Pyrography and Pottery

   
Wednesday, May 25th

     Pyrography is "the art or technique of decorating wood or leather by burning a design on the surface with a heated metallic point". Also known as wood-burning, it can be done on clay, leather, or gourds!

    Continuing with my goal of using a variety of media, I researched pyrography and my mom bought me some wood-burning tools (thank you Mom <3).

     The wood-burning pen was about $30 and came with a few different metal tips to create various lines and marks. It's super easy to use because it's just like you are drawing, but as you draw, it burns into the wood.
    In the past this technique was sometimes used to personalize things like wooden instruments then the style later evolved to become more decorative. Its reall amazing how realistic it can look.

Below is a list of materials people have used with the wood-burning technique.

animal bone/skull

wooden egg
candle holder
spoon/utensils/dishes
phone case
necklace pendant
leather workboots/ belt


   
     I made a lily...it was the first thing I made and only took about 30 minutes. My choice to produce nature-related pictures on the wood is ironic. A tree was cut down and killed, which in my opinion makes the world less beautiful. However, I took that wood from a tree and recycled it into something beautiful that people can enjoy again.

   

 The one on the right is of little flowers from a tree branch. I started out wanting to do a snake on this piece of wood, but I didn't like the way it was turning out and had to research how to erase wood-burning. Basically, you just sand off the layer that you burnt into and start over.

     I made these two as experiments in pyrography, but I hope to get much better in the future(: There are so many amazing pictures online of portraits people have created on wood; they are so inspiring to me and I want to be able to do the same.

     Finally, Mr. Gledhill my art teacher helped me to pick out a glaze for my box mentioned in an earlier post. The glaze was basically iron rust that you mix with water and then paint onto the already fired piece. After that, you take a wet sponge and wipe off some of the glaze to give it an earthy, rustic look. I am really happy with the way it turned out and it looks especially cool with the succulent. (:

AFTER

BEFORE

Dancing Differently

Monday, May 9th

     Graffiti is absolutely an art if you do it right. I recently took interest in the subject and discovered there is a lot of captivating history behind it. This website was very informative and teaches how to draw some basic letters... check it out if you are interested!

http://www.graffitiknowhow.com/how-to-draw-graffiti-letters-for-beginners/#.VyDVvvkrLIU

     Graffiti is illegal in many places, but there are artists that have been payed big money to paint businesses who want a more urban look. This in mind, much of the graffiti art we have observed in our lives is a quick scribble of a name or an f-word, but there are some walls in certain cities dedicated to legal graffiti. It is in these places that artists can take their time and produce real works of art without the fear of being arrested.
     Banksy is a popular artist who creates murals with a deep message behind them. These are just a few of many interesting works by Banksy:

theodysseyonline.com

   

www.inspirationgreen.com

www.engadget.com

     I read on the earlier website that graffiti should be expressive. The letters you make should show movement and resemble a dance. You use your whole body to create this art, setting it apart from other ways of creating. Also, "due to it’s inherently illegal nature graffiti has traditionally been painted at speed, and this is why the lines and strokes in graffiti look so dynamic and fluid."

     The uniqueness and slight danger behind this art form intrigued me. I went to a nearby bridge to check out some previous designs, but sadly found a bunch of curse words, libel with first and last names as well as crude drawings. This was disappointing, but made me realize that when you make something, it should be nice enough that it would make someone feel bad if they painted over it.
     I may or may not have been inspired to spray something nicer onto that concrete wall and this photo may or may not be of some really simple art I made. Will we ever know?

     Many boats were going by that day and an old man may or may not have told me that my art looked good with a thumbs up. He might have been happy the old stuff he passed while fishing was covered. City beautification at its finest...

     The foundation of graffiti (typography) is something good to practice on paper which is completely legal (: I plan on sketching some ideas and working on a personal graffiti style in the future.

     I also plan to read the book Subway Art by Henry Chalfant and Martha Cooper once it is checked into my library.

   

     An optional assignment in art was to get a picture of a dancer online and then paint it. The catch was you could only use a one inch thick brush, had to be standing, and had to use every color of tempera paint provided. I made 6, but threw out 2 because they weren't very good. Here is my series of 4 dancers:

     Thank you to all those who attended our 20-Time Fair last Wednesday. I was honored to share my work with you and I'm glad you expressed interest in my work! I hope you continue to follow my blog and enjoy art. (:

Variety

Sunday, May 1st

     This week was pretty exciting for me! In art, we are told again and again to form our own creative ideas and if we want to use a photo as a reference, we must get permission from the original creator in order to not be sued. I have never had to ask permission, but I decided to give it a shot.

ELEPHANT

      Our family's sponsor child, Mary, is about 11 years old and living in Kenya. We write letters back and forth which I love because I can get a glimpse into her life and the cultural differences between our countries. Recently, she requested of me to draw her an elephant. Pretty sweet right? Commissioned by our sponsor child ((: haha

        

Reference  photo I used taken by Laura Cook

 
     Anyways, I went online and randomly found a beautiful picture of an African elephant. I clicked further to visit the page and emailed the photographer, Laura Cook. I was not fully expecting a response, but...she enthusiastically replied with a "go ahead" and thanked me for asking her permission!

 

Oil Pastel Elephant 

   This photo was really amazing and I felt so honored to be able to use a professional photo to create an oil pastel for Mary. The time lapse unfortunately cut out before I was done because my phone died so I included a photo of the finished piece too.

     The reason I chose this medium is because it was one of my goals way back when we started this project to use a variety of media. Oil pastel is one I have not used a lot and I experimented with different blending and layering techniques. I planned to use the sgraffito technique on the wrinkles(layering one layer on top of another then scratching through to get details in the color of the bottom layer), but ended up liking the smoother texture which I thought gave it an eerie quality. 

SHOES

     This Christmas I received 2 pairs of white canvas shoes intended for me to paint. I hadn't had much time or many ideas considering the shoes, but 20-Time allowed me to focus on them. (: The octopus-inspired-Converse-style ones are my favorite, but I also love the cute simplicity of the cacti. 

     

     One issue I did have while painting these was that I got some paint on the edges and seams, but it ended up washing out alright. 5 of my friends have asked me to paint them some shoes so if you are reading this, I would be happy to create a design for you of your choice if you buy the shoes! 

SPOON JEWELRY

Spoon Rings

     I used some small collector's spoons my mom gave me and put to use a vise and pair of pliers to bend them around a wooden sizer. I originally intended to make them all into rings but made the ends of some into earrings. I was also going throw out the end that is normally used to eat with, but I made 3 of them into a bracelet! The earrings are a bit mis-matchy as one is from Florida and the other Hawaii, but that just keeps it interesting.

Spoon Bracelet

Spoon Earrings

    I surprised myself this week by getting a lot done while meeting one of my goals. The 3 types of things I created were of not-so-mainstream media (metal spoons, canvas shoes, and oil pastel). My box I mentioned in an earlier post is in the kiln and I can't wait to share my projects with you at the 20-Time Project Fair.