Here’s a drawing I did for my boyfriend for Valentine’s Day last year, which was about five weeks after we met. I already knew I was in love with him but did not tell him for a few months.

This image was prompted by a visit we took to a huge Vietnamese supermarket on Chinese New Year, late January 2006. Vlady kept exclaiming about every fish species on ice, “Oh! a piranha!!”

Vlady has a wonderfully absurd sense of humor.

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The following assignment came from the book “Picture This: How Pictures Work” by Molly Bang. I first read the entire book to my student via slideshow, and quizzed them on the ten guidelines listed in the book. Then they did a cut paper assignment depicting “birds attacking a victim.” Finally, they completed the assignment below.

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PROJECT SUMMARY

Focus: Color, Shape, and our Emotional Responses to Them
Summary: Using only cut paper, create a scene with an emotional story behind it. Explain how the colors and shapes you chose communicate the emotion of the scene.

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PROJECT DETAILS

Instructions

Choose one of the five projects below and remember these guidelines:

1. Each student creates an separate image
2. Use three colors plus white
3. Scissors and colored paper only (no pencils!)
4. Keep the shapes as simple as possible
5. Avoid an overly realistic representation of objects

Before you begin, ask yourself two sets of questions:

1. SUBJECT AT HAND
   1. What is the essence of the person/creature/thing I want to represent?
   2. What specific elements in this situation evoke strong feelings in me?
   3. How can I accentuate these?
2. EMOTIONS and PRINCIPLES
   1. What feeling do I want to evoke with this picture?
   2. What principles might I use to do this?

Project Choice 1

Choose a painting that you particularly like. Placing the elements exactly, translate the painting into an abstract composition using only rectangles, circles, and traingles and three or four colors, to learn how the structure works.

Project Choice 2

Represent a situation that evokes a strong emotion, for example:

• snake(s), shark(s), rat(s) or spider(s) attacking a victim
• a parent and child with water
• people dancing
• a child giving food to animal(s)
• a person watering, tending or planting plants
• a person trapped in a cage/dungeon/flaming forest
• a person triumphant upon conquering a bear/mountain/contest

Project Choice 3

Illustrate a poem or series of poems, using the same three or four colors but representing different moods.

Project Choice 4

Illustrate a cover for a book, or a poster for a movie. Ask yourself the same questions as for the other pictures, but add a further question: How can I most effectively use the letters to enhance the feeling I want to evoke? Look at how words are used on a variety of posters and book covers.

Project Choice 5

Illustrate a folk tale or short story, again using the same limited colors throughout, eliciting appropriate emotions for each of five or six scenes. Try making the first and last pictures similar to each other but different, to give a sense of coming full circle but with changed feelings. be sure to make a cover as well.

Reflection

Answer the following three questions on a separate sheet of paper. Turn it in along with your picture.

• Which project did you do? What story does it tell?
• What emotion(s) are involved with this scene?
• How did the shapes and colors that you used communicate this/these emotion(s)?

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STUDENT WORK

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Here are three snapshots from tests I gave in graphic design. The students were bright but stumped, and very, very creative.

Click an image for a larger version:

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It’s been a while since I’ve posted any of my art here. I have been doing a little from time to time. I am now making some sculptures for Christmas presents (family and friends, stop looking at this post!)

Here’s a run-down of what I’ve been making – and what Vlady made too!

November 11th

Vlady and I worked on armatures for plaster sculptures. We were both pretty ambitious and had some degree of success. Here’s my jellyfish with wire clothes hangers and newspaper for armature. The jellyfish rests on the tips of four or five tentacles:

Here’s Vlady with his Russian black widow, A.K.A. karakurt:

Here’s the karakurt wrapped in plaster and strips of bedsheet, papier mache-style:

And mine as well:

November 18th

Here’s a Great Blue Heron I created in papier mache many months ago. I finally painted it. This will be a gift to my Dad and his wife:

Here’s Vlady and his finished karakurt, which he gifted to me much to my delight:

And here’s my painted jellyfish. I honestly hate the paint job. I will probably repaint it completely in washy blues and greens. I’ll get Vlady’s opinion first:

November 19th

I have the whole week off from work. Being a teacher has its perks. Time to make some more Christmas presents.

I am loving this kangaroo and joey. This I will probably give to my brother and his family. Here is the armature, with part of the wire hangers still visible. I keep forgetting to take photos before the newspaper and masking tape goes on:

November 20th

Here is the kangaroo after all the body has been formed, ready for papier mache (I’m skipping the plaster method this time). My kitty Athena approves:

Finally for today, here’re the roo and joey after wrapped in papier mache:

I’ll be sure to show the painted kangaroo soon, along with any further scupltures I do this week.

P.S. Here are pictures of me feeding ducks:

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World leaders sure wear some fancy hats.

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From the same site…creative business cards:

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