Draw Me a Star by Eric Carle

I am a big fan of Eric Carle. The illustrations in his books, made with hand-painted tissue paper, are always bright and lively. His beautifully simple stories possess depth, making them enjoyable for children and adults.

Draw Me a Star is no exception. The story begins when a young artist is asked to draw a star. The artist goes on to draw a sun and a tree, a man and a woman, until he has drawn an entire world. Finally he takes hold of a star and sails away into the heavens. This is the story of creation with an artist as the creator.

I recommend this story highly, though I should warn you that the man and woman in the story appear naked. In my opinion, it is very tasteful; however, I encourage parents to preview the book and then make your decision about whether to share the story with your children.

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Create Your Own Jackson Pollock Masterpiece

I have posted before about Jackson Pollock and his drip paintings. You may remember that Pollock created his paintings by laying large pieces of canvas on the floor of his studio and dripping paint onto them. This is a messy process.

Today, make your own Jackson Pollock painting without all the mess.

Supplies Needed:

Paint
Plastic Spoon
Marbles
Box Top
Paper
Cover your workspace before you begin. You’ll need a place to set your paint covered spoon and marbles. You may also want a cup of water for rinsing you spoon. Or just use a different spoon for each color paint.

Set your sheet of paper inside the box lid.

Squirt paint onto your spoon. Drop a marble into the paint on the spoon and roll it around until it is covered with paint. You may need to squirt a little more paint on top of the marble.

Drop the marble into the box lid and roll it around. You may wish to coat the marble in paint a few times before switching to the next color. Just roll it in the spoon again, then drop it back on the paper.
Rinse your spoon or use a new one. Squirt a new paint color onto your spoon and roll a clean marble in it. Drop the marble into the box lid and roll it around.

Repeat with as many colors as you want. I recommend using about five colors.
Let your painting dry. Remove it from the box lid and enjoy!

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Etch A Sketch Art

More art to come, but please entertain yourselves with this fun artist. George Vlosich has created a number of masterful works of art on the Etch A Sketch! Watch this short video clip of Vlosich as he creates a portrait of President Barak Obama (about 4 minutes). Then click through a sampling of his other creations.

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Suzanne Valadon

Remember when I posted about Renoir? I know, it feels like it’s been years. Anyhow, today’s artist, Suzanne Valadon, modeled for Renoir as well as Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec who I’ll write about in the next few days. You can see her in the painting below, Dance at Bougival by Renoir.

And below is Suzanne Valadon’s own self-portrait.
Valadon was born in 1865 in France. She began her working life differently than any other artist I’ve ever written about on this blog—when she was 15 she joined the circus! Unfortunately, though lucky for the art world, she fell from the trapeze a year later and could no longer perform in the circus.

Valadon was interested in art so she began to make friends with artists. She became a model for several of the artists she met and watched the painters work. This is how she began her training as an artist. The artists believed in her talent and helped her when they could. Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec gave Valadon painting lessons. Edgar Degas, whose paintings and sculptures of ballerinas you may remember, bought some of her paintings so she could continue to create art.

Valadon held her first exhibition in 1915. Art critics liked her work and she sold many pieces. The upper class, though, was shocked by many of her paintings which showed nude women.

Valadon was an interesting woman. She spent time in the taverns with the male artists with whom she fit in well. This was not common among women in the late 1800s. She also kept a goat in her studio to eat the drawings she didn't like.

Suzanne Valadon painted in bright colors outlined in thick black. Look at the colors and lines in the landscape shown below.

Valadon died in 1938.

Suzanne Valadon’s son, Maurice Utrillo, also became a painter. I’ll post about him within the next few days as well.

I encourage you to look for more of Suzanne Valadon's paintings. Be sure to ask your parent's permission first.

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Presidential Campaign Buttons

Thank you all for the well-wishes. The move is going pretty smoothly but I still have another week of work to do. I'll get back to regular posting soon. And I can't wait to catch up on reading all of your blogs!


Today Barak Obama will be sworn in as the president of the United States. Barak Obama has inspired a wide range of art that has been printed on posters, t-shirts, hats, and, of course, buttons. So what better day is there to write about presidential campaign buttons?

When George Washington was sworn in as president in 1789, he and some of his supporters wore buttons that said “G.W.” in the center and “Long Live the President” around the edge (shown below). Washington did not use these buttons to campaign, but the presidential candidates who followed him did.

The first campaign buttons were used in 1824 when John Quincy Adams was elected president over Andrew Jackson. The buttons were made of metal with words and pictures stamped into them. The buttons were hung from a cord and worn around the neck. Shown below is a button used by Abraham Lincoln in 1860. Notice the hole in the top.
In 1896 a new type of button was introduced. The words and pictures were printed on paper and then covered with a clear film called celluloid. You can see an example below from William Jennings Bryan who lost to William McKinley in 1896.
Candidates still used the metal buttons in 1896, though. Below is one of McKinley’s buttons from 1896.
Presidential candidates still use campaign buttons. Below is a button worn by Bill Clinton supporters in 1992.
And finally, below is a button worn by Barak Obama supporters.
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