Inspiration: Crayons

These sculptures are a cool example of using traditional art materials in nontraditional applications. In this case, the artists are using crayons to make sculptures rather than to draw or color. It can be used to create a linear effect by using the crayon on its side, or a pointillism-like effect by using a cross section, or it can create a pointy effect by using the sharp tips.

Yet another artist, actually carved the crayon into mini sculptures:

Rose Art Crayons vs. Crayola Crayons

I've seen a lot of the melted crayon artwork in different classrooms, but this made me giggle -- Scientific Proof That Rose Art Crayons Suck:

Great Books for the Elementary Art Classroom

I recently came across this list of 76 great books for the elementary art classroom. The woman I student taught with suggested starting a lesson with a culture (Africa, Inuit, China), an artist (VanGogh, Matisse), or a book. Books are also used to supplement the first two choices, so this list should come in handy for anybody teaching elementary art.

 

Laid-Off Art Teachers Turn to Their Craft to Express Themselves

The New York Times ran an article about laid-off art teachers exhibiting their artwork after being laid off from their teaching jobs. If you're in the Chicago area, the show runs through July 30 in the Flat Iron Building within the Wicker Park neighborhood.

“Redefined” is the brainchild of Cezar Simeon, 47, a former first-grade teacher at Lloyd Elementary School who was laid off last summer. Mr. Simeon does not teach art, “but I was really ticked off when I heard about all these art teachers losing their jobs,” he said. “Art isn’t something you can test for, but it teaches kids problem-solving skills.”

Don't Call It A Comeback: We've Been Here for Years!

Ok, so that's a total ripoff of the LL Cool J song, "Mama Said Knock You Out," but it's true. Detroit is a struggling city. It has high drop out rates, low literacy rates, and many of the public schools are bring closed in favor of charter schools. Despite the bleak appearance, PBS's "Is Detroit the new Brooklyn?," illustrates that it may just be the land of opportunity. . .

New York Times featured a story in its Style section about the onslaught of hip, young urban pioneers streaming into downtown Detroit. These “creatives,” as they are being called, are taking advantage of low rents and the opportunity to recycle this abandoned, blank slate of an urban landscape into something new and exciting. There are restaurateurs and entrepreneurs of all stripes living alongside environmentalists and urban farmers.  The city, according to the Times, seems like “a giant candy store for young college graduates wanting to be their own bosses.”

Just three years ago, Forbes placed Detroit on top of its list of America’s Most Miserable Cities. But in a stunning turnaround, this month Forbes put Detroit on the cover as one of the Best Places for Doing Business, calling it “a land of opportunity.”

Inspiration: Jasper Johns

Happy Independence Day! On this auspicious day,  I would like to share some three iconic paintings by Jasper Johns. The first two were painted using encaustic, which is painting with hot, pigmented wax. It goes on thick and is very difficult to control, especially since it hardens as it cools. The last one was created using paint and stencils. PBS Masters wrote a wonderful bio -- it's well worth reading.

Fun Fact! Jasper Johns was a Simpson's character and did his own voice overs in #222 - Mom & Pop Art. [IMDB] [Wikipedia]

Jasper Johns. Flag. Encaustic, oil and collage on fabric mounted on plywood. 1954-55. Museum of Modern Art. New York.

Jasper Johns. Map. Encaustic on Canvas. 1958. Whitney Museum of American Art. New York.

Jasper Johns. Map. Oil on Canvas. 1961. Museum of Modern Art. New York.