Crayon Mosaic

I just finished working with 6 classes of Kindergarten and 1st graders to create collaborative pieces of art using crayons.  

 We started by collecting used, broken crayons.  Many of us have a collection of old crayons so finding the supplies was easy.

Next, I had the students help peel and break the crayons in to small pieces.  To make the peeling easier, I used an Exacto knife to score the crayon wrappers.  We spent time sorting the crayons by color to make it easier to put the project together.

I designed the 6 pieces to either stand alone or put together to create two scenes of the Gorge.  They each contained the sky, mountain and river or wildflowers.  I drew and colored the designs with crayon and then made another copy using melted crayons and dots to get an idea of what the final projects may look like.

Working in small groups, the students worked with me to glue the crayons into 15" x15" wooden frames.

The finished projects!

Kids in the Hood

There is a new shop opening in Hood River called Kids in the Hood.  It is filled with handmade items from local artists.  The idea behind the store is to have a permanent place for local artists to sell their wares instead of waiting for local craft fairs and Saturday Market.

Here is a sampling of what you can find for sale.

 

ReThink Crafts!!!

 

Middle Eastern Inspired Art

I had the opportunity to teach middle school students this spring a handful of middle eastern inspired art projects.  After they learned about radial design, I taught them how to make mandalas.  They were asked to trust their creativity and just create.  All of the students were successful and most were surprised at what wonderful mandalas they created.

Once they completed their mandalas, the students glued them onto a recycled notebook that they each made.

    The second project the students completed was an Islamic inspired name tile. 

Finally, the students used old CD's to create mandala spinning tops.

Art Pillows

I had the students in my class at the Columbia Art Center make pillows from fabric they decorated themselves.

Using toilet paper tubes, the students decorated t-shirt fabric with acrylic paint.

They also used Sharpies to decorate fabric with a ZenTangle design.

Finally, they used fabric markers to fill in printed designs on IKEA fabric.

The finished projects!

Lampshade Makeover

I have been having fun adding a little pop of color and pattern to my rooms by making-over the lamps.  I am using some of my favorite fabrics and with a little spray paint, the lamp stands have endless possibilities.