Make puppets for a Halloween shadow play, table decorations and fun
A Halloween inspired workshop ‘The Witches Parade’ by Julie Forrester.
Make some spooky puppets for a Halloween shadow play. Throw in some table decorations and you've got a Halloween scene that will entertain the whole family.
Follow the animation video and the instructions on the doc below and create this spooky scene in your own home.
Click on the video below to discover how to make your own Hallowe'en puppets
Click on the image below to download the PDF file to see written instructions on how to build your puppets.
Homelife No. 9 - Sunshine Drawing and Painting with artist Avril O' Brien
These days are like waking dreams, where time feels a little different and the evening sun gives everything a soft Summer glow. In this family-friendly art workshop, we look at shadows and sunlight and find ways of making art that capture them in a dreamy picture.
On a family walk, we might look closer at the plants that grow out of footpaths or walls, finding interesting shapes. Maybe there are buttercups and dandelions growing in the grass. This is a chance to look at the different stages of a plant's life or to appreciate the beauty that lasts for the season.
In this video and PDF, we look at two techniques and combine them together to create our artwork. First, we capture shadows of plants using an outline. Then, we use oil to make paper see-through, creating imaginative paintings and translucent paper. By cutting out our outlined shapes, giving them colour with pencils or anything at hand, we can make unique pictures, placing them on display in the window with the oiled paper for maximum effect.
Do you remember your dreams from last night? Maybe you could draw something from your dreams, cut them out and put them behind or in front of your translucent paper. If you would like to create your own dreamy artwork with these techniques, have a look at the video and PDF.
Click on the video below to view a timelapse of the process
Homelife Sunday No. 8 - Spinners and the Colour Wheel with Artist Lynda Loughnane
This week, artist Lynda Loughnane is sending us spinning!
In the downloadable step-by-step guide and video below, Lynda shows us how to make some super spinning wheels using simple materials, teaching us about the fascinating world of Colour Theory along the way. In this fun, creative activity there is plenty of scope to experiment and play with geometrical designs, illustrations, and colour combinations. After all, Art and Science are just two sides of the same spinner!
Please ensure adult supervision is provided where necessary (especially when it comes to some cutting, gluing, poking holes and tying knots in lengths of string). And most importantly of all…have lots of fun!
Click on the video to watch Lynda make some super spinners!
We would love to see you share your spinning wheel designs with us using the hashtag #crawfordartgalleryhomelife on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.
Homelife Sunday No. 7 - InVisible with Artist Julie Forrester
This week we are going to play hide and seek! We will use wax candles to make invisible drawings. We will apply paint using spray bottles with homemade inks and food colouring.
We will use ‘masks’ made from torn and cut paper to hide and protect parts of our painting from the layers of colour we spray on. We will experiment with texture by adding rice and coarse salt - see what happens to the liquid colour when we scatter them across the page. We as always will let our story unfold! Have fun!
Click on the video below to see a timelapse of the process.
You can upload your drawings to your Instagram - Add #crawfordartgalleryhomelife
This is a place where everybody can share their drawings, photos and ideas I would love to see what you do!
Keep an eye on #crawfordartgalleryhomelife
I will check in there and follow any ideas you share (: we can create this # together 🙂
Homelife Sunday No. 6 - Collage Flower with Artist Julie Forrester
We are going to have fun tearing up paper and reassembling it into a collage - I made a flower but you might have other ideas.
You can use your homemade inks from vegetable matter that you made last week, or make some more - boil them up in some water - beware of powerful smells! texture has also changed in an interesting way - keep in the fridge and use quickly!
Gather together interesting printed materials from your recycling bin choose nice colours and patterns you can use any kind of paper and light card together - I used tea packets and some flyers I had picked up for exactly this purpose - it’s funny to see what they are now!
Click on the video below to see a timelapse of the process.
You can upload your drawings to your Instagram - Add #crawfordartgalleryhomelife
This is a place where everybody can share their drawings, photos and ideas I would love to see what you do!
Keep an eye on #crawfordartgalleryhomelife
I will check in there and follow any ideas you share (: we can create this # together 🙂
Homelife Sunday No. 5 - Vegetable Mandala with Artist Julie Forrester
Bring on the colour - Spring is really here and the dandelions are showing their sunny faces. Today we are taking a lead from their colour and beautiful form to make mandalas - circle art meditations.
Your hunting adventure will bring you inside your kitchen cupboards for colourful foodstuffs - you will be looking for root vegetables and tubers that you can cut up to make printing blocks and you will be collecting other colourful foodstuffs that you will make into teas for ink - raw beetroot is powerful for both ink and printing - can you think of any others?
For inks there are many herbal teas as well as black tea and coffee, look to your spice racks for colour - turmeric is fabulous in powder as a herb tea for ink but it is available widely in root form so check your local supermarkets and Asian shops. Try out some raw plants from outside too. You will also be hunting outside for drawing tools, branches twigs, leaves and flower heads.
You will need paper for testing your inks, patterns and blocks and your sketchbooks for collecting and displaying your ideas together.
Have fun exploring and creating.
Homelife5 Mandala Materials
Gather together ingredients from your kitchen - you may need to go shopping for ingredients with strong colours, use your imagination and follow your nose - I’ve listed mine below.
Dye materials made into strong teas and soaked overnight
Tea bags black tea
Herbal tea bags with strong colour - turmeric, berry, green
Beetroot chopped into tiny pieces Onion skins
Print materials cut into shapes for patterns Halved quarter or cubed
Red cabbage halved Blue potato
Purple sweet potato Beetroot
Turmeric root
Pomegranate
You will also need a variety of brushes - go hunting outdoors for sticks and interesting plant materials - I used stalks sticks and dried fennel seed heads from my garden.
Flowers or fruit forms to draw - I used dandelions and pomegranates Make your tea dyes - pour boiling water on to tea bags, beets and other materials you have collected. Leave to steep overnight.
Paper and sketch books
NOTE Turmeric root and beetroot are powerful dyes - you will get the chance to play with soap and plenty of handwashing afterwards - use care when cutting get adult help!
Click on the video below to see a timelapse of the process.
Homelife Sunday No. 4 - Cosmic Egg - with Artist Julie Forrester
Its Easter! Happy Easter!
I am sure you will have plenty of interesting recyclable materials this weekend. Remember the hunt for materials is part of the fun I am sure you will surprise everyone with your finds!
We are going to celebrate Easter by making some eggs and a mobile I call The Cosmic Egg. Let’s see what hatches!
Click on the video below to see a timelapse of the process.
Homelife Sunday No. 3 | 5 April 2020 | with Artist Julie Forrester
Build a City or Playground for Your Sketchbook Avatar
This week, watch as artist Julie Forrester makes an adventure playground for her Avatar. What are you going to build?
You will need to raid the recycling again. Look for cardboard and plastic containers (I used the tube from kitchen towels), bottles, cat food boxes....you will have your own interesting supplies
For joining all constructions together, you will need skewers, pipe cleaners, tape, wire, cable-ties, string, yarn or other materials for joining things together - can you think of any others?
You will need a pointy tool – remember the "bradawl" from Homelife Sunday No. 1? This time a knitting needle or a wooden skewer will do for punching holes – be sure to add in some adult help!
Make some drawings of your ideas in your sketchbooks. This will be useful when you are asking adults or others for help, too!
Please share your ideas and creations to #crawfordartgalleyhomelife it's fun to see what others do! Crawford Art Gallery might just share a few of your creations for all our followers to see?
Homelife Sunday No. 2 | 29 March 2020 | with Artist Julie Forrester
Handmade Experiments with Rubbings
It's time to experiment inside our special new sketchbooks with RUBBINGS! Once again, all the fun is in improvising with materials you find at home or outside. Create a colourful, leafy jungle for your Avatar to explore or a city made of different shapes and textures. Simply sharpen your pencil, place the items you find underneath a piece of paper and rub your pencil over the surface. Try pressing gently and hard, or using different colours...the golden rule is to be inventive!
Don't forget to share your creations inspired by these Sunday online workshops using #crawfordartgalleryhomelife
Here is a list of MATERIALS and EQUIPMENT used:
Pencil
Pencil sharpener
Coloured pencils
Sketchbook made from last week, another sketchbook of your own, or some A4 pieces of paper
Assortments of leaves and household items such as cardboard, plastic wrapping, CDs...it's up to you and your supervising adult!
Take a look at this video for lots of great ideas:
Click on the image below to download instructions in PDF format
Homelife Sunday 1 | 22 March 2020 | with Artist Julie Forrester
Sundays at the Crawford Art Gallery invite you to make a sketchbook over the next few weeks. It will be a space to play, creatively respond to home life and inventing ways for making art in your sketchbook.
You can also make an Avatar that will represent your character in the sketchbook.
We will be using all kinds of materials we can find around the house to create different environments for our Avatar to inhabit.
We will improvise as much as possible - this is part of the game. It is well worth having a block of A4 paper in the house for this project and gather together all of your drawing tools and keep an eye on the recycling bin for useful bits 🙂
Today you will make a seven-page section to cover week 1 Here is a list of MATERIALS and EQUIPMENT I used:
SKETCHBOOK
7 x A4 sheets of paper
A Needle ( a big one)
Some Thread
A Cork
A Ruler
A pair of Scissors
AVATAR
Paper
Cardboard
A Sharpie or other drawing tool
Glue
Be inventive! If you don't have a large needle what else could you use? To make HOLES... Do you have a hole punch, knitting needle, wooden or metal skewer, toothpick...? Also, you can measure and mark each page and punch one page at a time, making sure all holes match up. I have a special hole punching tool called a 'brad awl' - I didn't use this today as I know this is quite specialist. In the coming weeks, a part of the fun is to find our own materials to do the job!
Click on the image to download a PDF of the workshop
Also, you can view the how-to video below. Click on the enlarge icon at the end of the play bar to view in full screen.
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