cut paper

SNIPS

unfold it gently

texture please - students

Students added texture March 27th, 28th, 29th, and 30th. Double click to see images enlarged.

Students took the paper collage 
they had started last time and added
plastic and portions of mesh on top of it. 
 

Mrs. Marxhausen, the art instructor, had me there to assist Wednesday March 29th and Thursday March 30th. Behind her desk I composed an example to share with the group.
 

Secure large shapes with strings pushed through the poster board and tied on the back. Use a material you can see through. To have shapes underneath as well as above it. Here I secured orange peel. You can see strips of fabric are both under the mesh and on top of it. Next.

When you find shapes of interest, place them TOGETHER where they CAN be seen. Outside that area have patterns or papers that are LESS  INTERESTING.

Two groups worked with dryer lint, separating it into colors and hand forming shapes. They were inspired by a piece under glass I had brought into the classroom. Under glass by Reinhold Marxhausen, string detail, next.

Closeups of student lint + cardboard + mesh collage, below.

 

Second student piece, next.

This fellow used clear envelope to make window for his boat. He asked me if white glue would secure the metal "anchor." And he replied: "try it." Notice careful holes on left and right. He fashioned felt strip to tether two pine needle brushes. Very precise. Very cool!

  
Three minutes. Karl Marxhausen instructs students in Mrs. Marxhausen's art class. Second week of collage-making.

Students were instructed to CUT THE SMALL PORTION they needed from the red netting or the shredded feed bag and then LEAVE THE REST for another to take from. I cut the long green mesh into smaller segments. The yellow paint patch cut down to size. The rubber bumper sleeve cut down. The teacher pulled out felt and string from her supply. These were added each CLASS  PERIOD to  a material box for students to look through.

 

A few students had looked for their own materials outside. A valuable lesson in itself. Selecting shapes is what art makers do. They shared some of what they brought in with others at their table. Pine cones, silver potato chip bag lining, milk jug lids, this and that.

 

 Find a center of attention. A squashed sour gum ball from a tree. A focus.

It pleased me to see students arrange abstract shapes like this. To see plastic as a green line to be used as "a stem."

I pulled corrugated cardboard apart to reveal the lines. I showed a student how to do it and he helped make more of this. To be used by others.

One student was DETERMINED to CUT  APART a clean empty plastic milk jug. This was the place to do just that! He told me he liked the rib pattern around the spout. I said he could squash that portion flat by stepping on it on the floor. I offered. He accepted. He took the squashed portion and cut into two halves with his scissors. He glued these to the paper collage he started last time. Next.

One tore out the Mc Donald's M and cut a heart out of the Doritos bag she brought to the art room with her. Next.

 See-through materials abound.

He used the yellow paint scrap. He cut the black bumper with a scissors and made himself a boat shape.

It is the TETHERS of string I see. Wow.

Figuring it out.

Good job class.

Left, orange shape is the body of a jelly fish. The blue-white strands underneath, its tentacles.

Next, tethered can top-side. Next, strings on back-side. YES.

Left, a tall singular pod shell neatly secured with yarn. There is balance. It is beautiful.

Above, OVER

UNDER

SEE THROUGH

SWEET!!!

making masa ready

 

My paper order arrived from New York City. The masa came in standard sheets measuring 21 by 31 inches. (above) For my next project I require sizes 12 by 10 inches and 18 by 15 inches. Steel ruler in hand I measured each sheet, made pencil marks, and tore the sheets to the needed sizes. The uneven torn edge is important to that project. Click on 3 minute video.

Masa is a white paper, made by machine out of 100% sulphite. Sulphite is a chemical wood-pulp obtained by cutting wood into small pieces and cooking it with calcium bisulphate or sodium sulphite to remove natural resins and break down the cellulose fibers. While sulphite does have a short fiber, it increases bulk, softness, and absorbency, which are important qualities for a variety of techniques.  Masa has a neutral pH. It is smooth on one side with a light texture on the other. It weighs 77 gsm. To give you an idea of its weight, tracing paper is 30 gsm, a standard bond eucalyptus paper used for typing is 75 gsm, and a heavy etching paper such as Rives or Arches is typically 250 gsm. When hand printing is used, lighter weight sheets are easier to burnish and transfer more ink from the plate or block. (courtesy of New York Central Fine Art Papers, 62 Third Avenue, New York, New York, www.nycentralartsupply.com, accessed January 19, 2012)

Next, comes adjustments to my registration guides.