Pumpkins, Skulls, & Sweaty Spider Art

I teach an afterschool art lab at Connections Public Charter School in Downtown Hilo.  It's located in the Kress Building.  (Yes, there is a movie theatre upstairs.  This means we get to smell salty, buttery popcorn while we work!)  This fall my students range in age from 6-12 years old (First through 6th Grades), all in the same class. We are learning about the Elements of Art through a variety of fun projects.  I needed a color mixing project to help reinforce the concepts of Primary and Secondary Colors, as well as neutrals, and I found this project at Deep Space Sparkle, which totally fit the bill.  I adjusted the project just a little.  

I brought in a couple of pumpkins, so the students could use their observational skills - we've been working on drawing what your eyes see, not what your brain thinks you see.  That being said, I also gave them some tips and did an example of how to draw a pumpkin.  We also talked about the element of space and trying to fill your paper with the subject of your drawing.  Once the pumpkins were drawn on our white papers, we drew leaves in the empty space.

I put out trays of red, blue and yellow paint, and we reviewed primary colors and secondary colors, as well as neutrals.

Instead of mixing colors on the palette, the students were instructed to mix the paints on the page, which allows for more variation in the color ranges, i.e. some yellow highlights and darker orange areas of the pumpkin.   Once their pumpkins were painted they painted the leaves, and we moved on to work on a different lesson until the following week when the paint would be dry. 




The next lesson, the students used white oil pastels to add highlights, and sent back over their original lines with black oil pastel to make them stand out better.  In some cases the students were a little overzealous with the highlights, and I let them adjust their pieces with orange oil pastel.  We cut out our pumpkins and leaves, and discussed collage composition.  The students laid out their pumpkins and leaves on black paper, deciding what the best composition for their pieces would be.

Once they were happy with their compositions, they glued down their pumpkins and leaves and drew in vines, moons, stars, and anything else they wanted to add, so that their picture could be uniquely their own.





(That is wind drawn by a second grader - awesome)







While we were waiting for paint to dry, we discussed Dios de la Muerte, (Day of the Dead) and the students created these fun sugar skulls with oil pastels.  (We had a lot of absent students this week, so I'll post the missing ones when they are finished.)

This week, we made "magic" spider paintings.  As a class we talked about warm colors and cool colors.  The students did an oil pastel drawing with white and black on white paper, and I did a demonstration of how to do a watercolor wash with cool colors, which they then did themselves, over their drawings, revealing the drawing they couldn't really see prior to the wash.  They were allowed to choose which cool colors they wished to use for their paintings, as long as they used more than one.  The students were excited about how the oil pastels resisted the watercolors.  After lots of comments about sweaty spiders, this was the result.

After they had been introduced to the technique, the students were encouraged to create their own compositions, with complete freedom as to subject matter & colors.  Here are the finished ones.

Happy Fall Art Adventures Everyone!

Octoberfest and Beach Paintings

This post is, unfortunately not about all of the wonderful people that I met and all of the money that I made in Kona this weekend, because, sadly, I didn't get to go.  I was hoping to get into the October Kokua Kailua, a monthly festival where Ali'i Drive in Kona gets shut down so people can stroll the area without worrying about getting run over by cars, and local artists and downtown Kailua businesses take to the streets.  It's been getting more and more popular, and after being on a waiting list for a month, I discovered that I just didn't get my app in early enough for October - so here's hoping for November!

BUT
My husband and I were lucky enough to be invited by a close friend to attend the First Hilo Octoberfest as his guests.  They held the event as a fundraiser for Hawai'i Hospice, so the proceeds went to a good cause, and we got to spend a lovely afternoon visiting with friends, tasting beers and eating bratwurst at the old Wainaku Sugar Mill, (which is now the Wainaku Executive Center) overlooking Hilo Bay.  It's a really lovely spot.

This is what it looked like upon entering the festival.

Of course, Dorky - Me, What I got the most excited about while taking pictures was the public trail down to the beach and the views it offered of the ruins of the old mill.  Can you say PAINTING RESEARCH MATERIAL?!?  Love it!!

I also decided that since I've been focused on getting ready to do craft fairs, and none of them are ready to have me just yet, instead of working on more inventory that is going to take up room in my studio it was time to start a painting.  Here is the background painting.

     Here it is a few days later, with the figure roughed in.

And here it is today.  I'm finding that I liked it better in the previous step in a lot of ways, so my next step in the process will be to bring back more of the light, and rework those arm shadows.  I should have left them alone in the first place, but I was afraid they were under-painted.  And then I over-painted them and they looked terrible.  I've blanked them out in the hopes I can recreate the ones I had in the first place...which is why she looks flat.  And I spent so much time reworking the ocean so that it looks more realistic and textured, that I killed the movement, so I need to fix that too.  I swear I'm my own worst enemy.

Despite my struggles, I'm excited to finally be putting paint on canvas again!

Here's hoping you get to see the finished version by the next post or two....

Aloha!

Fall Break at Ho'okena

Aloha Everyone,
This week I took a break from my artistic journey to spend some time with my family and unwind.
(Although I did do a little bit of work.  Scroll to the bottom of my post if you are not interested in my vacation for a sneak peek.)

This past week was Fall Break for kids in Hawai'i, and since my husband is a teacher it was a break for him as well.  We decided to spend the week relaxing at Ho'okena Beach Park.  I closed down my Zibbet shop for a few days, and we all unplugged.  You don't really have a choice at Ho'okena, it lies at the bottom of a cliff near the south side of the Big Island, and there is absolutely no signal of any kind whatsoever. We had a lovely time.  We cooked lots of food on the grill, swam in the pacific ocean and soaked up lots of rays. (In my case a few too many - ouch!)  As it is also a favorite resting place for spinner dolphins, we were also lucky enough to see a whole pod of them while we were on the beach on Tuesday, frolicking in the waves.  We also made it a point to stop at the southern most bakery in the united States, Punalu'u Bake Shop for some awesome fresh baked malasadas.  Here are a few photos for your viewing enjoyment.

This is a photo of the fishing canoes lined up on the beach.  Ho'okena is first and foremost a fishing village, to my understanding.  The second night we were there a fisherman came in very late with his catch.  His brother was there to help him get the canoe up onto shore, but they clearly weren't getting along, which brings me to my favorite quote from this trip.

Younger Brother: "What you like me do?"

Older Brother: "If you gotta ask..."

YB&OB continue arguing in this manner and things escalate, the older brother getting angrier and promising beatings, telling little brother he needs to work for a living, etc, and making me a little nervous, until finally I hear...

OB: "You know what your problem is?  Our madda nevah give you lickings enough when we was kids."

YB: "Yeah, well, you know what your problem is?" (pause) "Well, I don't know what your problem is, but you sure got one!"

At which point I had to stifle a giggle.  I privately agreed with the younger brother, but I really didn't want to draw attention to the tents on the beach with them clearly absorbed in an aggravated family squabble - not the best idea.  It quieted down about an hour later and I was able to get back to sleep.  My daughter slept through the whole thing, as did most of the camp.   Apparently, I am a very light sleeper.

This is a view of the beach from the other direction, standing in our campsite.

It's been years since I've ridden or driven around the south point of the Big Island.  I had forgotten how beautiful some of the views are.  This is a view from the truck as we drove towards Na'alehu.

And this is a photo of one of my husband's favorite stretches of road - because of the view of the coast.  Please excuse the antenna.

So, yes, not a whole lot of work in the studio this week, but I spent tonight setting up a craft fair table for my first dry run.  This is what it looks like.  It was a little bit of a struggle getting everything onto one table, but hopefully I'll make enough money at my first event so that I can afford to buy another one.

Big Mahalos to my husband for building my displays for me.  

And here is a closeup of the inventory on the left. (The scotch tape is not for sale.  oops.)

So that's it for today.  Thanks everyone for reading, and checking in.  If you feel like it, leave me a comment.  I'd love to read some feedback.

Aloha!

Magnet Crazy

Yes, yes, I know.  If you've been following my page on Facebook, I've gone magnet crazy.  But they are just so darn cute.  

I've been having a lot of fun in my studio making the tile coasters, and creating different designs and playing with paints and inks and stamps to create different effects.  Here are some of my favorites on the left.


But then I flashed back to a conversation I had with my mom when I was visiting her this summer, which is, incidentally how, where, and why I got hooked on this whole hand-painted tile thing to begin with.  After I'd spent a few hours playing with her inks and 4x4 tiles, she pulled out a sheet of little 1x1 glass tiles, and suggested maybe I could do something with those as well.  I didn't at the time.  But then on one of my strolls through Home Depot, on a 4x4 tile and cork run, I happened to see sheets of 2x2 tiles, and thought, hmmm...  Magnets!  (Top and Right Photos)

Although primarily a painter, I really like the idea of art that is useful.  I suppose many people would just call that craft, but I believe the line between arts and crafts is fuzzy - which is why they are mentioned simultaneously so often.  Working on big canvases that will be put on someone's wall is great.  Right now I'm having lots of fun painting on little tiles that people can enjoy in their living rooms, dining rooms, on their refrigerators, in their offices and lockers, and wherever else you might need a coaster or a magnet.  After all, why not keep a little art with you where ever you happen to be?

 

Aloha

Aloha Everyone!
For those of you who don't know already, My name is Heidi, and I have recently become a full time artist.  My business is called Lehua Moon Creations, and I work out of a home studio on the Big Island of Hawaii.  I also teach classes, both out of my home studio, and I provide afterschool programs for schools who are interested.  I may also be teaching electives at HAAS in Pahoa soon, but with budget cuts running amok, that is looking less and less likely.

I am currently expanding my inventory to include artsy hand-painted coasters, wine charms featuring the shells found on the beaches of Hawaii, and, of course, more bags and jewelry.  I hoping to do some big craft fairs this fall, in addition to getting some classes going with Lehua Moon Fine Arts.  There will be more information regarding classes within the next week or so on my website, www.lehuamooncreations.com. I've also been posting inventory on Zibbet, so if you're curious, check out my shop http://www.zibbet.com/LehuaMoonCreations.

I like to make artsy things that are useful, thus the coasters and jewelry and bags...
I am also a painter and fine artist, and I'm hoping that once I make a little money with the craftier and teaching side of things I'll have more time to dedicate to my canvases.

Here are some just-for-fun shots of what my studio looks like these days.  This is my super-fancy resin application table.

And of course, my new handmade extra rustic display for earrings!

So, If you're interested in my artistic journey, this is the place to be!