Paint Meet Paper

[paintmeetpaper]

Second Class Citizens

Warning, this is a RANT post. So, if you’re feeling groggy or defensive on this rainy and windy Joaquin day, then skip over this one. Or stay for the action, but I have my fists up, and if you know me, you know I am feisty.

A second class citizen is “a person who is systematically discriminated against within a state or other political jurisdiction, despite their nominal status as a citizen or legal resident there.” (Thanks wikipedia).

In the education world, an art teacher is often treated like a second class citizen. No surprise there, right? I mean, it’s not like we went to school for pedagogy or anything (or was it pedagogy PLUS our specialization, I can’t remember). It’s not like we had to even be certified, I mean all we’re doing is letting the kids paint a wee bit and making sure no one glues their faces to the table. The whole MTELs thing must have been an illusion for me, I tend to hallucinate a lot ... I’m an artist after all! Since we’re speaking of stereotypes, I might as well throw it out there I’m also spacey, bad with numbers, like rainbows, wear flamboyant clothing, dye my hair all sorts of bright colors, like to just give away art for free (you know, because I can always make more easily), and like to smoke a lot of pot. Only SOME of those are true ;).

I once sat across the table from a gentleman, who told me, with all due respect, kids should be learning what 2+2 is and preparing for state exams, not making paintings for the refrigerator. Well kind sir, if the art we create makes it to your refrigerator, that is QUITE a compliment. With my 8th period 7th graders, a rambunctious class of 32, I was happy to find that by the end of the unit, no one scooped out a chunk of their fingers (like icecream) using the U-gouge lino cutters. Take that, refrigerator!

Also, there were those times I talked about art history, but that’s not important. I may have slipped in some information about professional photography, but that doesn’t count either. Graphic design, but who’s counting? Anatomical Illustration, interior design grids, car designs, partnering with the architectural program... booorrringgg...But I digress (as art people do since they’re sooooo spacey)... back to the 2+2.

Right, 2+2. Back to the 2+2 and state exams. You know, the ones for which you have to memorize the test patterns, and learn the RIGHT way to solve a problem? Didn’t you know, there’s only one right answer? Say it with me: “The sky is ...” “Blue!” “Right!”

"The grass is ...? “Green!” “Right!”

“To unlock a door, you need a ...? “Key!” “Right!”

Hey kids, say goodbye to your childhood, and say hello to this, here, textbook. It’ll teach you everything you need to know in this world. Except creative problem solving. We’ll figure that one out later.

::runs away and hides::.

Alright, education. Some people have the patience and stamina to deal with your bullshit, but not me! I can’t seem to swallow my pride with this one. I give up on you - I quit! There are WAY too many creative opportunities out there and time is a tickin’. (Truth be told, I quit the public school systems a few years ago, but this post was a long time coming).

Although, education, I know it’s not your fault; it’s the fault of politicians, who believe the formula for innovation is math and science. What’s art got to do, got to do with it? And, in the mean time, we’re left to fend for ourselves every time someone says “so like, you’re an artist?”.

Yes, I’m an artist, and what a loaded question!

You know that couch you’re sitting on? Lucky for that second class designer, whose couch you selected for your perfectly furnished living room. Could you live without that couch? Sure. Could you live without all of the other pretty stuff you own? Sure. Could you live in a world where you didn’t care about design, and what would that look like? I’d guess everyone’s houses would be identical. Everyone’s dishware would be identical. Everything would be grey, like in Lois Lowry’s book “The Giver”, because why does color matter, if design doesn’t? And innovation would be on the back burner, since how can we innovate without thinking of design?

So, once more, back to the 2+2, since I’m a such a mess!

[paintmeetpaper]

Elliot Eisner: A hero

Almost a year ago, a real hero in the eyes of art teachers passed away on January 10, 2014. His name was Elliot Eisner and he was a Russian Jewish immigrant from the Ukraine.

He wasn't a hero in the artistic sense; he wasn't a masterful painter or sculptor. He didn't paint the Sistine chapel nor Doubting Thomas; Michelangelo and Caravaggio are heroes in their own right. He wasn't the first to understand and come up with a system for a 2-point perspective, since Masaccio had done that all on his own, unbelievably in 1428. He didn't come up wit ha functional dome design to top the famous Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence, as this was Brunelleschi's arguably greatest achievement. The arts played a significant role in the day-to-day life of society, and it was heroes such as Michelangelo and Masaccio who paved the way for capturing the essence of life in art form.

Elliot Eisner was not a master of art. Instead he championed the importance of excellent art education in school. And not necessarily for the sake of higher test scores (because we've heard that argument that engaging in art has improved standardized testing results). And not for the sake of promoting art careers either, though you know I'll always advocate that there are in fact an absolute plethora of art jobs out there, and once you've build up your skills, you can do pretty much anything, from fashion or product or graphic design to architecture, art curator to art teacher. The possibilities are endless, really! But I digress.

Elliot Eisner talked about art for art's sake. He argued that actual art-making has benefits of its own, intellectually and emotionally, and he came up with a cohesive list of 10 lessons the arts teach, which are now proudly posted to the National Art Education Association website (an organization most art teachers belong to). Many teachers across the US even hang the 10 lessons in their classrooms. Feel free to read through them here. Among the lessons, the arts teach students that small differences can have large effects; the arts celebrate multiple perspectives; the arts teach children to make good judgements about about qualitative relationships; and the arts teach children to say what cannot be said.

Elliot Eisner was displeased that even when the arts were part of school, they were, in his words, "ornamental" and not "substantive". Instead, he advocated for an art curriculum that would be on par with math and and science. He argued that students should "make art, appreciate it, understand it, and make judgements about it". He brought art education to the talking board. And that is why he was considered a hero among us art teachers!

Liza

[paintmeetpaper]

This Week on Kitchen Disasters (or, How to Make Cold Porcelain) ...

DIY Cold Porcelain

My husband and I are going away on our honeymoon (yay yay yay yay!!!!) and I decided I would make a few art packets to keep my students busy while I'm out. And also, some clay.

DIY's always look a lot easier than they actually are. The key word being "look". Bloggers and Pinterest-ers take extra care to set up their cameras and lighting, and later go Photoshop-crazy, editing things juuuuust right to get perfectly beautiful and inspiring photographs.

So when I finally found a seemingly simple recipe and a great video to go along with it, I felt unstoppable. I was going to speed through and then have time to do all of the other DIY's I was saving for this winter break.

But you know, that feeling doesn't last very long. You soon realize the DIY pictures are deceptively neat. There's no oil stain on the camera lens. The plastic spoons are magically clean, even when stirring glue is involved. Counter tops are sparkling. Hands and finger nails are curiously immaculate. And you wonder, how did they pour corn starch so neatly into a bowl? When I tried to do that, not only did some spill on the counter and the floor, it also rose up into the air and made its way into my face and nostrils!

Nevertheless, I persisted onward. And I was actually pretty pleased with the results! I am letting the porcelain rest until tomorrow. But for now, I am noticing it doesn't stick to my hands and make a huge mess the way regular air dry clay does. It's also pretty silky and feels nice to play with. And it smells like Shea butter!

Here was my process. The picture quality starts to blur toward the end because I realized that I had gotten my baby oil soaked hands all over the lens.

1. To start, you'll need corn starch, Elmer's glue, baby oil, lotion, lemon juice, a measuring cup (whoops forgot to include that in the picture), a disposable microwavable bowl, and a plastic spoon.

2. Measure out 1 cup of corn starch. Gently add it to the bowl. You might want to do this one spoonful at a time because this is what happened when I tipped the cup into the bowl:

Side bar: I measured out 1 cup (of water) in a plastic Solo cup and marked it with a sharpie so as to not get glue all over my regular measuring cup.

3. Add 1 cup of glue, 2 tablespoons of baby oil, 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and mix this delicious concoction together. Try to get out most of the clumps until it looks somewhat like molasses. Fun fact: 1 tablespoon = 3 teaspoons.

Another side bar: Mix very very slowly and carefully at first. For those of you who don't cook with corn starch (which I don't and have never before), it's extremely light and any movement sends it floating happily into the air. Don't be fooled by the picture ;)

4. Time to microwave! Place your bowl into the microwave for 15 seconds and mix thoroughly. Repeat 6-9 times. You'll notice the goopy mixture getting thicker and thicker.

Pardon the glow in the photo (that's the oil on the lens).

You'll know you're almost there when your spoon can take no more of this abuse.

When that happens, you know your clay needs 15 more seconds in the microwave. 

The next couple of steps I couldn't take pictures of because my hands were covered in doughy goop. But before that ... What step were we on?

5 I think. Remove the bowl from the microwave. Add lotion to the area that you're working on (and make sure to put out plastic wrap or something to protect the surface). Also add a ton to your hands to keep them from getting too much porcelain on them. 

6. Knead the clay for about 5 minutes, but be careful because it's hot hot hot coming out of the microwave.

And voila!

7. Wrap the porcelain in saran wrap and let it rest for 24 hours.

Finito!

This porcelain supposedly keeps for several months, as long as it's wrapped up (the lemon juice serves to preserve it). Also, if left out for a few days it should dry up and turn hard. Great for making little sculptures or jewelry (I hope). I'll try it out tomorrow and post an update.

Happy Friday night to all!

Liza

[paintmeetpaper]

Ode to Naples Yellow

For all of you painters and painters-in-training

A quick tip on painting skin:

Are you using white to brighten the highlights on your portraits? If so, your portraits may be looking a bit chalky. In art school, a fellow art student and brilliant painter introduced me to Naples Yellow as a near substitute for white. It creates rich skin tones and is a great base for mixing in other colors. And, if Naples yellow had a slogan, it would sound like this:

Naples Yellow: So creamy and light. Like Butter!

For shadows on skin, I love to incorporate purples, blues and greens. Greens tend to make the peaches a little brighter (just be careful not to overdo it and risk your portrait appear like a corpse!).

Thanks for reading!

Leah

[paintmeetpaper]

My favorite lesson and how I came up with it

As an artist, I really enjoy looking at and touching various textures. Pair color and texture and you've got something interesting.

A few years back, on my walk from the middle school parking lot to the door entrance, I noticed all the textures along the way, from the gritty, speckled sidewalk, to the spiky grass; the red brick facade to the silver, smooth metal door handle. 

A lightbulb went off and I was ready to introduce a new lesson to my 6th graders about Architectural Textures, or textures found on the outside of buildings. In this lesson, we would analyze actual texture vs. implied texture and learn to create both!

Quick Recap:

Actual Texture: Texture on an object that you can reach out and touch.

Implied Texture: Texture in a drawing/painting that looks like the real thing but isn't. 

The students' first assignment was to walk around their houses and take up-close pictures of at least 3 different textures.

Here are some examples that I pulled from the in-ter-net.

Next, students were to choose their favorite one, and generate a list of adjectives that described the textures in their photograph. They wrote their responses on pink post-it notes and we stuck them to the wall. 

In order to talk about creating implied texture, we also needed to understand what values are (how light or dark a color is), and why values are important for art-making (they are fundamental in creating 3D effects in drawings and painting). Next we created value scales using charcoal and taped these up on our wall as well. 

Alright, lesson 1 was complete. Onto the next lesson within our unit!

Students were to use what they know about values to create a mixed media drawing of their textures. Tissue paper, acrylic paint, soft pastels, oil pastels, and charcoal, were just some of the mediums at their disposal.

Here were a few of the results:

Lesson 2 complete! Now let's really get our hands dirty and talk about actual texture. Students were instructed to use both their drawing and their photographs to recreate a 3D-actual-texture-sculpture (wow that was a mouthful) of their architectural texture. Materials they could work with included: plaster, oil pastels, soft pastels, tissue paper, wood chips, hot glue, acrylic paint, charcoal, cotton balls, wire... you name it, they could use it!

Here were some of the awesome results:

Along the way, we had really meaningful critiques that served to guide the students. They all did such a great job—I was so impressed! And check out that rusty pipe!

So, yeah, this was by far one of my most favorite lessons. Not only because—let's face it—texture is just so great, but because this was a very process-oriented unit. We weren't so much concerned about the final product so much as the meandering route it took to get there. Students explored a plethora of materials—mostly on their own—which is something kids don't really get to do so much past the age of like, 5. They also didn't feel the pressure of creating something recognizable—to have someone else say "hey that doesn't look like so and so". It wasn't about that! It was about process process process. And I think it was refreshing.

Til' next time!

Liza

[paintmeetpaper]

Paint Meet Clothing

Every day I seem to have another bout with tempera or acrylic paint on my clothes. I have no idea how it gets there, I don't remember even using certain colors and they'll find their way onto my clothes. What is this sorcery?? Leah please help me understand!

Let me preface by saying I always wear a smock. And yet somehow, when using tempera/acrylic, I find paint stains on my clothes, on my jewelry, on my shoes, in my hair... everywhere. Sometimes I might notice those same stains while I'm out to dinner, at a concert, at a funeral, etc. Here are the two stages of paint discovery, in order:

Stage 1) Anger. Personify paint and mutter angrily at it.

Stage 2) Acceptance.

So acceptance is where I am now. I have come to terms with the fact that my clothes are just always going to be tainted with bright yellow paint. And wearing a big winter jacket is always nice, no one will ever know! That is, until it too gets splattered with white paint.

In terms of the appropriate level of paint, white paint on my jacket just crosses the line!

SO, I decided to get out the acetone and do a tutorial on how to get this stubborn paint out of clothes. It's actually pretty easy.

What you'll need:

Your paint-caked article of clothing

2-3 cotton balls

Acetone

All you need to do is pour the acetone into the lid, soak the cotton ball and gently begin dabbing at the stain, taking care not to spread it around. 

Keep going...

Aaaaand Voila!

When finished, run the article of clothing through the wash to get out the smell and any remaining paint residue. 

In conclusion, see my introduction, because this will not be your last stain!

Hope you found this helpful and thanks for reading.

Liza

[paintmeetpaper]

Re: On Brushes and A Story

Tsk Tsk Tsk Leah!

Oh who am I kidding, I used to do the same. Now I treat myself to fancier brushes once in a while, and I keep these at home. In fact, they have yellow tape all over them and they’re labeled “keep out of reach of children”. I even place them in my closet with 15 locks and a pass code. True story. Since these brushes are deemed “fancier”, I make sure to wash them, condition, and let them dry upside down, like so:

You wouldn’t think this was excessive if you knew how much this beautiful brush cost!

This reminds me of the time I tried to teach my students good brush practice and maintenance at CrazyPants Middle School (name has been altered).

At the end of class, students were required to wash their brushes, their palettes, and work areas. Too often, most of the brushes would still be covered in paint, so I had to think of another way to get these kids to wash their brushes better. I tried to make this part of class a little more fun by playing the “brush game”. After the students washed their brushes, we all gathered by the sinks with our brushes out, ready to be called on.

Me: Jonny, let’s see that brush! Jonny: [Steps forward] Here you go. Me: [Takes brush, paints a small line on the back of Jonny’s hand.]

(pretend like this is Jonny's hand)

Line comes out dark blue.

Me: EEEeesh, are you sure you want to walk around with that all day? Better go wash your hand and that brush! 7th graders: [Laughing] Uhh ohhhh!

Some teachers evaluate students on their clean-up job and give them an actual grade. I thought I’d have a little bit of fun instead.

Until… One morning.

I was in the middle of a lesson with my 2nd period class, when the principal walked into the class. She stood bold and towering right in the middle of the classroom, staring down at me.

Principal: I need to see you in my office later. Me: Oh, I hope everything is alright! Principal: We’ll talk later.

To say I was terrified is the understatement of the year. I was thinking about all of the things I could have been called in for. Forgot to put grades in? Came in late? Untimely bulletin board? This was the first month of the school year, could I have done something wrong already??? My face turned red, and all in the presence of the students.

Molly: Ms. Gordon, are you alright? Me: I’m great, let’s move on...

I was terrified and the anticipation was killing me. 12:30 PM rolled around, I scarfed down my lunch, checked to make sure there was no paint on my face, and started for the guillotine, aka principal’s office.

She coldly welcomed me into her office and asked me to have a seat. I felt like I was in a business meeting of some kind. Her hands were interlaced and her pointer fingers met at her lips. It seemed very serious.

Principal: I’ve been getting calls from parents saying their kids’ art teacher is painting all over them.

PHEWWWWWWWWW, I thought. What a sigh of relief!!!! I thought my heart would escape out of my chest it was beating so hard. As soon as I realized I could explain this situation away, I knew I would be fine! She’s going to hear me out and totally understand. I would live to see another day. Hip hip horray!

Me: Ohh haha! No, no. I wasn’t painting all over them. The kids tend to leave their brushes very dirty, even after washing them, so I play the brush game with them. They all stand around while I call on them one by one and test their brushes. I draw a small line on the backs of their hands. If their brushes are clean, the line is clear water. If their brushes are dirty, they need to go wash them and get all of the paint out of the brush. I explain to them the importance of keeping brushes clean: to be courteous to the students in the next class who are to use those same brushes, to teach responsibility, to teach brush maintenance, to make sure the brushes last the whole year, and to encourage procedures in an art room.

Principal: Yeah…where was it that you taught previously? Boston was it? Well here in CrazyPants, we don’t paint on our children.

I thought she was kidding, I really did! I started laughing. I was still really happy that that’s why I was called in and not some other horrific reason that would cost me my job. I thanked her for her time and left.

It wasn’t until later, when I climbed down from my cloud 9, that I realized how absolutely ridiculous the whole situation was.

~

Oops looks like you got a little blue in that yellow! What's that? Your brush wasn't washed from earlier? Nothing wrong with a green sun ... right?

  Liza

[paintmeetpaper]

On Brushes. (those little hairy sticks)

"Brushes in My Coffee." We almost named our blog that. I felt it captured that “oops” moment when either I or, more often, my students, accidentally stuck their brush into my precious source of caffeine and fuel.

Since Liza and I are doing this blog together, we had an idea that it could be fun and different if we each offered our own perspectives on the same subject.

This one may seem silly or trivial but it is such a fundamental part of our daily practice, so why not start here.

On Brushes.

If you ever see me paint, I usually have at least six brushes in my left hand, each brush with a different shade of grey paint on it. (Well not a different shade of grey - it’s usually many colors, but I couldn’t resist the pun!) When I teach, I often have my students simply wipe their brush on a tissue or rag and then dip into the next color. Or I tell them to abandon their old brush in the cup of water (not to be confused with the cup of coffee) and take a new brush for a new color or for a different mark-making effect. This may need its own blog entry, but my students are obsessed with my fan brushes. Not only does this brush look so neat, I love to see their reactions when they test out the different marks they can make.

At the end of class, I often collect all the stray paintbrushes on the table and pick up the few left-for-dead brushes on the floor. I gather my precious tools and head straight to the sink, where I lather their soft bristles with warm, soapy water, taking care that I have rinsed out every trace of color. Then, I carefully place my brushes back in their container, where they will rest until next class or my own next painting session (yes I use the same brushes I teach my art students with).

Although this is the ideal way to care for brushes - always washing them thoroughly right after use - I have a confession to make… Sometimes, after class is over and my last student has been picked up by the illegally parked minivan, my coffee has been tainted by the green tempera on a student’s brush, and my own children are calling for my attention, I quickly gather all my the brushes and stick them into their water cup. Then, I bring them to the sink (if they’re even lucky enough to make it out of the my Art Studio), put them on the counter, and close the bathroom door. Sometimes just one night goes by, sometimes an entire weekend, sometimes a week or more. That right, I will leave my brushes, soaking in grey or brownish painty water, sometimes for a week on end.

This is me coming clean on my dirty brush habit. It’s not easy for me to admit - it truly feels like I am exposing this vulnerable side of myself and my awful behind-closed-doors art practices. But there you have it, I am a serial brush-washing neglected. It just feels like that last chore that, after the lesson is through, the clean up is mostly complete, and I just cannot bring myself to take that extra moment and rinse these little hairy sticks for creativity. But the fact is, once I do wash my brushes (usually about five minuted before I have students coming for art class) they don’t even seem too phased by my neglect! But I know Liza would slap me on the wrist and take away my painting privileges if she was aware of the extent of my brush washing avoidance… Maybe it’s a good thing we live about 1400 miles away!

Leah

[paintmeetpaper]

This blog is about collaboration!

SO many things to talk about! How do you start one of these things? I guess you just do it. Nike, just do it! Is that how it goes? I’ve only worn Nike once in my life, and it was a hand-me-down.

I am really excited about this blogging thing, primarily because I am excited about finally being able to collaborate with my artist and art teacher friend, Leah. I have been looking for a long time to collaborate with another art teacher in starting up an after school art program and it just hasn’t worked out! As a result, I had to go it alone.

To have great collaborating chemistry, you need certain things, certain beliefs, certain ideologies, and certain BACKGROUNDS. Leah and I go way back, starting from when our parents immigrated to the USA together, to growing up in neighboring towns, to attending the same high school and afterschool studio, and finally to attending Boston University with a degree in painting and art education. What are the odds of all of that?

Oddly enough, our paths didn’t really cross until about a year and a half ago, when I started talking to Leah about my startup idea: an after school, art studio program. I had worked in 3 different public schools by that point and I thought: this whole public school thing isn’t everything it’s cut out to be! (Never ask an art teacher how much fun it must be to teach art. Just don’t. More on that later).

At the time, Leah had been doing some private lessons on the side but was looking to start up group lessons. Through daily communication, we began our journeys of developing respective art programs: Leah founded Leah’s Creative Arts Studio out of her home, while I founded Liza’s Art Lessons out of a school (Mazel Day School).

Why didn’t we combine programs you might ask? We totally would, except Leah happens to live in Florida with her husband and 3 kids, while I happen to live way up the coast in NYC with my husband. Creating this blog was our meeting point and a way for us to share ideas to you all while still feeling like we’re working together on something. Honestly though, if you have the opportunity to collaborate with someone or something awesome, do it! More on that, later, too.

And here's a picture of me doing my teacher thang!

Thanks for reading!

Liza