ART WORKSHOPS
Have a go at the wide spectrum of exciting art workshops generated during lockdown.
Rachael, Alan and Gordy's Projects
GalleryWater Project - Gordy
Gordy - I thought I would make a couple of "easy" animations that you can do at home. One being a post-it note flick book and the other being a Zoetrope. 🦑If you are up for a bit of crafting the Zoetrope does work really well. I originally wanted to make one that spun on the record player but after being pushed for free time, had to improvise.
For the gap measurements, i cut mine 1/8th of an inch wide and 2" apart from each other.
Shadow Project - GORDY
Gordy's take on our 'shadows' project was to create a collage of sorts.The two things you will need are a lamp and a bit of paper. 💡🗓
You will also need objects to make a shadow.
I used playdoh, paper and skewers but you can use anything you want.
This is pretty fiddly and I found drawing out a shape on the paper first then trying to match the shadow to it was the easiest route.
I have never tried this before and I have to admit it was very satisfying. I hope you can all give it a bash and make sure to post up your shadow art. 😀
Lyrics Project - Gordy
Project theme: Favourite lyrics, verse or song title🎶.Gordy has decided to use a Clutch song called 10001110101.
I (Gordy) decided to limited the amount of strokes I use by drawing with each syllable. HARD! 🤯
👂 Have a listen to Gordy's song choice here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ROqd...
Patterns in Nature Project
This project was inspired by a book called ‘Patterns in Nature’ by Philip Ball.Unlike the patterns we create in technology, architecture, and art, natural patterns are formed spontaneously from the forces that act in the physical world.💨❄️☀️
Once you start looking around the house it’s hard to stop, for example looking at water and the shapes it makes when near vibrations, or exploring the garden and house plants - strands of grass, birds, sand. 🌾🐦Whatever stands
out, go with it and perhaps play with shapes, sizes, colours & repeating it to make cool & inspiring patterns unique to you! 💃🕺
Gordy has offered a very daft and very fun project to try out.
I have decided
to take inspiration from bird call (pigeons) and show how you can take something simple and transform it into a musical riff. 🐦🎸
Although this is tongue in cheek it can be seriously applied into music and art. 😆🎼🎨
Observing
nature has been and always will be a never ending source of inspiration for artists.
Nature Diaries Project
Wildlife/Nature diary project 🌾📖Looking at our surrounding landscapes, whether that be from the window, gardens, or exploring the green spaces within cityscapes and the different landscapes that are around our homes.
Here we have Gordy's interpretation via this video in which he uses aspects of nature and animals to create a character.
Mandala Project
This project was inspired by the sand mandalas that Buddists practice in ritual. They spend days creating beautiful, intricate and mind blowing mandalas out of coloured sand, only to rake it away shortly after.For them it's a ritual that symbolises and reminds them of the transitory state of the material world. Very cool. 😎
I like to think of this as an exercise in letting go, not becoming too attached and a reminder that everything falls victim to entropy.
Ink Splat Project
Ink Splat Project:Make a mess and see if you can make a picture out of it!
Here's Gordon showing how it's done.
Song Project
🎥 Gordy has sent in another video art exercise for everyone to try!🎼 The aim off the game is choose three songs, play them back to back 3 times each and draw/paint whatever comes to mind. One picture for each song.
Don't over think it and be as abstract as you want!
Mandala Project - Rachael
For inspiration we looked at traditional Tibetan sand mandala art which involves the creation and destruction of mandalas made from coloured sand. It is designed to guide who aspire to enlightenment by purifying and healing their minds , transforming them from an ordinary mind into an enlightened mind.The beauty of creating something and letting it go! 🌟
I (Rachael) decided to recreate my own Nature based Mandala using materials in abundance close to home. The beach close to me has many shells so I collected a bag, along with flower heads and leaves 🌿🐚 . But you can use anything!
I
loved spending hours collecting the key pieces for the work I had in mind and then creating a beautiful piece of art, which then I have to learn to let it go of... by destructing it myself! A powerful and fun process.
Why
not give it a go... get creative!
Art Trail Project - Gordy
This week we decided to concentrate on local art and artists. I am fortunate to live in Stobie where there has just recently been a public art trail. I decided to go for a wee walk and see some of them 👣👀Art Trail Project - Alan
Street Art is all around us as we go about our daily urban lives, to the point where we almost don't notice it. I decided to go on a walk from my house and see how many examples I could find and discovered a wealth of creativity on my doorstep; everything from the classic graffiti tag to lamp post stickers and hand-painted pub signs and of course, a gable-end mural. Check out this Guardian article all about the Dunfermline mural - https://www.theguardian.com/…/carolin...And I even found a carved wooden fox in a planter! 🦊
Get out and about and see how many examples you can find 🚶♂️🧐
Art Trail Project - Rachael
Rachael, Alan and Gordy explored their local area in search of Art!I (Rachael) packed my bag and headed out. I was fairly sure there wasn’t much local art, or graffiti etc. I was kind of right 🧑🎨. But I did manage to be inspired by the little bits that caught my eye! As I got into it I started to see art everywhere 🤩. In the shadows, silhouettes, plant life and rocks painted by the community over lockdown. I started to look at my landscape with more colour & added shapes ⭕️✨🌿.
Get out and explore.... you don’t have to go far. See if you can find patterns, shapes, textures or even other people’s art work! Perhaps use these inspirations to create your own art. ✨
Wildlife/Nature diary project
Looking at our surrounding landscapes, whether that be from the window, gardens, or exploring the green spaces within cityscapes and the different landscapes that are around our homes. Rachael, Alan and Gordy have all taken the nature diary concept and put their own spin on it. 
You could create a video, make a sketchbook, or write a story!
Here, Rachael has chosen to create a nature diary from her hood... kind of like a nature Inspector Columbo. Exploring wildlife, capturing natural light and anything
that caught my eye! Shapes, textures, making notes and creating local wildlife characters in my diary. My media was photography (from my phone) and pencils for sketches But you can use whatever you have... get creative with
your sketchbook!Keep an eye out over the weekend for Gordy and Alan's versions of the project and send us in your ideas.
Leaf rubbing
This is great if you have kids and great if you don't. Literally grab any of the leaves that have been blown into your close, garden etc and use crayons or pencil to rub over the top. See what you can add afterwards. It's great for making a Green man
Humour and the benefits of laughter!
Rachael, Alan and Gordy have been busy coming up with a new theme for this week and have decided on... Humour and the benefits of laughter!
I think we can all agree that humour can keep us upbeat, so as a group they decided to share some of their slightly embarrassing and quirky tales.
We invite you to get creative with wordplay, muddled up sayings or words, mishearing's, maybe personal funny stories.... or stories you have heard or read about!
Draw, write, sculpt, collage, maybe make a little notebook of quick sketches... create and have a giggle. Laughter can be the best medicine.
For my piece (Rachael) I have used quick and fun illustrations to capture my muddled sayings. I also have a way of mishearing and blurting out embarrassing things that are then too late to take back! But the beauty of these wee slip of the tongues is we can have a laugh... there is something quite Innocent and it helps keep us human. We all make mistakes don’t we?
Patterns in Nature
This week, Rachael, Alan and Gordy have been inspired by a book called ‘Patterns in Nature’ by Philip Ball. Unlike the patterns we create in technology, architecture, and art, natural patterns are formed spontaneously from the forces that act in the physical world.
Once you start looking around the house it’s hard to stop, for example looking at water and the shapes it makes when near vibrations, or exploring the garden and house plants - strands of grass, birds, sand. Whatever stands out, go with it and perhaps play with shapes, sizes, colours & repeating it to make cool & inspiring patterns unique to you!
Rachael - I was so inspired by an Angelic plant that I watched grow from the kitchen window. I kept inspecting, knowing I had to use it somehow. So this week I took photographs, I studied the plant with a hand held lens. To zoom within felt like I was in another world! I took the shapes and simplified them, I kept it loose and fun. My background is in fashion & textiles so it was great to get back into fashion illustration, & imaging a lockdown nature fashion show - the catwalk being the woodland floor! You can use layout paper, tracing paper (to repeat patterns and your figures) or you can free hand it! let your imagination take you into natures patterns and have fun with it.
Rachael's Monument Project
For this project I wanted to use the natural landscape around me. After looking up the Fourth Plinth and some of the Artists featured, I turned my thoughts to lockdown. I began to pull together ideas of how this has felt for me personally. I have spent a lot more time in the garden or looking out at the birds, fascinated by their freedom to fly. I especially love to see their creative ways in nest building and the time & energy to source the perfect materials to create a safe space. Even using bits of plastic to weave into their subcultures, showing our times of plastic consumption and how nature still continues to grow.
Nesting for me has been my lockdown vibe! Watching as the natural world has blossomed I think has kept me engaged and creative. A chance to rebuild our homes and gardens. I used wild grasses & flowers to weave into a structure made from sticks.
I then designed my nest from my sample weave for the outside structure. Inside I made with red petals, the smells of roses uplifts, makes me feel safe & happy, on the bottom gold to symbolise a creative energy still working away through these slightly harder times.
Alan's MONUMENT PROJECT
This week Alan came up with the amazing idea of creating monuments based on the Fourth Plinth.
The Fourth Plinth is the northwest plinth in Trafalgar Square. It was originally intended to hold an equestrian statue of William IV, but remained bare due to insufficient funds. In 1998 The Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and commerce (RSA) commissioned contemporary sculptures to be displayed on the plinth.
Alan, Gordy and Rachael thought it would be cool to create their own positive based Monuments, so we each set off with this theme and our own personal ideas.
(Gordy) Although this is a politically charged subject at the moment I’ve decided instead to make a fun little stone balancing project. Monuments after all began as rock monoliths. This was very relaxing and I urge everyone to grab some rocks and have a bash. Much like meditating, the act of concentrating on getting the balance right is simple and calming.
If you have time maybe cut out some little figures to have gathered around it.
This might help spark design ideas in the future.
Keep a look out for Rachael and Alan's interpretations this weekend
Rachael - in search of Art
This week Rachael, Alan and Gordy explored their local area in search of Art!
I (Rachael) packed my bag and headed out. I was fairly sure there wasn’t much local art, or graffiti etc. I was kind of right.
But I did manage to be inspired by the little bits that did catch my eye! As I got into it I started to see art everywhere.
In the shadows, silhouettes, plant life and rocks painted by the community over lockdown. I started to look at my landscape with more colour & added shapes.
Get out and explore.... you don’t have to go far. See if you can find patterns, shapes, textures or even other people’s art work! Perhaps use these inspirations to create your own art.
Rachael - Shadows
I have always been fascinated by natural light and the shapes it can create with shadows, especially within nature and using the human form to create shapes.
For my base I used a photograph I had taken in black and white, then played with changing the angles to get a repeat 4 way image. I then started to think about adding an element of fun into the woodland scene. So remembering some of my favourite hand puppets as a a child I thought it would be cool to add them in!
I took it one step further and I started creating my woodland catwalk from our last project! A natural light show & bird song to set the scene.
Play with light in the house, using your hands or body to create shapes. Take a walk in search of natural light & shadows to find shapes. Have fun & maybe take notes of your journey with photos & little sketches.
Alan's - Acts of Wildness
For this week's project, Rachael, Alan and Gordy have looked at The Wildlife Trust and their new 30 day Acts of Wildness for June!
From the Chimera in Greek mythology right up to Disney's Beauty and the Beast, we maintain a creative fascination with imaginary hybrid animals.
Using some old Scots magazines and a dusty second hand nature book, I cut and pasted a few collaged creatures and gave them names.
if you don't have access to old pictures, maybe you could sketch out some ideas for some new Fantastic Beasts!
Self portraits
This week Alan, Gordy and Rachael decided to do self portraits inspired by their favourite artists!
This can be a really great way of looking into our favourite artists or perhaps exploring new artists. Think about what makes you love these certain styles so much? How can you take a little bit of your style & recreate your
favourite artist pieces?.
Experimenting, doodling, researching through books or online for some of your favourite images! Perhaps set up a mirror in front of you as you sketch or use a photograph.
Rachael
- I love this weeks theme, looking back on some of my favourite artists & trying a self portrait again after many years was so much fun! I found it really fascinating to see how these artists used lines to convey their
own authentic and unique style. Whilst doing little sketches inspired by Modigliani I was surprised by how beautiful it was to draw only a few lines to achieve the style he was creating. I looked into my own art work and I
love colours, bold images and stories. Ultimately I was drawn towards Frida Khalo! Throughout my life I have been so fascinated with her work, life and style.
I have been inspired to keep on with this project & exploring
more artists! I hope you can join me.
Water Project - Rachael
This project's theme is water 💧As I (Rachael) started my journey towards the beach I wasn’t sure of what I wanted to create, I just went with getting some inspiration from the sea. Unfortunately the tide was out, but I had a vast sandy space to play with. 🏊♀️🏖
I’m forever picking up and fascinated by shells, using them within an outline in the sand, I stared to create an image. Being by water, especially the sea makes me feel expensive and my imagination runs wild with life Under the water! 🐬🦀🐠
I dreamed of being a mermaid as a child so I brought in a playful side for this project & had fun!