Creating Boxtrolls: A Creative Lesson In A Local School

Today I had the joy of going into a public school and doing an art workshop with a class of kids.  It was so much fun!  I did a demonstration with clay and we created mixed media box trolls.  I recently watched the Boxtrolls movie and loved the claymation that they used.  It really was quite interesting and very creative.  So, I decided to create my own box trolls.  In the movie the trolls each lived in a box and took on the name of the box that they were wearing.  So, each child made their own box and designed their own label.  It was awesome to see so much creativity coming out of the students and that each one was unique in its own way.  I love how you can give kids a pile of materials and they make use of them making things I would of never think of.

So how did we create these one of a kind box trolls?  We started with some air dry clay and designed heads.  We moulded and sculpted eyes, noses, mouths, teeth, and even tongues.  I loved to see how some made hats, hair, and even accessories to go with their trolls.   Each face took on a personality of its own and I soon got to see the interests of the students coming to life in what they were creating.  After all you create what you like.

Next we took small paper boxes and had a smorgasbord of materials out for the kids to play with! They began to poke holes and make pipe cleaner arms, clay feet, decorative feather dresses, plaid tape ties, and much more. Some added paint and markers, and others used lots of tape!  There was no right or wrong way and they all looked great!

The last step was to allow the clay heads to dry and then glue them to the top of the box! There you have it!  A uniquely designed box troll.  My highlight was to be able to watch the kids create and to see how much they enjoyed it!  Give it a shot with your kids.  Believe me, they'll love it!
Happy creating.

Trish

A Sneak Peek Into Funtastical Studios Art Classes For Kids

Coming this fall I will be teaching some new classes to kids ages 6-10!  I have been busy trying and experimenting with lots of mediums to make this a funtastical experience for kids.  I love the diversity in art and the varieties of materials you can work with.  I know that kids love that too!  So, I have intentionally mixed up a lot of the media to allow kids to really experiment and get the creative juices flowing!  Each week the kids will be introduced to a new medium and learn new technique while having lots of fun.  This fall the theme will be artsy animals.  We will be looking at all kinds of different animals that we will re-create and even invent.  We will be doing drawing labs, printmaking, sculpture, acrylics,  watercolours, and more!  There will also be a fun art game to play each week.
Here are a few of the projects we will be creating!

Mixed media sculpture: creating your own creature 

Mixed media birds

Drawing lab: doodling your favourite animal/bird

Contour giraffes: watercolour

Paper Mache: underwater creatures

So there you have it.  I will be developing a few more ideas over the summer.  Keep watch on our blog, Facebook page, and website as we get closer to the fall.  We'll make sure to post how you can sign up if you live in our area.

Trish

More Mixed Media!

Lately I have been on a mixed media frenzy!  I really love it!  I think it's because I feel so much freedom in it.  There isn't that worry of messing things up because I just keep layering over until I get the look I like!  It's fun and to me it's a great way to play and experiment with other mediums that I haven't tried before.  So this week I have taken an old piece of wood that used to be on our old woodshed.  I primed it with primer, began painting, and here's what I got!

I took an old board from our former woodshed, primed it, and then painted it with a yellow undertone.

I then added some decorative tissue paper from the Tim Holtz collection.  I love this stuff.

I added lots of Mod Podge to it, beneath and on top of the tissue paper.  I also highlighted it with some blue acrylic paint.

Probably one of the most challenging parts of mixed media is if you are wanting to put lettering on your piece.  There are a few options to do this without making it really difficult.  You can free hand and write your message, but I personally find that hard to do.  I don't have a problem with writing or the lettering but rather the spacing.  It can look very unprofessional if your spacing isn't consistent. This includes height and width of each letter.  You can use stamps as they work great, but you may not have them available or have the right size of stamps.  So another option is finding a font that you like on the computer. There are also websites available for this.  My personal favourite is www.dafont.com.  I  types out the message and the size of lettering I wanted.  After I have printed it, I now had to transfer it onto my artwork.  What I found works really well is taking a charcoal pencil and tracing over the lettering on one side.  I then pressed it down onto the canvas or board and this left a print of the lettering on the canvas that I could then paint over with a fine brush.

I then added some extra little things to bring the piece together, like some old buttons.

I also added some burlap and tags with some whimsical houses that I sketched out.

So there it is.  Have fun creating this week and don't be afraid to experiment.  You may just find your niche! Happy creating.

Trish

Playing With Mixed Media

From time to time I like to play with mixed media.  For those who are unaware of what mixed media is, it is a whole bunch of different art mediums put together to make one piece of art.  What I really like about mixed media is that you can experiment with all kinds of things and make one big mess!  It is a great art project to do with kids!  A word of caution: if you are not in the mood for lots of mess and play, then perhaps don't attempt until you are in the mood.  What I really love with mixed media is that you can't mess up your piece of art.  You just keep layering over and over until you get a look that you like.

There are some rules, like anything, but you can totally break them all!  One thing to keep in mind is you do want to try to make a piece that is pleasing to the eye.  Sometimes the best way to know this is to try some different things.  If you are using a lot of texture, colour, or symbols, you will want to make sure they are balanced in your picture.  They all draw attention so see what works as you layer different mediums on your canvas.

I usually start with either a board of some kind (cupboard doors or old pieces of wood work well) or a
canvas.  Today I am using a canvas.  I have already painted the whole canvas using different shades of blue.  You will also want to have a dryer (I use a hair dryer) available to dry your work in-between layers.  After I have a base, I begin to cut out or rip out decorative paper images.  I glue these on by either using Mod Podge or make my own mixture (white glue and water).  Today I have the idea of houses in mind, so I've begun to take different paper, burlap, decorative tissue paper (my favourite) and rip out or cut the shape of whimsical houses.  I also love to use name tags.  Oh, I should mention that before I glue any of these down, I have already glued a layer of tissue paper over the whole canvas to give it some really cool texture.



I begin to glue down my houses by adding some paint.  I add some distressed ink (works awesome and I highly recommend) and I use my ink pad to line some of the edges of my houses.  I continue playing with paint and things kicking around in my craft closet, such as bubble wrap, and create some neat pattern.  Really, you can spend a fortune on mixed media!  There are tons of really great stamps available.  I recommend Tim Holtz stamps!  There also are keys, stickers, and lettering that you can put on.  The sky is the limit!  I will be doing one like that in the future, but for now I want to show you that you can also use what is kicking around your house!

After I have layered enough and painted enough I take out my trusty paint pen and begin to doodle my homes making them more defined.  I also use some indian ink to do this.  After adding a few touches to my sky and some gold ink splatters, I call this finished.

So there you have it!  Really you can't go wrong.  Just be free to create, and have fun!  If you have some little ones around, include them in on the fun they will love it!
Happy creating!

Trish