Celebrate Youth Art Month, National Craft Month,
Women’s History Month...and the arrival of Spring!

Paper Crafts

The Values of Vellum

In the family of translucent papers and the uses to which they can be put, vellum stands out as one of the most versatile.  While other papers have see-through qualities, vellum maintains a standard/rigidity that is vital to many of the craft-type uses to which it can be applied.  Here we will investigate some ways to use vellum that help make it a valuable creative tool.

To begin, vellum is available in many colors.  This is not true of tracing paper or tissues that are used by artists and craftspeople to duplicate/copy illustrations and patterns.  The colors are clear and bright or soft pastels and can be used in many projects.  Some printed vellums are also available, making them especially applicable to the creation of greeting cards and scrapbooking.

Vellum has a surface quality that looks as though it is frosted or matte.  This makes it ideal for light diffusion when creating lamp shades or Spanish-style luminaries.  Shades can be made entirely of vellum or by adding vellum shapes to an existing shade.  Luminaries can be made by folding oversized sheets of vellum into tall column shapes and placing a tea light inside. (Use caution.)  Both of these are great party decorations or ways to introduce specific colors and shapes into décor, i.e., circles, rings, or dots of color on the outside of light coverings.

Another party item that is creative and can be personalized to your design and taste is small twinkle light strings.  Around each light an artisan creates a cone of vellum that is attached around the socket of the light and not on the bulb itself—a safety precaution.  Use double-faced tape to clasp the overlapped edges of the vellum together tightly enough to hold onto the light base.  Although fragile, the light covers make a big statement of color.  If desired, the cone shape can be creased to form a straight-edged cone or pocket around each light.  This may sound really simple, but the effect is dramatic, especially when strings are joined together around the parameter of a room or table or outdoors on a gazebo or trellis.

When creating invitations for weddings, parties and other special events, the use of vellum is common—but not the use of vellum envelopes.  However, you can create envelopes for any size of card either with envelope patterns or by special folding.  These make any card or invitation unique and the recipient feel extra special.

Explore patterns for envelopes and gift box construction and you will find gift enclosures that are shaped like pouches.  They have crescent scores at each end and take shape when the opposing sides are squeezed.  Vellum is perfect for creating these pouches.  Add a special metallic, satin or sheer ribbon and the gift box rises to new heights.

Rigidize vellum with acrylic painting medium and you have a very versatile and sturdy material from which to make earrings and necklaces.  Begin by cutting the vellum into various shapes. (Triangles and diamond shapes do especially well.)  Pierce a small hole at the top of each shape and suspend from a toothpick.  Coat both sides of the vellum with painting medium and allow to dry.  Fit with findings for earrings or jump rings and attach to necklace material.  Both are lightweight and fun to wear because they are always noticed.  You can use printed vellum for added textural effects, combine colors or use a single color for drama and impact.  A necklace full of vellum shapes, perhaps strung with a variety of beads, is quite exquisite.

Artists are noted for using materials designed for one purpose to perform another function.  Vellum was never designed as a “craft” material, but it makes a great one.  See your retailer and visit www.bordenandriley.com and www.strathmoreartist.com to see the variety of vellum papers available.

Art Events

NOTE:  Schedules sometimes change, so we advise you to confirm events in advance whenever possible.

Brooklyn – During March the Brooklyn Museum will celebrate Women’s History Month and the second anniversary of the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art with an exciting array of public programs.  Among these, on April 25 from 2-4 p.m. Katherine Rasmussen will teach adults different methods of using recycled ship sails to make durable and unique travel accessories. “Come Sail Away” is free with Museum admission, but registration is required:  creative.art.making@brooklynmuseum.org. 718.638.5000.

New Orleans - Art in Bloom 2009, Le Jardin des Arts, March 11-15, is an annual springtime celebration of floral arrangements, educational programs and social events at the New Orleans Museum of Art.  More than 100 exhibitors participate in a dazzling display of talent that includes inspirational floral designs, sculptures and sceneries in over a dozen categories.  Details/tickets: www.noma.org/special.html.  504.658.4100.

Chicago - The 2009 Chicago International Vintage Poster Fair will be held March 27-29 at the Chicago Cultural Center.  Over 25 international dealers will present more than 10,000 original vintage posters for sale.  1-800-856-8069; www.posterfair.com.

Milwaukee - Celebrating springtime April 2-5, Art in Bloom at the Milwaukee Art Museum showcases the talents of more than 40 renowned floral designers interpreting masterworks from the Museum’s collection.  The exhibition also includes lectures/workshops, book signings, plein air painters, indoor marketplace, garden sculpture sale, and floral-inspired dining. www.mam.org/bloom; 414.224.3200.

Artist Profile

Judy Chicago (1939–    )

Born Judy Cohen in 1939, Judy Chicago has risen to become a leading figure in feminist art.  As an artist, author, feminist, educator and intellectual, Judy Chicago has a career that has spanned over four decades.  Educated at the University of California in Los Angeles in the early 1960’s, Chicago earned both bachelor’s and master’s degrees.  Fame came only after she had worked as a painting instructor at several California universities and experimented with multiple media.

Chicago first achieved personal recognition for her convention-shattering clay and fabric work The Dinner Party (1974).  Her commitment to creating art from a female point of view, The Dinner Party is an installation of 39 large, unique, illustrated plates.  Each of the plates represents a woman of distinction, and collectively the work tells the history of women of western civilization.  Set up on a narrow-topped, triangular table configuration, the exhibit is breathtaking. The Dinner Party has traveled the world over and is considered to be Chicago’s best work.  It can be seen today at its permanent exhibition site, the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art at the Brooklyn Museum of Art.

The Dinner Party did two things to further a greater understanding and appreciation of women in art.  The masterpiece is not only a chronicle of women in history but also a collaboration of hundreds of contemporary female volunteers who helped create the completed work.  These volunteers worked from 1974 to 1979 doing hand stitching, ceramics and tapestry that accompanied each of the 39 plates.  This exhibit focused on the use of craft as art and crushed the accepted notion that much of what women do, and had previously been ignored as mundane, was now considered artwork.  From a contemporary point of view, Chicago revolutionized the way feminine art and artists, minimalism and crafts were viewed.

Other work done by Chicago after the success of The Dinner Party included The Birth Project, a series on birth and creation images.  She again worked with volunteer needleworkers and artisans from around America. Birth took from 1980 to 1985 to complete.

Started before and completed during The Birth Project was the personal project Powerplay (1978-1982), where Chicago took a critical feminist look at masculinity.  The source of inspiration for this series of paintings came in the autumn of 1982 when Chicago visited Rome for the first time and was inspired by the monumental scale and realism of Renaissance painting.  She decided to make a series of oil paintings in the classical tradition, but do it her way. Her use of the historical style converted to a contemporary purpose supports Chicago's post-modern feminist mentality as an artist.

From 1985 to 1993 Chicago worked on Holocaust Project: From Darkness into Light.  This was a collaboration with her husband, photographer Donald Woodman, and included mixed media works that explored the issues of power and powerlessness in relation to the way humans heal or destroy the world.

Premiering in 2000 was the exhibition called Resolutions: A Stitch in Time, where Chicago again worked with skilled needleworkers in combination with her paintings.  The exhibit was a series of inspiring images that looked at traditional adages and proverbs in contemporary context.

Chicago has chosen to make art that is thought-provoking and she stirs controversy with the images she creates.  Because of her style and philosophy on art, she continues to be of interest to thousands of art fans.   Recently, she worked in the exploration of the expressive potential of glass.  The final image in the Holocaust Project is a 16-foot triptych in stained glass that started her interest in glass work.  She carves and paints on glass that is then laminated, involving repeated carving and firing, then fusing and casting of the glass.

One thing can be said of Judy Chicago:  She pushes the envelope of exploration and discovery and seems always to come up with not only thought-provoking subject matter, but also diverse and fascinating materials with which to work.  See examples of her art at: www.judychicago.com and www.throughtheflower.org.  Through the Flower is a non-profit Feminist art organization founded by Judy Chicago in 1978.

Art Competitions

Colored Pencil - The Colored Pencil Society of America 17^th Annual International Exhibition will be held July 9–Aug. 29 at the Jacqueline C. Hudgens Center for the Arts in Duluth, GA.  Open to all artists 18 years or older. Media: 100% colored pencil and 2-D on a single surface.  Cash awards.  Deadline:  March 31. 214.668.5521. http://www.cpsa.org/EXHIBITION/17thEXHIBITION/Prospectus09-FINAL.pdf

Acrylic - The 12^th Annual International Society of Acrylic Painters Open International Exhibition will be held Aug. 8–Sept. 6 at the Santa Cruz Art League in CA. Entrants must be at least 18 years old and 2-D work must be at least 80% acrylic completed in the last three years.  Juror:  Charles Harrington.  Awards of $100,000 cash plus merchandise are expected.  Deadline:  April 1.  831.466.0311.  http://www.isap-online.com/12th_exhibition/12th_exhibit.htm

The Artist’s Marketplace

Chartpak – New Partnership with Schmincke

Chartpak has obtained the exclusive North American distribution rights to the premium brands of Schmincke:  Mussini Artist Oils, Horadam Watercolor and Gouache and Schmincke Artist Pastels.  These brands complement Grumbacher’s premium artist brands: Pretested Oils, Max Oils, and Finest Watercolor, as well as Grumbacher collegiate brands:  Academy Oils, Acrylics, and Watercolor. Each of the premium artist brands of Grumbacher and Schmincke has its own unique character.  For example, Mussini oils offer an old masters’ color palette made with a natural resin that is distinctly different from the contemporary palette of Grumbacher Pretested Oils.

The Grumbacher and Schmincke relationship dates back to the early 1900s.  Grumbacher distributed Schmincke colors until WWII, when Grumbacher began to manufacture its own line of premium colors in the U.S.  “This renewed partnership is a continuation of our mission to provide artists with the best art materials the world has to offer,” said Steven W. Roth, President and CEO of Chartpak.

Chartpak is now pleased to welcome Schmincke to its portfolio of brands that includes:  Grumbacher paints and brushes; Koh-I-Noor drawing and sketching; Pelikan fine writing and art materials; Frances Meyer scrapbooking; Clearprint paper products; Craft House painting, crafts and science activity kits; and Chartpak graphic and decorative arts.  See your retailer for these fine products and visit www.chartpak.com.

Sakura of America – Archival Ink Pen Used in Historic Presidential Election

The Chicago Board of Elections selected Sakura of America’s Pigma Micron 08 pen for citizens, including Barack and Michelle Obama, to use to mark their ballots for the 2008 Presidential election.  The fraud-resistant, permanent, lightfast, rich black pigment ink assures municipalities that ballot vote marks will not fade, smear or feather after being counted, scanned, and stored for 22 months as per Federal regulation.  The patented high quality of Pigma ink mirrors Sakura of America’s corporate philosophy that all individuals have the right and Power to Express their beliefs and creativity. Grimstad Comerford Group Inc. represents Sakura in Illinois.  See your retailer for this fine line of pens and visit www.sakuraofamerica.com.

Kids’ Korner

Spring Treasure Hunt with Treasure Balls

Spring is the time when we all feel energized after being relegated to the indoors over winter.  It can be a time of much fun outdoors if you are ready with a great project.  Right now is an ideal time to plan a couple of activities, so make a list of the friends you want to join you in a treasure hunt.  You will also need to create a list of things that you might search for.  When you have the list, write each item on a piece of paper.  You are now ready to make the treasure balls.

The balls can be made from old newspaper or junk mail.  Wad the paper up tightly with one of the pieces of paper inside.  Hide the balls as the first part of the “hunt.” Teams search for all the balls.  When all have been located, join together as a group and divide the total number of treasure balls by the number of teams you have.  With a wastebasket handy, unwrap the balls and retrieve the paper slips inside.  You now have the items you will need to find on the treasure hunt.

Ideas include: a purple pencil, a piece of yellow ribbon, a set of chopsticks, an old road map for a state other than your own, a sailor hat, a magazine that is at least 6 months old, today’s paper, an empty bathroom tissue roll, a red gift bag or red tissue paper, an orange, a smooth black rock, a yellow flower, a cactus thorn, a mismatched sock, a piece of junk mail, a piece of chalk, a pine cone, a fall colored leaf and any other items you might want to add to the list. You want things that are fairly easy to find but not too easy.

For special treasure balls, you can make them from a clay-like substance and hide gifts inside.  This would be a “seek and destroy” project because the only way you can get to the prize is to smash the treasure ball.  Materials: You will need 1 cup used coffee grinds, 1 cup flour, 1/2 cup salt, 1/4 cup sand, 3/4 cup water.

Instructions:  Put all the dry ingredients in a bowl and stir until blended.  Slowly add water until the mixture can be kneaded.  It should be the consistency of bread dough.  Shape into a ball and then press your thumb into the center to make an indentation.  Wrap the tiny gift in plastic wrap, put it into the opening and then pinch the dough closed and roll the ball to be smooth all around.  Let your treasure balls air dry for 2-3 days and be sure to rotate them so they dry evenly.  Don’t let them dry too long or they turn to “rock” and are almost impossible to break.

Hints:  If the mixture is too wet, add more flour.  If the kids are in a hurry, your treasure balls can be “baked” on a cookie sheet in a 150 degree oven for 15 to 20 minutes.  Also, break the treasure balls outside where it's easier to clean up!

Ideas for Using Treasure Balls:  Put colored disks in the treasure balls.  Assign points to the different colors and see whose treasure balls have the most points.  Use treasure balls to put some fun in simple presents for children.  Hide tiny things like toy lizards or insects, jewelry or trinkets in them.

Book Medal Winner

The 2009 Caldecott Medal winner is The House in the Night, illustrated by Beth Krommes and written by Susan Marie Swanson (Houghton Mifflin Company).  Richly detailed B/W scratchboard illustrations expand this timeless bedtime verse.  The Medal was named in honor of 19^th C. English illustrator Randolph Caldecott and is awarded annually by the Assoc. of Library Service to Children.

Youth Art Month

Many schools and art supply retailers have special activities and/or events to celebrate Youth Art Month in March, so be on the lookout.  For online coloring and activities, craft ideas, lesson plans and more, one place to visit is http://www.crayola.com/calendar/detail.cfm?event_id=127&year=2009.

Cartoon Character Competition

For 30 years artist Marc Brown has been drawing the cartoon “Arthur,” which has appeared in books and is viewed on television in 100 countries.  Now if you are between the ages of 6-12 you can create a new friend for the boy aardvark, one who can show the gang in Elwood City that children come in all shapes, sizes and abilities—in the Arthur/All Kids Can Character Search. The winner and his/her character will appear in a segment of an “Arthur” show and also meet Marc Brown.  Kids/families can download an entry form at http://www-tc.pbskids.org/arthur/allkidscan/AKC%20Entry%20Form%20Online.pdf.  Deadline is March 31, so get busy!

Create a Kite

The Autry National Center, Griffith Park Campus, Los Angeles, will present a Family Playhouse:  Mini Kites on March 29 from 1-2:30 pm.  The history of kites in China is very long.  Traditionally, kite flying was believed to be good for one’s health, and this view is still held by some today.  So come and create a beautiful mini kite of your own.  Free with museum admission.  323.667.2000.

Airbrush

Airbrushing for the Craftsperson

Despite today’s economic climate, the craft industry has seen an uptick of activity according to a recent interesting article in The New York Times.  Some craft retailers reported that more people were making crafts for gifts over the holidays and others were making crafts for sale at craft fairs, flea markets and online to supplement their income.

Within the field of crafts, there is no better tool for applying paint, stains or varnishes than the airbrush.  The airbrush can quickly and easily spray all liquefied materials in an application that results in no brush strokes.  Paint that is applied appears smooth and professional, as if it were done in a factory setting.  Because the airbrush can spray any materials that have the viscosity of milk or below, with or without thinning, there are few surfaces on which airbrush technique cannot be used for base painting or decorative purposes.

A short list of objects where the airbrush is used for paint application includes wooden items (from furniture and signs to duck decoys and carvings), paper items (from scrapbook pages to hand-crafted jewelry), metal crafted items (on aluminum, steel, copper, brass, etc.,—jewelry to sculptures), wall decorations (from murals to borders), and ceramics (from basic craft clay items to kitchen tiles to professional pottery).  In all cases, you must consider the compatibility of the material sprayed (enamel on metal, watercolor on paper, acrylic on walls, etc.) and the preparation of the surface to be airbrushed.  Some surfaces must be cleaned, some must be scuffed up or primed for paint adhesion and others must be clear coated after painting for permanency.

So if you’re creating arts/crafts and you want a smoother and perhaps more professional appearance than brush strokes, reach for an airbrush.  Remember that you don’t need to “break the bank” to outfit yourself with an airbrush setup specific to your requirements, as there are many choices.  Airbrushes range from the inexpensive external mix, single action style to the more expensive internal mix, dual action style that provides the softest spray.  They can be propelled by compressors that range from those that are less expensive but a little bit noisier and usually diaphragm in style to those that are more expensive, piston-operated and silent.  You can also supply air to the airbrush via inexpensive propellant cans or a refillable CO₂ tank.  The choice is yours, depending on the amount of spraying you intend to do and convenience desired.

Ask your arts/crafts retailer to aid you in the selection that best meets your particular needs.  To familiarize yourself with what equipment/supplies are available, visit www.sparmax.com.tw, www.iwata-medea.com, and www.silentaire.com.

ArtPourri

NEA News – Members of the House and Senate conference committee completed their negotiations of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act with $50 million designated to assist the nation’s arts and cultural workforce through funding to the NEA. — According to a new report, Using Arts and Culture to Stimulate State Economic Development from the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, “Arts and culture-related industries, collectively known as ‘creative industries,’ provide direct economic benefits to states and communities by creating jobs, attracting new investments, generating tax revenues and stimulating tourism and consumer purchases.

USPS News – The Postal Service has dedicated the “Celebrating Lunar New Year:  Year of the Ox” commemorative 12-stamp souvenir sheet as the second in this series.  Art director Ethel Kessler worked with Chinese-American stamp artist Kam Mak to choose a lion head of a type often worn at parades and other festivities.  Kam’s 16” x 9.5” stamp illustration was originally created using oil paints on a fiberboard panel and took 2-1/2 months to create.

Artifacts Returned – The FBI recently returned to the government of Panama more than 100 pre-Columbian artifacts that had been recovered during an investigation by the Portland Field Office.  An amateur archeologist acquired many of the items while working in Panama as a teacher on a U.S. military base during the 1980s, married a Panamanian citizen and moved back to the U.S. with many of the items.  He died in 2004, and no charges are expected.  A 1972 Panamanian Constitution and 1982 law make it illegal for anyone except the government to own antiquities from that country.

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Copyright ARTtalk Vol. 19 No. 5 — March 2009