CartaBella

l'Artista Blog

September 19, 2009
by Bonnie Porter
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TAJ MAHAL, Architecture Exercise. Students readily recognized that this “famous building” is a good example of Symmetry. We discussed how to draw it, focusing on breaking it down into shapes. My grand children’s building blocks were used to “construct” a simple model of the Taj Mahal’s basic shapes: rectangles, half circles, squares, and cylinders. Some of the Middle School students opted to use a ruler and follow a few precise measurements designed for the size of paper they used. Other students used a rule just to draw the horizon line and then using a rectangle template in the middle they were able to “construct” and draw the rest of the building, following the symmetrical design portrayed in the one-point perspective image.

September 4, 2009
by Bonnie Porter
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INTERMEZZO Ladies. “One does not discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time.” —Andre Gide.

“Losing oneself” is a frequent experience of artists. In our water color classes these past few weeks we’ve noticed how quickly time slips away from us. We become so engrossed in practicing a new technique and experimenting with our new tubes of paint that we literally lose all sense of time and space. For us “seniors,” this is a good thing! We are enjoying a new passion and a new pursuit.
Last week we practiced laying down a wash, inspired by the blues of ocean and seascapes. This week, inspired by a watercolor from an artist in Maine, we tried a more subtle, atmospheric approach. We sought to define a horizon line, a middle ground, and tall grasses in the foreground.

Our personal painting styles are beginning to emerge, as evidenced by our varied “responses” to the same subject matter!

September 4, 2009
by Bonnie Porter
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TABLEAUX. Children in my art classes respond well to this type of drawing exercise, the portrayal of a specific famous painting. The very act of preparing the model and the setting to reflect the painting being studied serves to help re-create the Master Artist’s painting in the minds of the participants. Using props, and placing them as accurately as possible, each child becomes actively involved in the setting-up process. Young artists become more intimately involved with the painting and, consequently, they become more motivated to recreate on paper the “live” enactment right there in their art studio environment, be it a traditional classroom or a home school setting.

September 1, 2009
by Bonnie Porter
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“The work of children is play.” Using long strips of colorful paper, each KinderArt Home School student creatively constructed a playground. This project involves lots of cutting, taping and paper folding. One idea usually led to another and soon their baseboards were covered with imaginative playground elements.