The third of four Thinking Outside the Canvas classes took place last week, starting with a (verbal) warm-up exercise called an "idea-tree" or "idea-network." Beginning with one word inspired by the photo that each student brought with them (and which has informed many of the exercises in the class), the students began to free-associate related words, building a stream-of-consciousness word network. These "drawings" can later be ripped up and glued to their final piece, or simply used to give direction and purpose to their final piece.
Next the students looked at maps, and using a viewfinder, zoomed in on a small section of map with interesting features, colours and/or symbols. These cropped map sections were then drawn quickly onto paper using the contour drawing technique, and painted with acrylics.
The students then turned their attention to a "mapping" exercise inspired in part by the work of the Austrian artist Freidrich Hundertwasser. Listening to a series of instructions, the students drew on a coloured paper an aerial view of the Capilano watershed, using contour lines, shapes, and symbols, and then painted these in with acrylic paints. The final pieces were very fun, and very colourful!
The last exercise of the day included adding pieces of map, and a repeating pattern with stamps, to the students' large rosin paper pieces. These pieces, already layered with gesso and drywall paste, and a layer or two of acrylic paint, will be added to, built up layer upon layer, painted into again, and eventually turning into beautiful one-of-a-kind mixed media collages that can be either hung as is, or cut into smaller pieces...tune in next week to find out!
No comments:
Post a Comment