Mirror image

I found this in a book of miniatures, and loved the simplicity of it. I'll see if I can find more information on it. In the meantime, use a xerox machine to print a mirror image of something, and then collage both images in a way that makes it look like an actual reflection. Black and white reflections against a colored background could be powerful. Or divide the page in half and have everything in color on one side, and black and white on the other. Rendering the same designs in black and white and color is a great graphic design exercise in itself.

 

Punch transfer technique

In an old book about Indian miniatures I came across this ancient method of transferring an image...and I found it fascinating. It's a stencil of sorts, but would be fun to do with kids since it doesn't involve complicated positives and negatives, rather it's a fairly straightforward way of copying images, with no limitations on how complex the original image is.

The act of copying things has become such a non-issue for kids growing up surrounded by xerox machines and in-home color printers and copiers that I think it's fun to point out that it wasn't always this simple. Entire art forms have been invented for the purpose of making copies. I have alway enjoyed teaching children rudimentary ways of copying images, from covering the back of a page with graphite or pencil lead and then tracing over the image to on front (homemade carbon paper), to actual carbon paper--stacks and stacks of it for multiple images, and, of course, printmaking. But this punch transfer is new to me.

Offer kids a darning needle, toothpick, or drypoint tool and challenge them to punch holes along the important lines of a drawing or a photograph. With a new piece of paper underneath, use a bit of ground up charcoal, colored pastel, or tempera powder and rub gently on top of the image, making sure it doesn't move until entire image is covered. Then connect the dots on the paper underneath. It could be fun to make multiple copies, overlap images, even thread a needle and make stitches in the original punched paper. Many of the shapes in the original could probably be punched out and used for collage. This could be a fun one-off project for exploring and experimentation in between projects, or it could turn into something bigger. I always enjoy being honest with the kids when I'm trying something new, and encourage everyone to jump in and brainstorm about possibilities.

 

Clay-relief Sculptures of Sarguja

 

Every year after harvest there is a big festival called Chherta where every house is repaired, whitewashed, and freshly decorated with clay reliefs...women try to outdo each other to make their houses the most attractive. These become incredibly vivid 3-D murals with characters half on/half off the wall, other materials like string and wire are added as well. Whitewashed backgrounds have radiating and/or swirled-line grooves that the women make using their fingers.

For individual project panels, children could create backgrounds using white paint on cardboard, swirling their fingers in smooth strokes to create a similarly textured canvas...(tempera or acrylic paint could be thickened with cornstarch or gel medium to hold the texture). In a subsequent class they could create characters using a theme like 'playing with friends' or 'climbing a tree.' Construction paper collage would work but shouldn't be glued down to the background all the way, as some 3-D effect best captures the real thing. True 3-D with paper mâché pulp or model magic would be great. Either way, found elements like string and wire should be incorporated.

This would make a great mural project as there can be multiple work areas, and everyone doesn't have to be standing at the mural at the same time. Real whitewash can be used, its lack of true opacity and its affordability, not to mention its authenticity, would be great. A collaborative mural wherein children from different classes and grades contribute their 3-D objects and they are attached to the wall by a teacher or by an older class would work nicely.

 

Click here for a video tour of the mural:

 

Gond painting

 

 

The Gond people believe that viewing a good image brings you good luck so it's no surprise that their paintings are so joyful. They make the paintings on the walls of their houses to mark special occasions and only recently started to paint on paper with poster paints. Animals and nature scenes dominate these paintings, which consist of a simple single color shape filled with dots and lines described here as being: like undulations of song, like fables within tales, colourful dots and lines chase each other in close succession. Immense patience and delicate brush strokes are part of the meditative process. The Gond tribe was known for storytelling and song, and a connection could be made between that and the rhythmic energy of their heavily patterned artwork. One artist I spoke to told me the inspiration for the dots and dashes that fill the animals is rice, and the article I linked to above says they are evocative of the tattoos on the Gond women. The simple graphics combined with intricate patterning and vibrating colors provide instant inspiration for artists of all ages.

 

After outlining their animal shapes with pencil, children should choose one main color in acrylic or tempera paint to fill them in. Good quality markers or sharpies could be used for the patterning, or detail brushes and paint in both bright colors, black, and white. This could also be a great collage project, a photograph of an animal could be traced and cut out of fadeless paper or traced once onto multiple layers of colored tissue papers. Once those papers have been glued to a white background, acrylic paint can be added with a detail brush or toothpick. Dots, lines, and dashes can be used or students could think of a pattern that has some special significance. Add a black marker outline for a final touch.

 

 

Terra cotta Horses of Aiyanar

 

These enormous (larger than life) horse sculptures were created by villagers so that the protector Aiyanar could ride them at night to chase away evil demons, thereby ensuring good luck for the town. Different horses from different areas were decorated with different types of objects and creatures. These horses are made, in pieces, on the wheel, seams are hidden under decorations. If you were in charge of designing your own village's horses, what sort of decorations and patterns would you put on them?

Cut a large horse out of red or brown paper, draw it first in chalk, making sure to have tips of ears, tail, nose, and hooves touch the edges of the paper. Decorate your horse using black or white marker, crayon, or chalk. Or use white or black paint and detail brushes. Would be a great clay project as well--once horse has been created, use coils and small balls of clay for all sorts of decorations. Another approach would be to collage decorations onto a painting of a horse.

 

 

 

Raja Ravi Varma embellished prints

 

Embellished prints of Indian deities, on view now at OJAS gallery in Delhi. RRV was a prince who created lithographs (using oils?) of Indian gods and goddesses, very colorful classic imagery, in the mid 19th century. What makes these so interesting is that at some point the final prints were embellished with fabric, sequins, embroidery thread, gold, etc. I'm a huge fan of printmaking with kids, and feel that the fun can really begin once the plate has been created and the actual printing begins. This type of embellishment would be a really great third step (carve, print, embellish) after a big printmaking project and a fun way to explore different techniques applied to exact same images. Printing could be done using linoleum, collagraphs, or styrofoam...onto sturdy paper, and then embellished once dry. Elmers glue would be good for most of the materials, and one whole class could be set aside for sewing so conflicting techniques aren't happening at once. I always encourage children to keep every print, and then choose an unsuccessful image as a beginning of a multi media exploration. In this case that could be a good starting point for this type of experimentation. Another way to approach this might be to start with color copies (also on card stock or other substantial paper) of photographs that children take, lively scenes with many people or objects would be a good starting point.

 

 

Painted Trucks

Highly decorative trucks and lorries, bright colors, fanciful images, roosters, and flowers, tassels inside, etc. this is one way a truck driver advertises his pride in his job, and his vehicle. If you were choosing a truck to transport your items you might be greatly influenced by these decorations and the energy the driver put into his truck. invite children to transform a common object or machine using similar techniques, use your imagination, make it special, make it stand out. Could be fun for middle school, esp. Would be a great multi- media project, transform a serious sketch with fanciful add-ons like fringe, pom-poms, rhinestones, etc. or simply add colored magazine papers to black and white sketch or newspaper collage. Check out this blog for a great article on the painted trucks.

 

 

 

 

 

Gujarat Birdhouses

 

In the Jain faith it is believed that ancestors come back as birds and other animals, so to create elaborate bird houses for living birds is an important part of caring for your departed loved ones. Making bird houses, either functional, 3-dimensional, or paintings or drawings of imagined birdhouses, with this particular energy as a motivation—that you are providing for your loved ones--would be a beautiful project for all ages but especially good for pre-adolescents because they usually need projects to have some immediate importance and/or function. There’s a classic ‘design your dream house’ project for this age group, but the case of ‘design a bird house for your ancestors’ has the added benefit of not being so obviously self-interested and could be a good way for children of this age group to combine their own interests with some amount of compassion and care for others.

Materials and project suggestions: Pre-adolescents are generally quite content making elaborate drawings using pencils or permanent markers. Permanent markers are preferred because it discourages erasing, and challenges children to jump right in and deal with accidental marks or errant lines. This would be a beautiful project with younger children and a variety of paint or maker colors. A collage, using colored paper, hand-painted paper, newspaper, cardboard, etc. would look great and encourage children to think about ‘building’ the bird house, and if 3-dimensional projects are possible, it would be great for children to work with cardboard squares, paper towel rolls, toothpicks, and white glue.