52 Weeks of Art: Week 22

Week 22: Clay

Welcome to week 22 of 52 weeks of art! What are we doing this week?

     This week's medium was clay. There are so many different types of clay. Since we don't have access to a kiln, any type of clay that needed to be baked in a kiln was off the list. That left oven baked and air dry clay. 

     Air dry clay is easy to use and it doesn't require any baking - hence the air dry name. The downside to using air dry class is the quick dry time. While it doesn't dry completely solid quickly, it does dry out enough to make it unusable in a short amount of time. Storing it is also a challenge since it dries out. 

     Oven baked clay - polymer clay - is a good combination of both air dry and kiln baked clay, I think. It's easy to use like the air dry clay without the worry of it drying out. It bakes in your home oven, no kiln required. If you have never sculpted anything before, I think polymer clay is a good choice to start with. Air dry clay is a good start also, but you have to work quickly with it.

    So, we chose the polymer clay to work with. Since my youngest is a huge fan of sculpting things, we borrowed all of her supplies. Thanks, Little One. Since the kids were all out of school for the Thanksgiving break, we had lots of people collaborating with us this week. 

     We used Sculpey, which is available in a wide variety of colors and found in any arts and crafts store. It is a name brand polymer clay, but I think it's worth it. The Little One has used several different types of polymer clay over the years and we've found Sculpey to be the best. There are other good brands out there, but I wouldn't recommend getting anything cheap and generic, they don't usually bake well.

     My kids used different colors of clay to make their creations, I used one color. I planned on painting mine with acrylic paints when I was finished. I've only ever sculpted things with polymer clay a few times with my Little One. So, this was the first time I've really tried sculpting something. Here's what I came up with. His name in Gnorman. Gnorman the Gnome. This is him after I baked him in the oven.

     

Gnorman the Gnome.

Gnorman side view.

     And here's Gnorman all painted up. I've released him into the wild so he can live the gnome life.

Gnorman in the wild.

         

On to rating clay...

     Just a reminder on the criteria for rating each medium.

Ease of use: How easy was this medium to use.

Affordability: How affordable supplies are for each medium.

Accessibility: How easily accessible supplies are for each medium. Example, are specific tools required that are hard to find?

Fun to Use: How much enjoyment I got out of using this medium

     So, for clay, my rating is: 19

Ease of use: 5

 I think polymer clay is something that is easy enough for anyone to use. Trying to get the exact shape you want in 3D is a little more difficult, but I think it's definitely something that everyone can do.

Affordability: 4

     For $25 on Amazon you can get a pack of 50 colors of Sculpey. They are small amounts of each color, but if you're making something small, you don't need a lot. Or, if you'd like to sculpt and then paint, you can get a large one pound block of clay for about $15. You don't need any sculpting tools, you can use things you have around your house - pens, toothpicks, plastic utensils, etc. If you would like to buy some sculpting tools, you can get a large set of 42 tools from Arteza for about $25. So, overall, I would say that if you're just trying out clay you can do it very affordably.

Accessibility: 5

     Any arts and crafts store will have polymer clay. It's available just about everywhere.

Fun to Use: 5

    I used to not like 3D art. But doing this 52 week art adventure has really made me stretch my artistic muscles. I enjoyed sculpting Gnorman, and I think he turned out pretty okay.

     If you would like to go on this epic art adventure with me, next week we will be doing...

     If you choose to follow along, please post your work using #52weekartadventure!

52 Weeks of Art: Week 21

Week 21: Oil Paint

Welcome to week 21 of 52 weeks of art! What are we doing this week?

         So, this week we are using oil paints. When I think of oil paints, I picture all the old masters of art. I picture all of these amazingly talented artists from the past. Oil paint always reminds me of "fine art". I don't imagine modern day artists using oil paint - which I know is ridiculous. I know that people still paint with oils! But I still think of it as an old world art medium. I know, I know, it makes no sense, but it is what it is. Here's some examples of amazing oil paintings.

Girl with a Pearl Earring by Johannes Vermeer

Ballerina by Edgar Degas

Irises by Van Gogh

     For our collaboration we used water based oil paints. Water based oil paints work just like the classic oil paints, but without all the hassle. Like the name says, they are easily cleaned up with water. Also, there's no paint thinner which means there's no chemical smell. You don't need to be painting in a well ventilated area. You want to thin the paint? Just add water! You got paint on your hands? Just use water - or baby wipes!

     I'm not an oil painter. I have only ever painted with oils once before - years ago in college. When Rebecca suggested we use water based oil paints I was skeptical. I honestly didn't know what to expect. I thought for sure the paint would not be at all like your classic, smelly, oil paints. But, to my surprise, it was exactly the same. They paint the same, they look the same. I'd say you'd have a hard time telling the difference between water based and non water based.  

     I have mentioned this before, and I will most likely mention this again, but I am a very impatient person. I hate waiting around for paint to dry. That's probably why I like pens so much - no dry time! So, painting with oil was a study in patience for me. I had to paint wet on wet. I had to carefully plan out my painting. It was a lot more than I'm used to for painting. 

     We had our collaboration on Wednesday. Today is Friday. My painting is STILL wet. I wasn't able to get a lot of pictures of it. I was worried about ruining it, so I didn't move it. 

     

Here's my STILL WET oil painting.

     Overall, I really enjoyed painting with oils. Will I do it again? Yeah, I think I will. I'll have to work on my patience, though.

On to rating oil paint...

     Just a reminder on the criteria for rating each medium.

Ease of use: How easy was this medium to use.

Affordability: How affordable supplies are for each medium.

Accessibility: How easily accessible supplies are for each medium. Example, are specific tools required that are hard to find?

Fun to Use: How much enjoyment I got out of using this medium

     So, for oil paint, my rating is: 13

Ease of use: 3

  I won't say that oil painting is hard, but I won't say it's easy either. I think if you are interested in trying out oil painting, you should definitely find someone to show you how to use them. Find a teacher or find some YouTube videos. It's really easy to just turn your painting into a big mess if you don't know what you're doing.

Affordability: 2

     You can get a cheap set of water based oil paints for $20. Artists quality paints are going to be a lot more. Then you need brushes and canvas. I would say that if you're buying all new supplies to try out oil painting, you're looking at spending around $50. So, no, getting in to oil painting isn't cheap.

Accessibility: 5

     Water based oil paints are a lot easier to find these days. You should be able to find them in your local arts and crafts store. And, of course, you can buy them at any art supply store or online.

Fun to Use: 3

    This was a fun medium to use. It would have been more fun if I was a more patient person. I think if you really want to feel like a "real artist" you should give oil painting a try. Just remember, no matter what medium you use, you are always an artist.

     If you would like to go on this epic art adventure with me, next week we will be doing...

     If you choose to follow along, please post your work using #52weekartadventure!

52 Weeks of Art: Week 20

Week 20: Alcohol Ink

Welcome to week 20 of 52 weeks of art! What are we doing this week?

         Well, it finally happened. I found a medium that I did not like at all. I didn't like anything about this whole process. This week we had alcohol ink. This isn't just something I had laying around the house. I did some research, off to Google! I looked in to buying some inks, but I wasn't about to spend $4 on individual colors. A cheap set of 9 colors was $35. This was something I didn't want to invest a lot of money in because I wasn't even sure I would like using it. Good thing I didn't! I do not like it! So, off to Google again to discover a way to make my own alcohol inks!

     Because Google is amazing, I was able to find out how to make my own. Super simple. Markers + rubbing alcohol. I have a large collection of sharpies, and sharpies were the number one recommended marker for this, so I used sharpies. Now, I read that the more alcohol the less vibrant the color. So, here's what I did:

Sharpie in a small container with a tiny amount of  alcohol.

A rainbow of sharpie colors.

     After hours of the sharpies sitting in the alcohol like this, I decided that wasn't going to work. I pulled them apart and pulled the tip out to soak in the alcohol. After two days of soaking in alcohol this is what I ended up with. Not very concentrated. I was very disappointed.

Here's the sharpie tips soaking in alcohol.

     Here is my attempt at using my homemade alcohol inks. The colors are so very pale. I was actually worried they wouldn't show up in the photos. They did, but just barely. I used photo paper, because alcohol inks work best on no porous surfaces - glass, ceramic, photo paper, etc.

Here's my attempt with homemade inks.

      Since the homemade inks weren't working so well, I colored on the photo paper with the sharpies and dropped some ink onto. That sort of worked. The only problem with coloring on the paper was the fact you could see the lines from coloring.

Using sharpie ON the paper THEN adding the alcohol.

     Then I decided to try coloring with the sharpie so it didn't really LOOK like I colored it. If that even makes sense. I dropped the alcohol on it again. Then I used my finger to try and spread it around. Those colored spots were NOT going anywhere.

     Here's some examples of what REAL alcohol ink looks like:

Found this here.

Found this here.

On to rating alcohol ink...

     Just a reminder on the criteria for rating each medium.

Ease of use: How easy was this medium to use.

Affordability: How affordable supplies are for each medium.

Accessibility: How easily accessible supplies are for each medium. Example, are specific tools required that are hard to find?

Fun to Use: How much enjoyment I got out of using this medium

     So, for alcohol ink, my rating is: 11

Ease of use: 4

  Honestly, I think if the colors were better, this would have been incredibly easy to use. Basically, you drop some ink onto a surface with a small dropper. Done. Super easy.

Affordability: 3

     Alcohol inks are not cheap. You can go the DIY route and save yourself some money if this is something you want to try. However, I can't say the DIY route turned out all that great. I'm sure I must have been doing something wrong, because SO many people out there make their own ink.

Accessibility: 3

     I'm going to say that the supplies are only mostly accessible. If you buy the alcohol inks you'll have to get them from an art store or online. Not every arts and crafts store is going to carry them. However, sharpies and rubbing alcohol are available at your local grocery store.

Fun to Use: 1

    Nope. This was not fun. This was frustrating to me. I think I might have enjoyed it more if the inks had worked out better. Even if they were better, I don't think I would have liked this medium.

     If you would like to go on this epic art adventure with me, next week we will be doing...

     If you choose to follow along, please post your work using #52weekartadventure!

52 Weeks of Art: Week 19

Week 19: Pen

Welcome to week 19 of 52 weeks of art! What are we doing this week?

         It's another week of art! This time we're using pen. Pen is one of my favorite mediums to use. While I love using color, there's something very beautiful about just using black and white. Using just one color requires you to get creative when it comes to shading. With other mediums (pencil, charcoal, etc.) you can smudge your work, blend it. With pen, you can't do that. There are various techniques for shading you can use. Here's some examples (sorry for the blurry photo):

     You can see that by making your lines closer together you have a darker value. The more space between your lines creates a lighter value. You can use these techniques to add dimension to your drawings. 

     You can get some drawing pens from any art supply store - or Amazon. But you don't have to have the fancy drawing pens. You can use just a regular ball point pen. I have a large selection of various brands of pens. I don't have any particular favorites, I think they all work well.

     I just finished up Inktober, so I've done a lot of pen drawings recently. Here's some samples of some I've done in the past:

     For this weeks collaboration I decided to do a drawing of a magnolia. The husband and I went to Georgia, Tennessee, and Florida not too long ago. There were all these beautiful magnolia trees everywhere. I took some pictures, but the pictures aren't as beautiful as the real thing. Here's my drawing from one of those pictures. 

On to rating pen...

     Just a reminder on the criteria for rating each medium.

Ease of use: How easy was this medium to use.

Affordability: How affordable supplies are for each medium.

Accessibility: How easily accessible supplies are for each medium. Example, are specific tools required that are hard to find?

Fun to Use: How much enjoyment I got out of using this medium

     So, for pen, my rating is: 20

Ease of use: 5

  Pens are very easy to use. As easy as using a pencil. The only down side to using pens - you can't erase it. 

Affordability: 5

     You can get a set of drawing pens for about $10 on Amazon. Pens are cheap.

Accessibility: 5

     You can get some drawing pens just about anywhere. Any arts and crafts store will have them. They are also available online. I love online shopping.

Fun to Use: 5

    Like I said earlier, pen is one of my favorite mediums to use. So yeah, I had fun doing this weeks art adventure!

     If you would like to go on this epic art adventure with me, next week we will be doing...

     If you choose to follow along, please post your work using #52weekartadventure!

52 Weeks of Art: Week 18

Week 18: Plaster

Welcome to week 18 of 52 weeks of art! What are we doing this week?

         This week was another medium I have never used before. It was an interesting one - plaster. We didn't use plaster to make any sculptures or anything. We used it to make sculptural paintings. I know, that sounds like making a sculpture. It's not, it's a little bit different than that.
   
    It's called sculptural painting. Basically, you take some colored plaster and make a 3D painting with it. Sounds easy enough, right?

     Here's some amazing examples of some sculptural paintings:

Some beautiful plaster flowers by Laurel Pulvers

Some more beautiful flowers by Laurel Pulvers

     Alright, it doesn't actually look easy to do at all. I can't even tell you how many videos I watched on how to make these beautiful plaster flowers. But, in the end, I was afraid to even try to make a flower. I just went with some abstract art.

     We mixed up a small amount of plaster. The box said it dries in about 7-10 minutes. So, again, there is a lack of photos on the whole process. I was worried the whole time it would dry out before I was able to do anything with it. Sorry. So yeah, mixed up a little bit of plaster, added some acrylic paint to it to color it, and got to work. 

     Turns out I didn't need to worry about it drying out. It actually took quite a while for it to dry out. Now, when I say dry out, I mean too dry to work with. It still took HOURS for it to dry all the way. After mixing in the paint, I just used a palette knife to apply the plaster. I used a piece of masonite, I was worried that anything else wouldn't have been sturdy enough to hold the plaster. 

      Here is what I created....

     I was going for a little landscape. Some sky, trees, you know.... Rebecca thought it was the ocean. The Little One thought it was some grass. I guess those could all be right. What does it look like to you?

On to rating plaster...

     Just a reminder on the criteria for rating each medium.

Ease of use: How easy was this medium to use.

Affordability: How affordable supplies are for each medium.

Accessibility: How easily accessible supplies are for each medium. Example, are specific tools required that are hard to find?

Fun to Use: How much enjoyment I got out of using this medium

     So, for plaster, my rating is: 18

Ease of use: 4

  This was actually much easier to use than I thought it would be. However, I didn't try to make anything too complicated. I think if I tried anything more sculptural it would have been difficult. If you're just going to plop some plaster down in an abstract style, this was a piece of cake.

Affordability: 4

     You can get a box of about 4 lbs of plaster for about $10. We only used a tiny amount of it, so you could probably make several sculptural paintings with 4 lbs of plaster. I just used a tiny glob of acrylic paint to add color to the plaster. So yeah, it's pretty affordable.

Accessibility: 5

     Plaster is pretty easy to come by. So is acrylic paint. Palette knives are also pretty easy to get. But you could use plastic knives, popsicle sticks, anything.

Fun to Use: 5

    I really enjoyed making a sculptural painting. It was fun. I think this is something everyone should try at least once in their lives. Seriously. Go for it.

     If you would like to go on this epic art adventure with me, next week we will be doing...

     If you choose to follow along, please post your work using #52weekartadventure!