Woodland Diner -Making a Hand Painted Sign on the CHEAP

by Eleanor Hendriks

So I haven't made much pottery lately, and what I have made, I didn't take pictures of -it's easy to get out of the habit of documenting the making process when it isn't happening regularly -and since my blog has always been based on pictures, I've had very little to post here. I hope to change that soon because I have some pieces nearing the end of the (very slow) making process at the Guelph Community Pottery Centre that I would like to show off.

     In the meantime, I would like to share something else I made with you (any readers that may still be hanging around). The assignment was to make a church kitchen look like a 50's diner for a fundraiser -and I was to make the sign -on the Cheap!! So with a cardboard box left over from a bathroom renovation, some leftover primer and 4 colours of Walmart acrylic, I made this...

 Large cardboard box.

Left over primer to reduce the absorptiveness of the surface.

 I did both sides of the cardboard with the primer, because it started to curl.

 The black took two layers to cover completely.

 I created the design in Corel Draw and used a polka dot pattern in the background to make it easy to line up the tiled printout.

 I tested the colours over black before painting the whole backgound -thankfully the Walmart colours had enough pigment to do reasonably well at covering the black with one coat -though I did have to be careful not to spread the paint to thin -and had a few areas of touch up -but overall much less work than painting the black around the lettering!

 Painting on cardboard is frustrating up close because it is impossible to get a smooth, straight  line over the corrugations -but it doesn't show from a distance -and cardboard is the right price for a project like this.

 Trimmed around the edges and painted them black -this is the least satisfying part of working with cardboard -the edges were fuzzy and uneven. If I were to do it again, I would consider cutting the shape first and trying to neatly tape the edges before priming -but that could take a while -maybe not worth it for a one evening use sign...

 I think the end result looks pretty good.

 'Dry' brushed highlights in a lighter shade and white add depth and a look of neon glow.

 Dots made with the handle end of a foam brush look like lights -to be really authentic I should have skipped a few or done them in black to look burned out.

 I can't believe my son let me draw this 'tattoo' on him with Sharpies! He's a good sport. And this is a rare sighting of me in a pink headband -don't expect to see it again any time soon.

Make a Petal Bowl -Pictorial Tutorial

by Eleanor Hendriks

Clay Totem Poles with Kids

by Eleanor Hendriks

I had the opportunity to teach a clay elective at my childrens' grade school recently. I had a group of 11 children from grade one to grade eight. The age spread kind of freaked me out and I decided to deal with it by doing two projects -one for the older kids -4 boys from grade 6 and 8, and a different project for the 7 children from grade 1 to 3.

The project for the 4 boys was to make a totem pole using slabs and a Pringles can. Since we weren't at my studio with access to my oh-so-handy slab roller, the boys got to roll their own slabs using rolling pins, 1/4" slats to control the thickness and canvas sheets to keep the clay from sticking to the slick school tables. You can see the basic method for making the pole form in this castle tutorial.

I handed out pictures of traditional totem poles and talked a little about the symbolism of the creatures and different design elements. I would have loved to get into this in more depth, but I was juggling the younger kids' project at the same time, so this got short shrift. They sketched out their ideas on scrap paper for a few minutes and then got busy on their creations.

I had the boys divide their poles horizontally into sections to accommodate the number of creatures they planned to make and I asked them to make any elements that would stick out further than a couple of inches first so that they could set them aside to stiffen up before attaching. Even so, some pieces required clay props to keep them from sagging while they dried.
Because I hadn't done this project with a group before and didn't know how long it would take, I had them work from the top down, in case they ran out of time before accomplishing all the creatures. I explained that they could put more creatures in using paint during the second session.

During the second session they painted their poles with underglazes. I encouraged them to look again at the traditional totem poles and make note of the amount of design work executed in paint. I gave them pencils to lay out some design work on the pieces before they began with the underglazes. I was impressed with the amount of time and focus the boys (yes, I said BOYS!) put into their painting. And I have to say, the results are fabulous -don't you agree?








Sorry, no photos of the process, I was busier than a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs. I'll show you what the younger kids made another time...

(Is OK that I am inordinately proud of the creator of the last totem pictured? It was made by my eldest son...)

Being Angelic in the Studio!

by Eleanor Hendriks

So, someone out there in blogland actually gave my angel tutorial a try! Leigh Whitaker and her daughter made this sweet angel in Leigh's pottery studio.



You can check out Leigh's pottery studio blog here:

http://leighwhitaker.blogspot.com/2008/05/cute-project-for-kids.html

And the lovely things she makes in her studio are for sale in her Etsy shop!

Thank you to Elizabeth B. for introducing me to this style of angel (which I have since tweaked a little) in the first place!

If anyone else makes a version of these, please let me know -I'd love to see them (and show them off to the world if you are willing!)

Angels in the Studio...

by Eleanor Hendriks

I hosted a Mom's Night Out for some of the parents from my children's school a little while ago. A small but enthusiastic group of ladies gathered at StudioÉlan for an evening to make clay angels.

Just look at the fierce concentration...

...attention to detail...
..and a peek at the results...

The whole host of angels together...

And you CAN try this at home, folks!!

Start with a slab of soft clay...

Cut, decorate and smooth a circle...

Cut it with one segment a little larger than the other...

Form the larger segment into a cone by joining the straight side to itself starting at the middle. The curved edge will meet at the corners to form the circular base of the angel...

Cut a pair of wings from the remaining piece...

Smooth and decorate both sides of the wing piece...

Attach the wings to the back of the angel, partially hiding the seam in the cone...

Make a smooth ball for a head...

Poke a funnel shaped hole in the bottom of the head and join it onto the point of the cone...

Make some hair using some soft clay and a Kemper Klay Gun (don't you hate it when companies intentionally spell words incorrectly in their product names -or is that just me?..)

Do an angelic hairdo....

Make a halo from a thin coil of soft clay and attach it to the angel's head...

And voila! A clay angel....

Let me know how yours turn out!!

Medieval Times

by Eleanor Hendriks
March Break Art Camp at StudioÉlan is going well so far this week and their project today was so successful that I thought I'd show it off! We made castle towers and tricked them out with all kinds of medieval elements and details. The series of process photos and the Rapunzel tower are the one I made as an example. The last three pictures are the great work of Lydia, Heather, Madeleine, Ally, Garett and Tyas -way to go guys!

Clay is done for the week -next we'll be working on mosaics, tin punching, printmaking and abstract paper cuttting. I'll post an overview of all the projects after the week is done -I hope they go as well as this one!!
Edited July 25, 2013 I was too busy during those sessions to take pictures, so I never did get posts about the other projects up. See the comments for tips on how to do this project with your own group...