Spray Paint Alternatives

Everyone loves a good stencil but lets be honest, not everyone loves spray paint. So here at the Apex Institute for Spray Paint Alternatives, we are exploring other stencil creating options.

Option One: Sunlight

At the end of last year, we covered a large sheet of black paper with a stencil. Then we hung the paper on the window so the summer sun could shine down on it all day long...

This morning, we took the paper off the wall, removed the stencil and ... behold! Sunlight Stencil! The sun faded the black paper where it was exposed, but kept the dark color where it was covered. On the down side, this took slightly longer to create than spray paint but it was still cool!

Option Two: Birdseed

A bag of top soil, a stencil and some birdseed and you're ready to go. Here you see a frame filled with dirt.

Next, we placed our stencil on top of the top soil. 

We sprinkled birdseed on top of the stencil. Now all we have to do is water and wait.

Stayed Tuned!



Cartoon Skeletons

The first week of Art One we do a lot of observational drawing. One of my favorite assignments is to have everyone draw Chick, the skeleton (see above). They draw her twice. Once at the beginning of the week and once again at the end of the week. I guarantee my students will see a 743% improvement from one to the other.

In order to ensure their success, I believe having them understand the bones of the body is rather helpful. In order to do this, I have each student select a cartoon character and then draw what they believe to be the cartoon's skeletal structure. Here are some of the results....

Drawing Cupcake

Today, in Art One we drew Cupcake. This is Cupcake. She is a snapping turtle and one of several turtles we drew in class today.

 

We set up 5 drawing excursions and the students switched tables every 12 minutes.
When it was time to switch tables we played Switch by Will Smith.
Turn around now...



At table one we drew Cupcake. At table two we drew bugs. Please don't open the cases or the Africanized killer bees will fly out.



Table three had shells and a lobster. Table four had more turtles and table five had pinecones.



One of the drawings of Cupcake and a butterfly.




Drawing the other turtles. These turtles are un-named.




Another sketch of Cupcake.



A shell from table three.



Are we watching Cupcake or is Cupcake watching we?



Stuck at the stinky pinecone table while everyone else is drawing turtles :(

Prang Markers Arrive at Apex

Sands posing with the winning box of Prang markers

Sands entered a lesson plan for the Teaching Palette June Lesson Plan Collaboration and Prang Giveaway and guess what..... it won!

Last Day of Street Art at the NCMA

For our last street art project, we decided to do a little art bombing at the NC Museum of Art. We got some cardboard and some paint and created some art we could stick on a stick... or in a tree.

Hard at work creating some art for are art bombing.

Choosing the right color is always important.

Once we were done, we headed out to the front of the NCMA to place our art.

Are you looking at that art??? Or is that art looking at you!

POW!

Taco the Cow.

Penguins!

A view from the path.

Then we all went home.

The End!

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Street Art at the NCMA Day 4

Today, we had the opportunity to do a little masking tape and Post-it Note bombing at the NC Museum of Art. It sure did raise a stir with some people but most people really liked it.  Here are some photos from the event.

Street Art 101 at the NCMA Day 3

So right outside the museum is this fence and right outside the fence is this sign that reads, "Graffiti Prohibited" and so I thought that would be a great spot to do a little cup rocking.

I stole the term cup rocking from Australian street artist, Andy Uprock who is infamous for making cup graffiti. You need 1. a fence 2. cups. ...

... Lots of cups. And spray paint if you want different colored cup which, or course, we did. 

Then it is just a matter of placing the cups in the fence until you get the desire design. 

Here is a look at several of our pieces across the fence. 

Below are the rest of the finished works.