CartaBella

l'Artista Blog

October 3, 2009
by Bonnie Porter
Comments Off on



KINDERART. Alphabet Sampler Project. Even though needlework samplers are the most common “samplers”, we created a papercraft Alphabet Sampler. How many different kinds of paper and styles of lettering? Each student had to create 26 “different” letters for their own Sampler and glue them onto posterboard.
It turned out to be so labor intensive, AND so much fun, that we didn’t attempt another project during this session. Available paper/medium supplies: scrapbook paper, cardstock, wallpaper, construction paper, markers, pastels, paints, glitter crayons, stencils, magazines, etc.

October 3, 2009
by Bonnie Porter
Comments Off on


INTERMEZZO LADIES. Fall Colors!
Our centerpiece project this week was a pumpkin, picked up at a local fresh market. An excellent values study. An opportunity to contrast warm/cool yellows and figure out how to add those light green smudges on some parts of the skin. Discussed background and shadow color choices, including the use of complementary colors. And Voila! Two artists sitting next to each other “modeled” the Blue & Orange complementary color principles!

A visit to the produce market and I get carried away with the bounty of Fall colors! What am I going to do with all of these watercolor Gala apples after I get the Cezanne urge out of my system? If I continue to eat An Apple A Day. . . how many days are going to have apples in the house?

September 19, 2009
by Bonnie Porter
Comments Off on





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
Comments Off on





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!