Create Your Own Cubist Photo Collage

If you missed yesterday’s post about cubism, go read it before you try this project. Cubists took everyday objects and (in their minds) took them apart and explored the pieces. Then they put those objects back together in a new way. In this way, cubists were able to show many sides of the same object at the same time.
Supplies Needed:

Digital Camera
Printer
Paper
Construction Paper
Glue Stick
Scissors

Make sure you have permission from a grown-up before you start. If you don’t have a digital camera, try drawing your object from several angles instead of photographing it.

Take pictures of an object from many angles. I choose to photograph a tree. The great thing about digital cameras is that you can take as many pictures as you want and choose which to use later. I think I took 30 pictures of my tree but I only used 5 of the pictures.

Print out about five or six pictures. Regular computer paper will work better than photo paper for this project. I printed three pictures in grayscale (black and white) and two pictures in color. You can decide for yourself if you want your collage to be completely black and white, complete color, or a combination.

Cut your pictures into pieces. I really wanted to use the trunk and branches so I cut those out first. Also, I got a picture with the sun shining over the tree. I knew I wanted to use that, too.

Once you have arranged the major pieces of your collage, begin to fill in the rest. For me, that meant adding leaves.

When you’re pleased with your collage, glue everything down.

Just like the cubists, you may find that your collage is more than just a picture of the object you started with.

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Cubism

In the early 1900s, some artists became interested in African and Native American art. The styles of those cultures inspired cubism.

Cubism began in France in 1907. Pablo Picasso and George Braque began painting figures that were made up of cubes, spheres, cylinders, cones, and other geometric shapes. The paintings looked like someone had cut them up and glued them back together.

And that’s exactly what the cubists had in mind. Just like the ancient Egyptians, cubists wanted to show the most important parts of the things they painted. Look at the face in Juan Gris' Portrait of Picasso (above). Gris shows you every detail of Picasso's face even though you would never be able to see all sides of his face at the same time. The cubists took this idea much further than the ancient Egyptians, of course. Cubists wanted to show all the sides of an object in the same picture.

Some cubist paintings were extremely abstract. In Picasso’s The Guitar Player (above), it is difficult to see the person in the painting.

At first, cubists used very little color in their paintings. They used mostly browns, greys, and blues. In 1912, color re-entered the picture and some artists, like Picasso, began using more then just paint and canvas in their art. You may remember reading about Picasso’s musical collages in which he used paper and cloth in his paintings.

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Museum 1 2 3 and Museum Shapes

Welcome to Art Book Friday! I’ve already told you about a great board book that uses art to teach colors. Today I want to share two picture books with you: one that teaches numbers and one that teaches shapes.

Museum 1 2 3 was created by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The reader looks at a painting and then counts how many of a particular item are shown. “How many red buses rush through busy city streets,” the book asks. When you turn the page, you find the answer is 3. The book illustrates each number (from 1 to 10) with 5 paintings.

Museum Shapes, also created by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, is set up the same way. Shapes range from common circles to crescents and arches. There are 10 shapes in all, each illustrated by 5 paintings.

I love these books because the paintings shown are not always familiar ones. You will find Vincent van Gogh and Edgar Degas but you will also find many artists you’ve never heard of before. Also, the art comes from all time periods and from all over the world.

These are both great read alouds for young children.

Have a fantastic weekend!

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Mandalas

In many eastern religions such as Buddhism and Hinduism, a mandala is an image that a person creates to help him or her meditate. The mandala represents the entire universe. It is the palace in which a god lives, so at the center of each mandala is a symbol or picture of that particular god.
Surrounding the god are the walls of the palace. The palace always has four, decorative gates—one on each wall. Around the palace are more circles. Each represents something different.

As a person creates a mandala, he or she meditates about every part of it.

Mandalas can be made out many different materials but the most impressive are sand mandalas. Tibetan monks place grains of colored sand, one-by-one, on a flat surface. Four monks work together on large sand mandalas. Each monk works on one quadrant of the mandala. All four monks must work at the same speed so that they all finish at the same time.

Go look at the pictures on this website to see monks creating a mandala. I especially like the close-up of the mandala. You really can see every grain of sand.

When the monks have finished creating the sand mandala, it is swept into water. This is meant to release the god from the mandala.

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Create Your Own Talavera-Inspired Coasters

Today, make your own Talavera-inspired coasters! I love this project. It’s simple, inexpensive, and fun.

Yesterday you learned about how Talavera pottery is made. It would be tough to go through all those steps at home. Most of us don’t have kilns in our houses. Instead, pick up a couple of small tiles from your local hardware store and paint your designs with glass paint.

Supplies Needed:

Small Tile
Glass Paint
Paintbrush
Pencil
Rubbing Alcohol
Cotton Balls

Cover your work space with newspaper. Clean your tile with rubbing alcohol and let it dry. (This is something an adult should help you with.)

Decide what you want to paint on your tile. If you need some inspiration, check out this site. Draw your design lightly, in pencil.

Fill in your drawing with glass paint. I filled in all the blue parts, let them dry, then filled in all the red parts and let them dry. It took a little longer to paint in sections like that, but I didn’t end up with paint all over my hands.

If you want a quicker project, try using only one color. You can find Talavera pottery that is only blue and white. Maybe those pieces will inspire you.

Glass paint needs to dry for a long time. Read the instructions on your paint. Some paints give you the option of baking your artwork. In my experience, the paints that you can bake stay on better than the ones you have to let air dry.

When your tile is completely dry, use it as a coaster or have an adult frame it and hang it on the wall.

Coasters make nice gifts for parents and grandparents.

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