Life lessons using art : Franz Marc "Two Cats"

Hello.
My little one's school has a program called Art Masterpiece, and of course I had to get involved. I am a true believer of using art to communicate with children and other people in general.

Enter: My in-progress degree in interior design, Go Devils!

In any event, what I do for the program is I go in to the Kindergarten class and teach them about famous pieces of artwork. I tell about the artist, what movement or era they worked in, and translate what is going on in the picture into something the children can understand.

My first presentation was today [ Jan. 30, 2014]
The artwork: "Two Cats" by Franz Marc

I started off explaining how Franz Marc was an Expressionist, which meant he liked to use his work to convey feelings to others. Mentioning that his parents were both artists, I was surprised to see a great show of hands in the number of children who recognized that they had artists in their families or as friends.

Then I moved on to reading "The Mixed Up Chameleon" by Eric Carle, which related back to my concept that colors can evoke feelings.

 



When we finished the book, we went over examples of how colors can make us feel a certain way. Using the example of how the chameleon wanted to feel strong, so he turned into a big gray elephant. They told me of other examples that they had personally experienced; feeling "blue" or "green".

 

Before the presentation, I made this worksheet to complement the concept of the artwork. I asked the children to color the chameleon to represent the way that they were feeling today.

 

 

You are welcome to use this, just be sure to give me credit!

(Photo from:http://users.manchester.edu/Student/MJJohnston/LiteracyProject/chameleon-2.gif)

 

And that was that! The children had a great time and I practiced my presentation technique ;-)

 

Until next time, thank you for reading!

-Lauren

 



Signature Board

My little brother has recently pointed out that " giving people cards is out of style". So how do you tell someone happy birthday/ congratulations/ wishing you well in a way that's a little more "COOL"? 

Enter, the Signature Board. 

I made this one for a friend's graduation party (Go Devils!!) and it was the perfect way to commemorate their achievements in a really special way.  

Arizona State Signature Board

What You Need:

One 16" x 20" Frame (I got this one at a yard sale, & spray painted it to get the color I wanted)

One yd. 2" wired ribbon

1/2 yd. 1" ribbon in a corresponding color

Pre-cut mat board in a color corresponding to your ribbon colors

Two pieces of thick white cardstock, cut to the same size as the mat board

Picture of the recipient

1.

When you purchase the mat board, usually you can get it cut to size in the store you purchase it from. I buy mine at Hobby Lobby, where I can take it to the framing counter and they cut to size and cut out the picture hole. The size I have found to be best for the picture hole is 5"x 7", and it leaves plenty of room for signing the board around the photo. It helps to have the picture you are using already picked out, so you know whether to have the hole cut portrait or landscape.

2.

Remove the glass and all backing from the frame, and set aside. Place the frame on your work surface, face-down. Insert the pre-cut mat board into the frame. Now place the picture, centered in the mat board hole, and secure with acid free tape. Place the cardstock on top of the picture, and then any backing that came with the frame. Last to go in is the glass, and then one more piece of cardstock to protect the glass. When you push down the tabs around the back of the frame that hold everything in, everything inside of the frame should feel really tight. If you are able to wiggle the contents of your frame, add more cardstock until everything feels more secure. 

3.

Turn your frame face up on your work space. Use the wired ribbon to create a large bow. Create a smaller bow with the 1" ribbon, and layer inside of the large bow. Leave one extra long tail on the 1" ribbon bow, and use this for attaching a signature pen. Attach your big beautiful bow to a suitable corner of the frame, preferably at the top since the pen will need to hang down the side. 

4.

When the event is over, move the glass from the back of the frame to the front. This will prevent any writing from getting smeared. It also makes the frame ready to hang with pride in it's new home!

Highland High Signature Board

More Than Just Finger Painters - My Business Goal

As a design student, I have often heard that designers aren't the best at putting projects together on a construction level, they only know how to make it look pretty. Well, I do happen to be earning a 50K degree in "How to Make Things Pretty", but I hope to also change how others perceive what I do. Architects often depict us as designers like this...

Grown-Up Kindergartners.

In some cases I agree, this may be true. But for the MAJORITY of the time, 80% false. Yes we love colors and we know how each and every one will make you feel inside, but I'm here to tell you that our work is not as easy as the untrained eye might see it be.

My main focus for the future in the "Real World" as they call it, is to change the way others think of designers. Not just by telling, but showing the way that designers can implement building techniques into the designs by actually getting dirty. My father put a hammer in my hand as soon as I could walk and building has been a very big part of my life ever since. However, I had no desire to work as unskilled labor for the rest of my life, so first step was to go out and get my degree. And as miracle would have it, I was accepted into the Interior Design program at Arizona State University this summer. In my first year working towards my milestone portfolio I learned how valuable my background in construction was to my success.

 For instance:

We were assigned a designer to draw inspiration from, and were to design a space using the characteristics of that designer's work. In my design I included a set of French doors, which for the size of the space seemed kind of odd to my professor. So she asked me about my design and why I chose this route for my interior space. I explained to her that I had designed the space in circular forms and therefore the bed in my interior was to measure 8 foot in diameter. Still not understanding what the bed had to do with the door, I went on to explain. After the completion of the building, in order to fit the bed into the room at its specified place there would need to be double doors in order to actually get the bed into the room. She then let me know that I would do just fine in the program.

In design we run into these issues where we need to think deeper about the space and what needs to happen for it to be successful. As an assistant to my father who works as a general contractor, I have often had to deal with these issues first hand. I've seen beautiful designs get contorted due to simple details not being recognized by the designer, which could have been prevented if that designer had just done a little research to find the distance between wall studs. As a future predecessor to my fathers residential construction business, I plan on being the beauty and the brains in order to get the job done to the highest satisfaction of the client. It can be easy to point your finger and say what looks good and how far to the left it needs to be, but I feel that involving yourself knee-deep in your work is the only way to get to that above and beyond level of precision.

This creative plan is a submission for the ModernAbstractDecor and NicholasYust "Students of the Arts" scholarship.