$25.00 for siblings
Register:  www.smartwithart.net/workshops.php

Your kids can discover the world of fine arts and crafts at the Bellevue Arts Museum (BAM) this Friday evening.  The museum is open late the first Friday of every month and we offer, in partnership with Bellevue Arts Museum (BAM), a kid-friendly workshop!  Kids get to meet other young artists from around the area, take an age appropriate tour of the highlighted exhibit, eat a pizza dinner, and create a one-of-a-kind masterpiece inspired by the artist they toured in the exhibit!  All while parents get to have a nice dinner out or do some shopping at local Bellevue Square.

Student's will create "copper cascading creations" by using copper wire and glass beads to create jewelry and sculptures similar to Mary Lee Hu's original work.  They will learn the art of wire wrapping and ancient jewelry making without heat or soldering and they can choose to wear their beautiful work home!  Join in on this creative experience in museum setting conducive for elementary age children!

Use the link listed above to register your spot for this fantastic evening event.

Reserve your spot now before they fill up!

In addition to this news, click here to find out about a great art party deal provided by Smart with Art.  



Thanks so much!

Painted Clay Suns

 On Wednesday, we used tempera paint to add color to our Mexican Clay Suns.   

Since we had a little extra time after painting, we learned a little about the Spanish artist Picasso's cubist faces and created our own picasso heads using this fun website:   www.picassohead.com

Mexican Clay Suns

Today we learned about Mexican Clay Suns

Mexico is known for its many clay pottery and art forms. Mexican artist Timoteo Gonzales is thought to be the first potter to make the unusual and delightful clay suns, so much a part of Mexico's tourist trade and folk art. These clay sculptures are called Metapec suns and are painted in bright, expressive designs featuring a variety of facial expressions.

Today, we used air dry clay to create our own suns. Students created circles for the sun and then added the rays and the facial expressions. We will paint them next week.

Aboriginal Art

Australian Aboriginal Art

Today we learned about Aboriginal Art from

Australia. This art is unique and exciting to
look at. It is comprised of a series of dots and
meant to be viewed from any direction.

We created our own unique aboriginal
paintings using cotton swabs. The swabs
allowed us to develop the repetition of shape
and capture the circular designs.

Adinkra Cloth

Today we finished our African Adinkra Cloths!

We used found objects and ink to create prints on
paper. We focused on patterns and line designs.
 

We used tan paper to represent the fabric traditionally
used in Africa.  We added decorative paper to represent the ribbons that decorate the cloth.
 

Initially the cloths were made for royalty to be worn at
religious ceremonies. Adinkra cloth is decorated with
traditional symbols that covey the thoughts and
feelings of the person wearing them. 

The fabric of
adinkra cloth is divided into squares by lines drawn
using a bark dye and then stamped with gourds that
have been carved with designs.