"hand shadow puppets" by henry bursill

The Book by Henry Bursill at Project Gutenberg

      I need not explain how these Shadows were suggested, to any one who has seen WILKIE’S picture, “The Rabbit on the Wall.” But by what pains they were invented can never be revealed; for it is known to my tortured digits alone, and they, luckily for me, are dumb. I calculate that I put my ten fingers through hundreds of various exercises before my “Bird” took wing; my left little finger thrills at the memory of “Grandpapa”; and my thumbs gave in no less than twenty times before “Boy” was accomplished. Yet now how easy it is to make the “Duck” to quack, the “Donkey” to bray, “Toby” to wag his tail, and the “Rabbit” to munch his unsubstantial meal.

      Of course the Shadows are not to be reproduced perfectly, on “one trial only”; but I believe that in each case I have drawn the due position of the fingers with such care, that the most difficult subject may be accomplished after a few minutes; nor need ingenious youth or parental fondness confine their endeavors to the sketches contained in this book. With a little ingenuity and some patience, new shadows may be produced; and not unfrequently figures appear that one never dreamed of attempting.

      Other Books of Shadows have been published; but it will be seen at a glance that mine bears affinity to none. Some of my sketches were made years ago, others when a student at the Academy. Indeed, the Shadows have often been displayed on the walls of my studio, much to the amusement of fellow-students, who would, I am sure, at any time bear witness to their originality. HENRY BURSILL, December, 1858.

72 Illustrated Shadowgraphs and Manual 
Alphabet unloaded by Beverly here.

 “This 5 1/2 by 7 inch pamphlet was published c. 1900. I posted a scan of one page of hand shadows in 2008 and it has proved very popular. I have been asked to post additional pages. I recently found it and have scanned all the pages including the manual alphabet.”

 Additional Links to Hand Shadows:

• Now Have Fun and Make Money with Hand Shadows (advertisement)
• Hand Shadows Theater
• “The Lion and The Mouse Fable” in silhouettes

Resources for Weaving

From a carpet-weaving in Hamadan. Tabriz and Isfahan,
as well as in many villages, even in the dark nomad tents
and mud huts, are headed by women and girls, the cheapest
 labor, the famous Persian rugs made. For desert dwellers,
 and nomads are the ornaments of their colorful carpet a
 symbol of paradise, and a replacement for the garden
with real flowers.

      Weaving is a textile craft in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced to form a fabric or cloth. The threads which run lengthways are called the warp and the threads which run across from side to side are the weft or filling.
      Cloth is usually woven on a loom, a device that holds the warp threads in place while filling threads are woven through them. Weft is an old English word meaning "that which is woven". A fabric band which meets this definition of cloth (warp threads with a weft thread winding between) can also be made using other methods, including tablet weaving, back-strap, or other techniques without looms.
      The way the warp and filling threads interlace with each other is called the weave. The majority of woven products are created with one of three basic weaves: plain weave, satin weave, or twill. Woven cloth can be plain (in one color or a simple pattern), or can be woven in decorative or artistic designs, including tapestries. Fabric in which the warp and/or weft is tie-dyed before weaving is called ikat.
      Though traditional handweaving and spinning remain popular crafts, nowadays the majority of commercial fabrics in the West are woven on computer-controlled Jacquard looms. In the past, simpler fabrics were woven on dobby looms, while the Jacquard harness adaptation was reserved for more complex patterns. Some believe the efficiency of the Jacquard loom, with its Jacquard weaving process, makes it more economical for mills to use them to weave all of their fabrics, regardless of the complexity of the design.
      In general, weaving involves the interlacing of two sets of threads at right angles to each other: the warp and the weft (older woof). The warp threads are held taut and in parallel order, typically by means of a loom, though some forms of weaving may use other methods. The loom is warped (or dressed) with the warp threads passing through heddles on two or more harnesses. The warp threads are moved up or down by the harnesses creating a space called the shed. The weft thread is wound onto spools called bobbins. The bobbins are placed in a shuttle that carries the weft thread through the shed.
      The raising and lowering sequence of warp threads in various sequences gives rise to many possible weave structures:

• plain weave,
• twill weave,
• satin weave, and
• complex computer-generated interlacings

      Both warp and weft can be visible in the final product. By spacing the warp more closely, it can completely cover the weft that binds it, giving a warp faced textile such as rep weave. Conversely, if the warp is spread out, the weft can slide down and completely cover the warp, giving a weft faced textile, such as a tapestry or a Kilim rug. There are a variety of loom styles for hand weaving and tapestry. In tapestry, the image is created by placing various colors of weft only in certain warp areas, rather than across the entire warp width. (Wikipedia)

• Encyclopædia Britannica 1911 – Weaving
• Resource collection
• Card Weaving
• Oriental rug weaving
• Irvine Weavers
• The Worshipful Company of Weavers

Weaving Lesson Plans:

1. Paper Weaving Lesson Plan  
2. Weaving With Foil Tooled Accents
3. Magazine Weaving
4. Weaving in Circles
5. Weave Drawing
6. Paper Plate Weaving

the history of photography in american classrooms

       The following two groups of photographers in the United States are most frequently included in lesson plans and discussions in American art studies, art appreciation and integrated studies in history. American children should be familiar with the Depression Era photography promoted by the Farm Security Administration and the pictorialist, photographic style that dominated much of American  photography during the 20th century.

Photographers Who Worked For The Farm Security Administration U.S.A: Initially created as the Resettlement Administration (RA) in 1935 as part of the New Deal in the United States, the Farm Security Administration (FSA) was an effort during the Depression to combat American rural poverty.

      The FSA stressed "rural rehabilitation" efforts to improve the lifestyle of sharecroppers, tenants, very poor landowning farmers, and a program to purchase submarginal land owned by poor farmers and resettle them in group farms on land more suitable for efficient farming. Critics, including the Farm Bureau strongly opposed the FSA as an experiment in collectivizing agriculture — that is, in bringing farmers together to work on large government-owned farms using modern techniques under the supervision of experts. The program failed because the farmers wanted ownership; after the Conservative coalition took control of Congress it transformed the FSA into a program to help poor farmers buy land, and continues in operation in the 21st century as the Farmers Home Administration.

History * Photos * The Artists *

History lesson plans that integrate the photos taken for the national project: Wessels, Learner Resources - 1930s * The plight of white tenant farmers and sharecroppers * Teaching American History in South Carolina *
Art studies lesson plans that focus primarily on the actual photographs: The Great Depression, The New Deal and The Media * Art and Media in the Great Depression *
Lesson plans/resources about The Great Depression that may be used in the development of lessons including those photographers connected to the project: American Experience, 1930 *

Group F.64: Group f/64 was a group of seven 20th century San Francisco photographers who shared a common photographic style characterized by sharp-focused and carefully framed images seen through a particularly Western (U.S.) viewpoint. In part, they formed in opposition to the Pictorialist photographic style that had dominated much of the early 1900s, but moreover they wanted to promote a new Modernist aesthetic that was based on precisely exposed images of natural forms and found objects. Ansel Adams * Imogen Cunningham * John Paul Edwards * Sonya Noskowiak * Henry Swift * Willard Van Dyke and Edward Weston 

Artists invited to exhibit their work with Group f.64: Preston Holder * Conseuella Kanaga * Alma Lavenson * Brett Weston

Lesson plans/methods including studies in the pictorialist movement: "Frozen Lake and Cliffs" *

“true vision, authentic art journaling” by l. k. ludwig

cover of "True Vision, Authentic Art Journaling"

      I purchased “True Vision, Authentic Art Journaling,” by L. K. Ludwig to use in my art classrooms. It is full of project ideas, journal prompts and  techniques that high school art teachers will find very useful. She writes about many inspirational artists. I will link to a few of their studios below for those of you who would like to expand their research in the development of lesson plans. Ludwig’s book does most of the work for art educators who need lesson plans about art journaling. She explains the hows and whys of art journaling in a very informative and entertaining way. I have many books about the “book arts” in my personal library but this is the one that I would recommend to my fellow art teachers.

Artists Known for Art Journaling:

1. L. K. Ludwig’s “The Poetic Eye.“
2. Joe Ludwig
3. Katie Kendrick “Joyously Becoming“
4. Brenda Beene Shakleford “between assignments“
5. Bridgette Guerzon Mills “bridgette g mills“
6. Liz Lamoreux “be present, be here“
7. Carol Parks “CarolParks.com“
8. Corey Moortgat’s blog “Corey Moortgat – Collage Artist“
9. Juliana Coles “Me and Pete“
10. Karen Michel “Mixed Media Art & Musings“
11. Tricia Scott “Tricia Scott“
12. Amy Hanna “Amy Hanna“
13. Melanie Sage at Pinterest
14. Sarah Fishburn “Sarah Fishburn“
15. Melanie Komisarski
16. Elizabeth Bunsen “Be…Dream…Play…“
17. Nikki Blackwood “Moon Pie Daze“
18. Loretta Marvel “pomegranatesandpaper“
19. Kelly Rae Robert’s “Kelly Rae Roberts“
20. Sandra Hardee
21. Carla Sonheim “Snowball Journals“
22. Leighanna Light “LeiGHaNNa LiGhT ThingG MaKEr“
23. Traci Bunker “Welcome to My World“
24. Tina Abbott
25. Syd McCutcheon “Sheep floozy“
26. Lyn Huskamp “The Red Door Studio“
27. Bee Shay “Heart 2 Hand“
28. Ruth Fiege “Sk3tchbook!“
29. Mary Anne Moss “two dresses studio“
30. Shirley Ende-Saxe “In the Name of Art“
31. Michelle Remy “Lost Coast Post“

More Related Articles:

• Catching up on art journaling (katieorse.typepad.com)
• Finding Revelations in Art Journal Pages (cinnamonpink.typepad.com)
• inspired + the BIG 4-0 at the studio! (donnadowney.typepad.com)
• Assigning Art Journals to Art Students (scribology.wordpress.com)
• Art Journaling (radishblossoms.typepad.com)
• Art in Context: Understanding Aesthetic Value book downloads (adybauom.typepad.com)
• A young woman’s healing journal. (katthorsen.wordpress.com)
• Re-purposing an old book into a new Art Journal (artbymaron.com)

my professional development portfolio

"He has honor if he holds himself to an ideal of conduct though it is inconvenient, unprofitable, or dangerous to do so." Walter Lippmann

      I maintain this web journal in order to communicate with administrators, art educators, colleagues, students and parents on a daily basis. I've listed below a detailed description of it's contents. For Administrators: The following papers describe my certification experience. My completed journal for certification may also be viewed electronically at LiveText by private invitation only. I have also uploaded my personal education philosophy here for administrators to review. The following list links to 11 MoSTEP articles describing my qualifications in the field of art education. In time all artifacts included in my private portfolio will be accessible through these same links as well.

1. Knowledge of Subject Matter
2. Human Development and Learning
3. Individualization and Diversity
4. Curriculum and Planning
5. Instructional Strategies
6. Classroom Motivation and Management
7. Communication Skills
8. Assessment of Student Learning
9. Professional Development and Reflective Practice
10. Ethics, Relationships and Communication
11. Instructional Technologies

For Parents:  This blog contains a wide variety of articles about art education parents may find entertaining. Parents may also view photographs of their work and participation in the classroom or from exhibits at "The Student Gallery" that will be posted in the near future.

For Web Searches: In time I will expand upon the "Questions and Answers" page in order to direct traffic to those topics posted under this category.

DEDICATIONS

I would like to personally thank all of the faculty and administration at the University for the professional care and industry they have invested in both the art education department and also the education department.  I would also like to express my love and affection for both my family and friends who have invested time, energy, and enthusiasm in my art education and my teaching career. Their belief in my education has made possible the experiences I bring to the classroom, to my community, and to this little internet resource. I would like to thank God for His guidance and perseverance in the development of my character and artistic abilities. 

kathy grimm copyright 2011 

 

"Campbell's Soup I" by Andy Warhol

Campbell's Soup I (1968)

      Andrew Warhola, Jr. (August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987), known as Andy Warhol, was an American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. After a successful career as a commercial illustrator, Warhol became famous worldwide for his work as a painter, avant-garde filmmaker, record producer, author, and member of highly diverse social circles that included Bohemian street people, distinguished intellectuals, Hollywood celebrities and wealthy patrons.

"Bottle of Anis de Mono" by Pablo Picasso

1916, L'anis del mono (Bottle of Anis del Mono)
 oil on canvas, 46 x 54.6 cm, Detroit Institute of Arts.

      Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso known as Pablo Ruiz Picasso ; (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, draughtsman, and sculptor who lived most of his life in France. He is widely known for co-founding the Cubist movement and for the wide variety of styles that he helped develop and explore. 

       Picasso demonstrated extraordinary artistic talent in his early years, painting in a realistic manner through his childhood and adolescence; during the first decade of the 20th century his style changed as he experimented with different theories, techniques, and ideas. His revolutionary artistic accomplishments brought him universal renown and immense fortune, making him one of the best-known figures in 20th century art.