Saturday, May 18, 2013

aeolian harps and how to make them

      The simplest pattern of an Aeolian harp is that which fits into any ordinary window frame.
      A box of thin, straight-grained, well-planed pine is glued together, having a length equal to that of the width of the window for which it is destined, a depth of four or five inches, and a breadth of five or six inches. The wood of which it is made is carefully planed on both sides, and is not over an eighth of an inch in thickness, and the joints are as true and clean as it is possible to make them. The more carefully the box is made the better will be the tone of the instrument.
       The bridges in all Aeolian harps are of some hard wood, such as oak, box or elm, and are glued on to the face of the sounding case. They are about half an inch high and a quarter of an inch thick.
The strings are of catgut, tightened by pegs screwed into the edges of the case, which are occasionally strengthened for the purpose by a thin fillet of beech. The strings are tuned in unison.
      Three inches above them is placed a thin board, supported upon four pegs, one at each corner of the case.
      The harp is rested on the bottom of the window frame, and the sash is brought down upon the upper board. The air passes in and out between this board and the sounding box, the strings are set in vibration, and so give off that soft, melodious murmur which, in a more subdued tone, is heard near telegraph posts when the wires are shaken by the wind.
      This is the ordinary Aeolian harp, but there are many more complicated forms of the instrument in existence. The Aeolians of the four Strasburg Cathedral towers, for instance, are well known to tourists. 
      At the castle of Baden Baden also the harps are a great attraction, and we here give a sketch of one of the loudest of these celebrated instruments (Fig. 1).
      It is set well back in the gallery, and the window opening is gradually contracted by the curious shed, of which one side is removed to show the construction, the air passing out through the grating, which is only slightly wider than the harp.
      Of the harp itself we give the plan and section (Fig. 2), and to avoid frictions, we retain its original measurement in meters and centimeters--sixty-one centimeters being as nearly as possible two feet, and a meter being a hundred centimeters, or thirty-nine inches and three-eighths.
      It will be noticed that this pattern of the instrument has strings on both sides, and that the inner edge of the box is fitted with narrow sound holes. The front of the box is of thin wood steamed into shape, and fitted round the curved ends as carefully as the sides are built into the back and belly of a violin.
       In Kircher's harp (Fig. 3), the older form, the screen fits into a window, the instrument is hung on an iron rod, and has a great many strings stretched over broad sound holes. The case is freely perforated, and is hung so as to half overlap the aperture which gives admittance to the air. 
      Kircher for a long time had the credit of being the inventor of the Aeolian harp, but it is of much earlier date. It is, in truth, a very obvious contrivance, easily made, and not susceptible of much improvement.
      In out last figure, we give its latest form, which differs from the others only in the arrangement of the screens. These are devised to throw a strong draught on to the strings, without having to be fitted into a window frame; but in this, it requires a pretty strong breeze to bring out its full tone. by James Elverson.
 
Printable article about Aeolian Harps for teachers and artisans.
   More Related Links:
"I made this windharp and recorded it on a beach in Pembrokeshire, West Wales. The sounds are created randomly by the wind vibrating the strings. This is a track from my CD Windharp and Wavesong. The album tracks can be heard and downloaded at http://nickpenny.bandcamp.com/album/w... or for the physical CD visit http://www.nickpenny.com/windharp-and... There's also a video of my Paraguayan harp singing in the wind at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k08kBZ...
Posted by at 1 comment:
Labels:

Friday, May 17, 2013

contour drawing lesson with anna stump


       "In this video lesson I demonstrate a continuous line contour drawing technique. Drawing a face from a life model, I start at the nose, and draw the entire face and neck without lifting the pen. Contour drawings should be slow and careful." Anna Stump. 
      Ms. Stump is a teacher who is both pleasant to watch and listen to at the same time. These are very important attributes to have when making video. Students pick up on sound and visuals more than some people think they do. For this reason alone it is a worthy pursuit to list excellent video makers appropriate to the art classroom.
      Because some of Anna Stump's videos are for adult art students only, educators will need to review her videos prior to showing them to minor aged students.
Posted by at 1 comment:
Labels:

the competent teacher

      I am reminded of a remark made to me recently by a gentleman in middle life, a very excellent carpenter, whom I saw watching my boys, twenty-four of them, at work making their first weld in the forging shop. He seemed intensely interested as he watched one of the young men at work. I said: "You seem to like to see the boys work. Do you understand what they are doing?" "Yes, " said he, "I worked a year once in a blacksmith shop." "Well," said I, "then I suppose this operation of welding is a very simple matter to you." "Not at all," said he; "I never made a weld in my life. I never got a chance. I kindled the fire and blew the bellows, and I did some striking for other men; but they never let me try to make a weld." Then he added, with a good deal of feeling, "These boys learn more in one week about the really essential art of forging than I learned in half a year." And the secret of it is they have a thoroughly skilled workman who is competent both to teach and to demonstrate every principle involved.--Calvin M. Woodward

Posted by at No comments:
Labels:

"the singing tree"

      I just love this piece of sculpture! Sometimes I collect artifacts without even knowing just how I will use them in the future and this is certainly the case here. In the future, I am sure that this video will be shown in my classroom in order to inspire young, enthusastic artists.

Posted by at No comments:
Labels:

egyptian funerary design lesson plan

(The above image license belongs to the St. Louis Art Museum. 
Interested parties may view these collections at http://www.slam.org/)

Type of Lesson Plan: Object-based Lesson Plan/Reading Comprehension (Integrated Studies) 
Topic: Egyptian Funerary Design – Learn to Draw With a Grid 
Objectives:
  •  Students will be able to transfer an Egyptian tomb image by way of a “grid” drawing process.
  • Students will be able to recognize the formal characteristics of Egyptian funerary art.
  • Students will be able to fill out a graphic organizer after reading with a partner an article given to him or her in class. 
Missouri Show-Me Standards: FA 3, FA 1 
ST Standards - CA 2, 3, 1.5, 1.6, 3.5 
GLE’s:
Reading – Develop and apply skills and strategies to the reading process
H. Grade 6 – Apply post-reading skills to demonstrate comprehension of text:
  • Draw conclusions
  • Analyze text 
Strand III: Artistic Perceptions – Investigate the nature of art and discuss responses to artworks
A. Grade 6 – Discuss how different cultures have different concepts of beauty and explain how responses to artworks from various cultures are based on both personal experience and group beliefs
Strand I: Product/Performance – Communicate ideas about subject matter and themes in artworks created for various purposes
C. Grade 6 – Create an original artwork that communicates ideas about the following theme
  • Functions of Art in Culture 
Grade Level Targeted: Middle School (7-9) 
Number of Class Periods: three 55 minute class periods
Facility & Equipment Requirements:
  • Computer for power point presentation 
Resources needed for teaching lesson:
  • Power point
  • Egyptian cartoons or coloring pages depicting funerary arts from tomb walls 
Materials Per Student:
  • Article and graphic organizer per every two to three students
  • Pencils
  • Egyptian cartoon or coloring page of tomb funerary art
  • Tracing paper
  • Ruler
  • Larger white paper to transfer grid image to 
Vocabulary Terms:
  1. Funerary Art – Art used to decorate tombs with in order that the dead be honored and cared for in the next life.
  2. Masons – Masons build with stone and are also stone carvers in Egypt.
  3. Cartoon – This is a beginning sketch an artist works from in order to develop a larger more elaborate work of art.
  4. Grid – A map designed with exact calculations in order to transfer and enlarge correct proportions or a smaller image or cartoon
  5. Plaster – Plaster in Egypt was a liquid substance made from chalks/powdered clays mixed with water and glue to make a fast drying sealer/surface for ancient artists to paint into and on top of.
  6. Excavation – This is the meticulous process, conducted by archeologists, of “digging out” a site where there used to be a former city or tomb that has been buried over the passing of time.
  7. Limestone – Limestone is an ordinary sedimentary rock used as a building material in ancient Egypt. 
Literacy and Studio Activities:
  1. Students will be divided into small groups and will read together the article called “Preparation of a Painted Tomb-chapel—The Egyptian Artist and His Methods” by Dr. William C. Hayes.
  2. Students will then fill out the graphic organizer included with their packet with their small group members.
  3. Small groups will then rejoin the larger class and share with all of the students parts of their graphic organizers when called upon by the instructor.
  4. Students will then view the Egyptian power point.
  5.  On the second day students will learn to draw a Egyptian cartoon image, (I have included a ample supply of these burned to a CD with the power points,) with a “Grid System” similar to that method used by Ancient Egyptians and on the third they may color their image.
Step-by-step:
Preparing your Image: Choose a large, clear image. You may need to scan and print out a small photograph. 
  • Decide on your grid size - small enough that there is a line close to major points of the drawing (eg. each pupil and the mouth, for a portrait image) but not so small that it becomes confusing. For an 8 x 10 portrait a grid size of around half an inch up to one inch would be fine.
  • Draw the grid, making sure your lines are fine, straight and clear. Fine black marker works for lighter key images, but a dark tone may need a white gel pen. A valuable photo can be placed in a plastic sleeve or wrapped in cling film, with the grid drawn in OHP marker.
  • Mark the center intersection on the grid as a reference point.
Gridding the Paper:
  • Using a sharp, medium pencil, lightly draw a grid on your paper. A same-sized grid is the easiest, as no adjustments need to be made. You can enlarge or reduce the size, but don't do it mathematically. You are judging rough proportions by eye, not measuring distances.
  •  Darken the intersection of the center lines on the grid as a reference point. 
To draw the image, you may wish to work methodically from one side of the image, or just begin with the most obvious features.
  • Edges and strong changes of tone make clear shapes in the photograph. Where one of these shapes crosses a grid-line, count how many grid-lines from your reference point the grid-line is.
  • Judge how far the shape is along the square, then count across and mark this at the same point on the grid-line in your drawing.
  •  Do the same again, further along the same shape - for example, the line of the chin in this drawing. Mark the point where the shape meets another grid-line, then join the two, following any bumps or curves in the shape in the photograph.
  • Where a key point is away from a grid-line, such as the mouth in this example, you will need to judge the relative distance from the nearest grid-lines. In the detail image, you can see that it is estimated to be two-thirds from the lower line, and about halfway across.
  • Make sure you have drawn outlines for all the key parts of your drawing. Less defined areas, such as a patch of shade or highlight, may be roughly indicated too.
  •  Carefully erase your grid lines, repairing outlines as you go. Now you are ready to start shading your drawing. Take your time, and make sure you use a full range of tone.
Tips:
  • Make sure your pencils are sharp, and draw your outlines as lightly as possible. Don't use too hard a pencil, as they will make dents in the paper.
  • If you find it confusing knowing which grid square you are on, try numbering or color-coding them, or cover half of your image and only work on a small section at a time.
  • Use the same method to help draw a still-life, placing a grid drawn on a board behind your objects - but you'll need to close one eye when viewing to remove parallax (distortion caused by the different view from each eye).
Cleanup Time & Strategy: Allow for 5 minutes of clean up at the end of the second and third days 
Assessment:
1.) For the assessment of the literacy half of the lesson, students will be asked to transfer their graphic organizers to the chalkboard as a larger group. I will look and listen to confirm that all students have the opportunity to participate in the larger discussion and I will also collect the graphic organizers and grade them.

2.) The assessment of the art project is informal and I will look for the following things:
  •  Students should accurately mark off a grid on top of their “Egyptian Cartoon”
  •  Students should then accurately mark off a larger mathematically accurate version of the grid on their plain white drawing paper
  • Students should then color in their image with pigments similar to those they viewed previously on the power point presentation
  •  Projects should be turned in on time
Copyright: Donna Grimm, 2010

Method of Egyptian Draftsmanship.
Posted by at No comments:
Labels:

Thursday, May 16, 2013

lost wax casting

      Lost-wax casting (also called by its French name, cire perdue) is the process by which a metal (such as silver, gold, brass or bronze) sculpture is cast from an artist's sculpture. Intricate works can be achieved by this method, primarily depending on the carver's skills. In industrial uses, the modern process is called investment casting. An ancient practice, the process today varies from foundry to foundry, but the steps which are usually used in casting small bronze sculptures in a modern bronze foundry are generally quite standardized. The oldest archaeological and literary evidence of Lost-wax casting can be found in India, dating back nearly 5,000 years to the Harappan period.
      Other names for the process include "lost mould," which recognizes that other materials besides wax can be used, including tallow, resin, tar, and textile; and "waste wax process" or "waste mould casting", because the mould is destroyed to unveil the cast item. Other methods of casting include open casting, bivalve mould, and piece mould. Lost-wax casting was widespread in Europe until 18th century, when a piece-mold process came to predominate. Read more . . . 
This is a short video showing how we make our jewelry using 
a technique called lost-wax casting.

 More Related Content:
Posted by at No comments:
Labels:

woodcut print making

      Woodcut—occasionally known as xylography—is a relief printing artistic technique in printmaking in which an image is carved into the surface of a block of wood, with the printing parts remaining level with the surface while the non-printing parts are removed, typically with gouges. The areas to show 'white' are cut away with a knife or chisel, leaving the characters or image to show in 'black' at the original surface level. The block is cut along the grain of the wood (unlike wood engraving where the block is cut in the end-grain). The surface is covered with ink by rolling over the surface with an ink-covered roller (brayer), leaving ink upon the flat surface but not in the non-printing areas.
      Multiple colors can be printed by keying the paper to a frame around the woodblocks (where a different block is used for each color). The art of carving the woodcut can be called "xylography", but this is rarely used in English for images alone, although that and "xylographic" are used in connection with blockbooks, which are small books containing text and images in the same block. Single-leaf woodcut is a term for a woodcut presented as a single image or print, as opposed to a book illustration. Read more . . .


More Related Content:
Posted by at No comments:
Labels:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)