Stick Forts as Art Forms: a project inspired by the work of Patrick Dougherty

photo by Bill Franz

You may recall me going on an on last summer about an artist by the name of Patrick Dougherty. Well, I'm about to go on a little bit more. This week in After School Art we hosted another visiting artist, Dan Croswell, who assisted Dougherty in his installation at Wegerzyn MetroPark last year. The piece, entitled "A Wiggle In It's Walk" is pictured above. Dan is a sculptor himself, and after giving students a brief presentation on the work of Patrick Dougherty and other sculptors of a similar nature, like Deborah Butterfield, we went outside to try making our own large scale stick sculpture. Read on to see how our project turned out after the jump!

In the classroom with felted scarves

This week in after school art, visiting artist Pamela Howard taught my middle schoolers how to make felted scarves. It was a great project and I think they rather enjoyed it. Pamela had found an adapted tutorial on how to make these with kids using a base of inexpensive sewer's cheesecloth instead of silk (we don't have those kinds of funds!) and easily available tools such as 2" diameter PVC pipe, bubble wrap, olive oil soap, and rubber bands. One of Pamela's friends from an online fiber community she's a part of donated all of the wool we needed for the project, which she had hand-dyed into a beautiful rainbow of colors. Read on for more on this project after the jump!

How To: golden deer antler wreath

Shannon's sweet winter wreath

A good seasonal wreath can be hard to come by. This was brought to my attention when I saw Shannon a few weeks ago. She was keeping her Christmas gifts this year imaginative, crafty, and thrifty and made wreaths for all her loved ones using rolled felt flowers and eucalyptus sprays. They were great. She taught me a lesson as she made them, saying she didn't want to gift Christmas wreaths, which could only be enjoyed for a limited time, but rather winter wreaths: something that spoke to the glittery cold, the heartiness of the season, and the simplicity of these winter months. This got me itching to try my hand at some winter decor for our front door, whose summery straw wreath desperately required hibernation. With a few simple purchases and some digging through old craft supplies, I was able to assemble a wreath to last us through winters cold stretch. Read on for the details after the jump!

The Wrapping Paper Solution: a few ideas on sustainable and creative gift wrap

As though it weren't enough to be running hither and yon through crowded shopping malls searching for the perfect present, Christmas gifts produce yet another complication: wrapping them. Sometimes this is the most stressful part for me because when I go to do it, I have no paper in which to wrap them! So instead of merely keeping wrapping paper stocked in the house, (something I have no problem with; you should buy a roll that suits your fancy when you see it for a good price, regardless of the season) I like to keep objects that help turn common items into wrapping paper. For example, a couple year ago I invested in a small stamp alphabet, a couple ink pads in metallic hues, and a stamp with a feather design that I liked. Using that small arsenal I was able to create the wrapping ensemble above with the use of the one roll of paper I had left from the year prior, an old map, and some kraft paper. Brown paper bags can be turned inside-out and gussied up with stamps and ribbon. Read on for even more wrapping ideas after the jump!

the monster gourd project

two gourds of the same shape. Both students used the bottom as a nose
and the stems on the other side as tales.

Yesterday I wanted to do something special for my middle schoolers in after school art since it was Halloween and all. Fortunately the local farm market let me buy some cool looking gourds from them for extremely cheap since the season is ending. They had a really nice selection and a good variety of sizable gourds, we're talking as big as a basketball for most of them, so for mere pennies on the dollar I toted a crate of them over to the Arts Center for our special "mystery project." I think gourds can be very emotive of creatures, so I didn't give the kids any guidelines except that they had to create a "monster" with their gourd. I ransacked the supply closet so they had paints, buttons, yarn, feathers, paper, pipe cleaners, and fabric at their disposal. And we all had a lot of fun! I think they really enjoyed being able to take their project home immediately and set it in their kitchen or on their porch as a halloween decoration. Also, it was a nice break from our linoleum blocks, which we'll finish next week. Everyone needs a break sometimes. Even my student aid said making a creature was so much fun and really brightened her day. I took pictures of all our creations and thought I'd share a few with you. Enjoy! -hil

more gourd creatures after the jump!