Project: Design a Book Cover

This post from my employer inspired me today. Have your kids design a cover for their favorite book. (Or if they're into video games, have them come up with a poster that would advertise their favorite game.) What image would say the most about the story? Is there a specific color that shares the mood of what's written inside? Looking at the covers in the post I shared, you see that simple designs can be more powerful than ones that have a lot of clutter in them.

I'd love to see what you come up with! You can always e-mail me pictures of what you create: elisabeth.preble@gmail.com

Video: Graphic Design - Now In Production

Here's a video overview of the current exhibition about graphic design at the Walker here in Minneapolis:

Project: Christmas tree

'Tis the season....of holiday crafts! It's an excuse to pull out all the glitter and jewels and make something pretty. I just did this project today with a group of kindergartners and they had a blast bedazzling their trees. 

I don't know if you can see, but there was some....unconventional materials used. One little boy decked out his tree with googly eyes. 

Materials:

-Cardstock or some other heavy duty paper

-Markers

-Glitter glue (easier to use and less mess than regular glitter)

-Glue

-Jewels, buttons, pom poms, feathers

I printed out a tree shape, cut it out and used it like a stencil so I could make multiples. Here's the template I used:

I liked having the tree in outline, because then I could color it in and make a pattern. I suggest coloring the tree first, then gluing stuff onto it. 

After coloring the tree, drawing ornaments, adding buttons and jewels was my favorite part: glitter! I like glitter glue in bottles, because it's waaaaay easier to control and there's less mess. For my tree, I made wavy lines then patted it down with my finger. Make sure you let it dry completely before hanging it on the refrigerator. Nothing worse than a masterpiece falling apart on display. 

Ta-da!

10 uses for pipe cleaners

I love pipe cleaners! They're so versatile and can be used in many ways. Here's a top ten list, just off the top of my head, of different uses for those fuzzy, bendy things.

1. Jewelry! Pipe cleaners can be turned into rings, necklaces, pins. No glue needed (except if you want to put a clip on the the back).

2. Creatures! Like balloon animals, but without the threat of them popping or deflating. From simple outlines to complex creations with googly eyes added for more personality, let your imagination run wild.

3. Flowers! From a simple little bloom to a whole bouquet, you can create flowers that will never need water or wilt.

4. Christmas ornaments! "Tis the season" as I write this so it seems appropriate.You can make a candy cane by simply twisting red and white pipe cleaners together, as this example shows.

5. Personalized napkin rings! At my house, every person has their own napkin holder (not made from pipe cleaners though). If you've never tried that, your kids can try their hand at making their own.

6. Pencil topper! Your kids will never lose their pencils again, because they won't want to lose these.

7. Hair pieces (or fascinators, as our British friends call them). Maybe not quite as over the top as this picture, but your kids could make a crown or something like that.

8. Decorations! You can make a quirky centerpiece for your table or fireplace mantle.Instead of paper chains, you can substitute pipe cleaners (which again means no glue!).

9. Gift wrapping! Instead of ribbon or string, try accenting your gifts with pipe cleaners instead. It's easier for little hands to create a bow with that material too.

10. Shoelaces! Your young kids might like this--they could match the color to their outfit. Use the cushy plush pipe cleaners for this.

Do you have any other suggestions to try? Any fun ideas I didn't think of? 

Project: Paper bag mask

What can you do with a paper grocery bag? 

Hmmmm....

There are a plethora of possibilities: use it for putting out the recycling; tinder to start a fire (in the fireplace!); re-use it for groceries; as one little kid told me, "Put stuff in it!" Yes, that is usually what a bag is for. ;) But today I have a use that you've probably never thought of:

A mask! Party time!

Yup, a mask. My sisters and I made many of these when we were kids. This example is far less elaborate than I used to create. I made a lion face once, using orange, yellow and brown construction paper for the mane--taping the pieces to the bag, because glue doesn't work super well. 

Materials:

-Paper grocery bag
-Markers
-Scissors
-Tape

-Construction paper

Optional:

-Paint
-Pipe cleaners

-Tissue paper
-Fabric (you can staple it to the bag)

You can tell that I didn't mark where my eyes would be before I started cutting. If you actually want to be able to see, use a marker to plot out where your eyes and mouth are at the beginning. 

It's kind of hard to find a bag without any markings on it, so you can cover it with paint or construction paper. Or you can work it into your design--I turned the red logo on my bag into a mouth.

For smaller children cut arm holes in the side of the bag, and it can become a whole costume if they're small enough. Being a grown up, I had to cut out quite a bit on the sides to get my shoulders to fit. 

If you're curious, I made the eyelashes by cutting long, thin triangles, bending them in two different spots, then taping each one down. 

For the pipe cleaners, you can just poke them through the bag and twist them to stay in place. They can become antennae, hair, jewelry, eyebrows....there's a lot you can do. 

This was one of my favorite crafts to make when I was a kid, because there's so many different possibilities. And there's so much to decorate if you feel so inclined--don't forget you have the sides and back! 

Video: Burger Grease Art

Well, that's definitely an unconventional art medium!

My artist statement

I just finished my application for graduate school yesterday. There was much essay writing and re-writing that went into it. I applied for a full ride fellowship, had to say why I want to pursue a Masters in Fine Arts, what my art means. And I re-wrote my artist statement yet again. I've been doing that at least once a year since college anyways, but this was impetus to really do a good, thoughtful job. 

An artist statement is supposed to sum up in a page or less what your work means, why you make art and what you want viewers to take away from experiencing it. My goal is that everyone can read my statement and understand my art. I don't want it be overly academic and jargon filled. So for your reading pleasure, here's the latest rendition of what I want to say about my art (and yes, it is less than a page, it just looks like a lot): 

Evoking idealized childhood memories, I focus on the happiest moments, remixing those bright emotions into a shining daydream.  I don’t recreate a specific instance, more reference a romanticized feeling about the memory. I’m not interested in reality—real life is full of complications, sadness and disappointment. I choose to be easily pleased and enraptured, retaining a childlike enjoyment of the little things: a shiny jewel, a pretty bird, fluttering butterflies, a colorful button, bright colors, flowers, glitter, costume jewelry in all its sparkling glory. 

I pluck out the glorious moments of my childhood: the summer days of being a little girl when the world is exciting and full of adventure; the quiet contentment of eating a melting fudgesicle while sitting in lush green grass; the exhilaration of discovering the joys of reading as a young child; the sense of safety when my Dad would sing me to sleep at bedtime; the excitement of learning to ride a bicycle; feeling beautiful playing “dress-up” as scarves and old dresses get turned into a queen’s royal robes; the deep pleasure of learning to make beautiful things with my own hands; the surreptitious thrill of touching a sculpture in an art museum.

I still like to explore the world through touch—if I can’t hold something, discover its tactile qualities with my hands not just my eyes, it doesn’t feel real to me.  I want people to have that same pull when they look at my work. I’m portraying ephemeral and intangible concepts, yet the pieces themselves are weighty and substantial, catching the eye and inviting the viewer closer. I want sensible people to feel the urge to run their fingers across the surface, just to know if it actually feels like it looks. It’s that instinct to engage the world with all our senses that I want to evoke. You know you shouldn’t…but you just want to trace the curve of that jewel, the undulating hills of paint and varnish, the path of a twisting necklace.

In the studio, a sense of youthful playfulness and exploration pervades my art making process, though the more pragmatic side of me knows full well that those rosy memories are past and in fact, never actually were as I portray them. As much as I want to hold onto that idealized time of my life, reality intrudes.

In my recent work, I’ve been mulling over the turmoil that is adult life, the need to let go, and exodus: birds in migration, paint trails meandering aimlessly through the picture plane, jewelry in seeming disintegration, thread unraveling, materials actually hanging off the work as if caught in mid-dissolution. My paintings blur to various degrees over time, contributing to the sense of a dream dissolving as you wake up. The cheap jewelry I use tarnishes and discolors easily, bringing a touch of imperfection and decay to my idyllic daydream. The more layers I add the more blurred out the initial images become, sometimes ending up only as blobs of vague color. This is so much like our own minds in regards to memory: The further back you try to recall, looking through all the layers of time that have passed since, the less details you can remember--only a hazy general outline remains that you can project upon. The present can easily bestow a glossy veneer over the past. It’s mental flotsam building up to cover over the dark parts and leave the shining moments to glimmer through. 

 Can you understand what I'm trying to say? Does it make sense to you? Does it mesh with what you think or feel when you look at my paintings?