HOLIDAY GIFT MAKING DAY and funfest!!!

Here's my Holiday Craft/Gift-Makin'/Cookie-Bakin'/Game-Playin'/Snack-Eatin' Flyer! 

ONLY $35 for a day of fun including snacks, games and many crafts to bring home and give as gifts! With additional time later for a rate that would make your babysitter blush!

Elementary School children please.  Limited to only 10 Lucky Children (don't I sound like Willy Wonka?) so please contact me quickly as spaces are filling up! 

Please email me or call with any questions!

paula@paulacohenillustration.com

HOLIDAY GIFT DAY on DECEMBER 17th!

As the Picasso's Basement Fall Season wraps up I'm looking forward to HOLIDAY GIFT DAY AT PICASSO's BASEMENT. On Saturday December 17th from 10AM - 1 PM I will be hosting kids whose parents need some shopping time. We'll be making holiday gifts for family and friends, eating some holiday treats, and playing a holiday game.  For more details on this please look for upcoming updates on Picasso's Basement Facebook Page.

In the meantime, here's a craft I created from an old Capri Sun Juice Crate, an old map, a little paint, a utility knife, and a good dose of Mod Podge paste and sealant.

My husband accuses me of living like a bag lady in my own car . So you can see I've filled it with some of the many items that usually sit under the feet of the passenger: pencils, tape, CDs, magazines, etc. Also makes a handy desk caddy. It's an easy craft to do with your children.

Better yet, send them to HOLIDAY GIFT DAY AT PICASSO's BASEMENT and they can make one to give to a loved one as a gift!

Oh Bookmark, My Bookmark

Last class of the session for my 3rd - 6th Grade group and they specifically requested a free drawing day. I tried, oh how I tried, to let them have a day without any structure. But it went against my nature as an illustrator so I figured I'd give them something to work towards.  BOOKMARKS.

Luckily I had these cool plastic sleeves I'd bought for my own promotional bookmarks when I remember I'm an illustrator.

All you have to do is draw something on card stock and have it fit in the sleeve. The kids had a lot of fun, created some really wonderful designs. OK, it was essentially a free drawing day, right? And I'll miss them until the next session in January!

And the Leaves That are Green Turn to Brown...

This post title comes to you with apologies to Simon and Garfunkel!

Autumn, when all art teachers must make the kids work with leaves. Which is not a bad thing, leaves are beautiful. Like all things in nature, none are identical. They have different shapes and no leaf is JUST one color. The red ones have a touch of ochre, the green ones are a little brown or yellow. I decided we should really work with the mixes of colors and used this as an opportunity to break into my new Dick Blick chalk pastels and teach the kids about blending colors.

Black paper. Nothing shows up the vibrant chalk pastels like black paper. These chalk pastels were new to me, by the way:  handled like a pastel but with a lot more dust, softer than a chalk. Exhibit A: See pictures of kids covered in chalk dust! But talk about vivid!

 I thought it would be pretty to use several long sheets of paper to allow the kids to work with several leaves and mount them together. And learn a little about composition to boot.

First they "drew" their leaves onto the paper with Elmers glue. I asked them to use more than one leaf design on each page so they could work with their composition skills. I even encouraged them to overlap the leaves but that took courage and only a few did it. Still, excellent drawings! When the glue dried it created a resist to the chalk and they were able to color them in using a limited palette of autumnal colors. I showed them how to blend with just ONE finger.

                                And then we mounted them on colored paper. GORGEOUS!!!!

Happy Dio De Los Muertos from the Picasso's Basement Kids!

Featured Artist #1: Zeus

Being an art instructor has given me the opportunity to see how different artists can be. Some work quickly and with passion, others have an incredible eye for detail and their creations come about slowly and with special care. Some children put all their humor into their artwork, some bring a love of decoration to the work. Some are experimenters, some are cautious. These differences are part of what make each artist unique and what makes each class exciting.

I thought it was time to start presenting the “Picasso’s Basement Artists” one at a time. Get to know some of them. See what they like and watch it appear in their art.

Zeus

Who will go first? Why, it was a no-brainer. It was the first artist to hand in his questionnaire (and yes, that is a reminder for the rest of you!) By the way, I asked all the artists to pick a “STAR NAME”. 

Our first featured artist asked to be called “Zeus”. 

Zeus is in 6^th grade and he told me a little about himself. He likes to play videogames, is a big fan of bacon, and his favorite book is (no surprise here) the Percy Jackson book “ The Last Olympian”.

 Zeus’s art often reflects his love of mythology.

Cigar Box Birdhouse
"Palace of the Gods"

Shadow Puppet
"Zeus with his lightening bolt"

When asked what he likes best about creating art he said it was getting to “express your self and do awesome stuff.” And awesome is what he is all about. 

He is incredibly prolific and comes up with inspiring ideas and makes them happen. Zeus has taught me that you can break a million rules and still produce great art. He churns out work with rapid speed, his ideas come pouring out of him and he is never without inspiration. He can talk endlessly through class, entertaining everyone, and STILL produces something incredible.   

When asked what he wanted to do with his life he answered “anything that doesn’t have to do with typing”.  I don’t think he’ll have a problem finding something. 

Art is Basic: Art Teacher Blog Directory

Art is Basic: Art Teacher Blog Directory

I know I've listed this before but here is a wonderful list of other Art Teacher Blogs, including listings of several friends who I know to have some fabulous art lesson ideas! Happy reading and creating!

Indonesian Shadow Puppets

Shadow Puppets on display at Picasso's Basement Gallery Show at the library!

Traditional Shadow Puppet

I'm going to cut to the chase with this post. No ramblings about how the Picasso's Basement kids and I "traveled" to Indonesia and learned about the culture and ate Indonesian fruit. Which we did. But what we really did that even I found miraculous was that we made SHADOW PUPPETS!  You know those beautifully carved and decorated puppets that are manipulated with sticks? And are then shown behind a screen? Well, we made them! Sorry, I don't mean to gush but it was pretty cool!

MATERIALS:

• Black Card Stock
• Hot Glue Gun
• Strong Balsa sticks from craft store (test them at the store: too thin and they will break)
• Xacto knife (teacher should use this)
• Scissors
• Pencil
• Markers that show up on black paper (Gel markers often do)
• Fasteners from the stationery store (the gold kind that you poke in the holes and then bend back)

Artist with her mermaid puppet

Each artist sketched out their ideas and then drew them on the black card stock with a pencil (you could see the lines fairly well.) Then they cut out the basic shapes with scissors and brought it to me to use my xacto knife to help with some of the detail work. I encouraged details because it would add to the effect when a light was shined on them and the shadow was created. We cut eyes and mouths into them, made cuts for hair and fingers. I asked all the artists to be sure to add at least one appendage which was cut separately and attached with a fastener.

NOTE: If you are doing this project encourage the kids to make the appendages wide, at least in the spot where it connects with the body. The more delicate the appendage the more likely it is to break off. This is another prime example of my learning curve: I realized that appendages were too delicate about half way through the lesson.

Anyhow, after you attach the appendages with the fasteners the fasteners can be trimmed from behind (by an adult or older child only) with sharp scissors. The artists then embellished their puppets with the markers. We used the hot glue gun to attach the sticks to the puppets. And here they are:

Artists with their shadow puppets (complete with articulated tails, arms, etc.)
Posing unhappily because they REALLY wanted to put on their puppet show!

I have to say I'm so proud of the Picasso's Basement artists. They utilized so many new skills, were patient while waiting for help with the details, and were amazingly creative. I thought they would all make people. But we ended up with a monster, a horror movie character, a cat, a giant person, a mermaid, a pegasus, a hippie with his Love Bus, and (last but not least) Zeus with his lightening bolt! Fantastic work, guys! And thank you to my teen assistant who kept the peace through all of this!

Draw Like an Egyptian

OK, OK, I know it's a TERRIBLE title for this post. Sometimes you just have to follow your heart.

Day 3 of Art Camp: Sarcophaguses

This was a very ambitious project for one day. Maybe too ambitious. But it worked out pretty well. 

Sarcophagus and Mummy

It required the following:

• Pictures of Sarcophaguses for reference
• Pictures of Egyptian Hyroglyphics and Symbolism
• Pencil 
• Brown Craft Paper
• Craft Acrylic or Tempera Paint and brushes
• Wide Permanent Markers (All hail the Sharpie!)
• A pre-made snack
• A lot more time than we had

We looked at many pictures of Egyptian art and architecture but in the end settled on some of the most fascinating elements: the burial techniques and the beautifully decorated sarcophaguses.

The children took turns lying on the ground on top of a strip of kraft paper and we drew their outline. Then we formed the shape into a  sarcophagus and the children drew in their faces and body shapes. I asked them to look at how the hair was drawn, the headdresses, the facial features and the symbols used on the bodies.  We discussed the symmetry of the design and I was excited to see one artist completely disregard this and make hers intentionally asymmetrical. The artists sketched in pencil first and dove right in to the paint. I bought a nice high quality gold and they loved using it.

As the paint dried we ate hummus, pita, and olives (along with fruit snacks and goldfish, of course) and played the mummy wrap game. This was a bigger hit than I imagined it would be and it was played several times.

Lastly we returned to our work stations and added detailing and outlines with our markers. A few kids chose to finish up their work on another day.

In hindsight I wish I'd saved this project for a regular art lesson rather than camp so the artists could have taken more into consideration: how to hold their arms, whether to give their sarcophagus a staff to hold, etc. But the artists created some very very beautiful work.

Art Gallery Show!

I’m happy to report that the Picasso’s Basement Kids is having it’s fist Gallery Show at the Scotch Plains Public Library on Bartle Ave in Scotch Plains, NJ (for all you local art lovers.) The artwork will be on view through Saturday, September 17^th.

Our First Group Pose!

Our Gallery Opening was this past Saturday.  It was a huge hit thanks to the talents of many artistic kids and their very lovely and generous parents. (A special shout out to Lisa and Lorri who brought us AMAZING cookies and delicious sparkling juices and kisses to Claudia and family who trekked in from afar.)

Thanks also to the staff of the Scotch Plains Library who were lovely, helpful and generous with their time. And to any patrons we may have disturbed with our enthusiastic noise: my sincere apologies!

Artists in front of their sarcophoguses
wearing shirts made at camp!

The children were excited to share their work and trade Artist Business Cards that I made using their Postage Stamp Self Portraits.

If you can’t make it to the show here’s a little sampling:

 Shadow Puppets

Postage Stamp Self Portraits

Russian Architecture

Russian Architecture: Day 2 of Art Camp

Time to recap another day of my first Picasso's Basement Art Camp.

On the second day of art camp we traveled to Russia. We looked at Russian architecture, some of which is noted for it’s Byzantine influences. Many of the more famous structures feature onion domes, bold colors, and arches. Working with only recycled items (shoe boxes, food boxes, paper towel rolls, and soda bottles) and some plastic baseballs covered with Paper Mache the artists began to paint patterns with craft acrylic paint. When it dried later they became architects and worked as a group to assemble their structure with I helped them glue together with a hot glue gun. VOILA!

Russian Building

Snacks were just sad that day. The children helped me bake (what should have been) delicious Russian teacakes. Unfortunately, I’m not Julia Child and I measured the flour incorrectly. They smelled delicious but they looked like this:

Bad Teacakes

Good Teacakes

Luckily I had a little of the batter left and I added some more flour. The next day we were able to enjoy them.

Nesting dolls were the next order of business. I used manila cardboard to cut out the shapes of nesting dolls and the children made all sorts: animals, constellations, and EEEK! serial killers (because when you don’t watch the kids as you clean up, those pop-culture themes just creep right in!)  But I won’t bother showing them here. The kids had fun with them but truthfully a good part of their energies that day were used on the Byzantine building. 

Lesson learned: One good project is all anyone needs!

WHY THE NEW BLOG TITLE, PAULA?

I am changing my blog title from Artburbia to “Picasso’s Basement”. The old title worked for me while I was finding my way in the art teaching world, balancing parenting, suburban living (which at times still felt foreign to me after my years in Brooklyn, New York), illustrating, and learning how to teach.

Now that I clearly have found my groove with this teaching business and I seem to be spending all my time thinking up new lessons it feels like it’s time for a change. My art classes are called “Picasso’s Basement” so it seemed only natural to pick that for a new title.

I’m curious to see if you like the change. What do you think of the new title? Is there a time that you found you wanted to change something in order to reflect what was happening in your own life?

Around The World With Picasso's Basement! First stop: New Zealand

I’m incredibly excited! I am planning Picasso’s Basement first Art Show complete with a Gallery Opening. (Yes, I'm excited enough to feature BOLD TYPE!) It will be held at the Scotch Plains Library in N.J. on Saturday, September 10th from 1:30-3:00pm and the work will remain on view afterwards. Highlighted will be the art created during our weeklong Around the World Art Camp.

This was my first attempt at an Art Camp and I’m thoroughly convinced that I had even more fun than the kids! Each day we went to a different country, created a piece or two of art, had an appropriate (although at times disastrous) snack and played games. It was hard narrowing down the countries and I did my best to vary it up. This week I’ll try to do a post for each day. Most of the lesson plans were self-created and most of them were even successful.  Less successful was attempting to get my older son to man the phones. Many thanks are owed to my wonderful teen assistant, Nancy, who helped all the kids and kept me from making too many mistakes!

OK: Here goes the week! 

DAY 1: NEW ZEALAND, The Maori People and their art 

After learning of how the Maori people traveled to New Zealand and were it’s first inhabitants we looked at their absolutely gorgeous art. Exquisite intricate carvings, amazing tikis, and beautiful tattoos. Virtually everything the Maoris wore, lived in, or used was adorned with incredible swirling designs.

The Artists looked at pictures of the Maori sea monster, the marakihau, a mermaid like evil creature that was thought to have a hollow tongue that could suck up the sea, boats, even men! Using pencils they sketched pictures of their own sea monsters and then created a finished drawing with oil pastels. Then, using a black tempera wash, they painted their papers. Pop! Nothing like a little water-based resist to make your oil pastel colors really stand out!

Following that we drew facial tattoos.
Even the Maori women tattooed their faces: in fact some still do. The kids enjoyed their tattoos a heck of a lot more than the “banana scallops” that we made (think Fried Plantain Ala Kellogg’s). Most of them chose Goldfish crackers instead. Ah well, more for me!

Campers sporting facial tattoos. I'm not sure if their parents were happy about this!

As a last activity we looked at the huge variety of tiki faces and everyone made a tiki necklace out of recycled paper. We “laminated” them with clear contact paper and by the end of the day we were a mighty festooned bunch!

Whoa. I’m exhausted just thinking about all we did! But I guess it wasn’t TOO much activity because they all came back the next day!

IN OUR NEXT INSTALLMENT: Picasso’s Basement’s trip to Russia! See you back here for more fun!