Happy Holidays!

Greetings IBers! How is your vacation? What fun things have you done? How is your studio project progressing? Is there anything I can help with? Do you have a work in progress picture to share?

IB Media by Month

Mondays Demo Day

Tuesdays Artists Day

January/Drawing Materials- Charcoal, Chalk Pastels,Oil Pastels © Marissa L. Swinghammer February/Printing- Monoblock, Linoleum block, Stencil and Spray-paint March/Plaster- Gauze, Carve, Mold Jun Kaneko April/Clay-Throwing I, Throwing II, Molds Lisa Kokin May/Book Making-Altered, Binding, TBA

Bamboo and Quill Pens

Cool Ink Drawings

I thought you might enjoy this blog.

LIFE photo archive hosted by Google

Search millions of photographs from the LIFE photo archive, stretching from the 1750s to today. Most were never published and are now available for the first time through the joint work of LIFE and Google.

Earth Album

This site is AWESOME!!! You can click on any where in the world and get beautiful images from that culture. Try it out!

Laura Tangusso

This sculpture by Laura Tangusso combine handmade paper and wire. Check out more of her work at http://www.lauratangusso.com/

Fun PAPER Facts

Paper, by definition, is a complex matted web of cellulose fibers. Genuine parchment, authentic vellum, or papyrus are not true papers by this definition. Paper is made by gathering the plant of choice, and beating it into a pulp. Water is then added, until the pulp becomes a slurry. The slurry is then sifted against a screen until it forms an even layer. Once it dries, a sheet of paper is formed. Most paper contains sizing. Sizing is any glutinous material used to fill pores in surfaces that helps to make a stronger sheet of paper. The United States and Canada are one of the world's largest producers of paper and paper products. The U.S. consumption of paper and paperboard in 1999 was approximately 354 kilograms (about 800 pounds) per person. Recycling one ton of paper saves 17 trees and 3000 gallons of water. Recycling paper uses 60% less energy than manufacturing paper from virgin timber. One tree can filter upto 60 pounds of pollutants from the air each year. Good papers are rated as pH neutral. Better papers are called "acid free", based on the materials they were manufactured from. The best papers are "archival". Paper products use up at least 35 percent of the world's annual commercial wood harvest. Handmade paper are still made today with the same process as used earlier. Handmade Paper is made by gathering the plant of choice, and beating it into a pulp. Water is then added, until the pulp becomes a slurry. The slurry is then sifted against a screen until it forms an even layer. Hot Press is the term used to describe the smoothest surface of watercolor paper, as if it had been ironed using a hot iron to make it perfectly smooth. Soft Press paper has slightly more texture, but is still smooth, as if the hot ironing had been done, but using less pressure. Cold Press paper has even more texture than the previous two, as if it had been ironed using a colder iron, leaving more bumps. Rice paper is not really made from rice.

History of Paper

Handmade Paper has a rich, colorful history which has spanned the world's geography and its cultures. Paper is defined by Noah Webster as "a substance made in the form of thin sheets or leaves from rags, straw, bark, wood, or other fibrous material, for various uses." Handmade paper is widely used for its eco friendly nature and the traces of history are left in different cultures. Handmade Paper in Egyptian Culture- If we wander our mindsback over 5000 years ago to the Nile river valley in Egypt, we will find the traces of thin strips that were cut from the grass Cyperous Papyrus flourishing in those days. These strips were softened in muddy waters of the Nile. These strips were layered and pounded into a thin sheet and left to dry. The resulting sheets were ideal for writing and was then used by Egyptians, Romans, and Greeks. The word paper was derived from the "papyrus". The Father of Handmade Paper- T'sai Lun is said to be the father of handmade paper who was a court official in China. In 105 AD, during the Han Dynasty T'sai Lun experimented with several materials. He then took the inner bark of mulberry tree and bamboo fibers. He mixed them with water and pounded with a wooden tool. He poured this mixture onto a flat piece of coarsely woven cloth and let the water drain through. He allowed it to dry and later he realized that he had created a quality writing surface called the paper. T'sui Lun then became the patron of paper invention.The art of handmade paper making then crept out of China. It was first spread to Vietnam and Tibet. It eventually spread to Korea, where production of paper began as early as the 6th century AD. According to tradition, a Korean monk named Don-cho brought papermaking to Japan by sharing his knowledge at the Imperial Palace in about AD 610, sixty years after Buddhism was introduced in Japan. In Japan a million prayers- dharani was printed on sheets of paper. Paper making later opened its wings across Central Asia and Persia, from which it was later introduced into India by trade. It then spread out to Europe and after that the birth of modern paper and paper industry was marked. Handmade Paper in Korea- Handmade paper in Korea was imported from China during the reign of Sosurim, when there was lot of trading between China and ancient Korea. The first official record of paper in Korea was viewed in 610 AD. The paper was first brought to Korea by a monk named 'Damjing' of the Kokuryo Kingdom, located in the area of North Korea and parts of China. As the craft of papermaking was developing, our sensible and wise ancestors created a large amount of artwork with paper. The most popular art form of that time was Jisung Craft, Jiho Craft and Color Junji Craft. Among these, Color Junji Craft, which involves the pasting of colored paper layer upon layer, was the most popular. The earliest art form was Hanji from the Chosun Dynasty, a art form that is still in existence today. Handmade Paper in Indian Culture- Indians hold the credit of having used paper from cellulose fibers during third century BC. Khanzadas were the traditional paper makers who started the art of handmade paper making at Tizara in Alwar district of Rajasthan. They were a significant force at the time of Syed dynasty of Delhi Sultanate. The Khanzadas were then brought to Amer at the end of 16th century by Mirza Man Singh who was a great connoisseur of art, craft and literature. They were settled in Brahamipuri near Amer but because of the shortage of water they were shifted to Sanganer situated on the bank of the river Saraswati. Sanganer emerged as one of the biggest paper making center in western India.During the British rule the art of paper making had declined, it was alive only in few of the traditional families of that area. At the time of Arab, this art was again boosted. Later, the art of handmade papermaking was revived under the inspiration of Mahatma Gandhi. He demonstrated the art of papermaking at Haripura congress in 1938. http://www.theearthpaper.net/history-of-handmade-paper.html

Paper Fire Balloons

Yee Peng Lanna festival

Balloon Festival in Taunggyi

In light of our paper making experience I want to share paper fire balloons with you. Many Asian cultures celebrate with paper fire balloons. This tradition is absolutely beautiful!

Paper Making Prep

Bring to class on Monday...

Paper torn in small pieces (inchish)

• food can labels
• junk mail
• magazine pages
• old school work
• tissue paper
• used wrapping paper
• etc/be creative/recycle

Tips:

• Separate by color IF time allows
• Place torn paper in zip lock baggies
• Drop off in The Academy Studio Monday AM and add water to your baggy
• Spread the word to your fellow IB Buds!

Add a comment if you have any questions!

BANKSY

Alli, this is a Banksy for you!!

Here is a great article on Banksy from The New Yorker. It is long but worth the read. For more about Banksy visit http://www.banksy.co.uk/ Banksy is part of the Guerrilla art movement. Guerrilla art is often politically charged and created in unauthorized public spaces.

Dreamcatcher?!?!?

This is by Jessica Stockholder. Bianca I thought of you when I came across this image. Kind of dreamcatcherish! They sky is the limit when it comes to materials you could use!

Hey Satta!

I thought of you when I saw these two artists. Mrs. Ellen Gallagher alters vintage ad images! I particularly enjoy her use of repetition resulting in an intense viewing experience. Think about how different her work would be if she only exhibited one. Also Mr. Oliver Herring combined coll aged photos and mannequins. Just something to think about! Happy creating!

Krzysztof Wodiczko

Sam and Amy I thought of you when I saw this artist. Think about non traditional angles of the face for your studio work. The most exciting aspect of this artist is where he exhibits his works, such as on national monuments and buildings. Where and how will you exhibit your studio piece? Click on the title of this post to visit the PBS website for their Art:21 series in which they explore the work of Krzysztof Wodiczko. We also have the book from this PBS's Art:21 series in the Academy Studio.

Gallery of the Month

Welcome to our new Gallery of the Month series. I hope you find this helpful in fulling your monthly gallery visit. I thought we could start off with one of our own (by marriage)! Mr. Lyddon Hatten work is currently showing at Olson Larsen Gallery in West Des Moines. The SHELTER show runs through January 3rd. Olson Larsen Gallery is located at 203 Fifth Street, West Des Moines, Iowa 50265. Gallery Hours are Tuesday - Friday - 11:00 to 5:00 Saturday - 11:00 to 4:00.

Body Worlds

A conversation came up today about the BODY WORLDS exhibit. Visit You Tube for a brief viewing of the exhibit. Seeing it in real life is a must! It is a truly amazing experience!

Tony Corner, Watercolor Artist

Tony Corner's blog has a great example of the process of creating a sketch in watercolor and in pencil and how that translates into the final work. He is also very descriptive in his writing! Mr. Corner writes " Although winter was not on my mind as I began to work, the contours were suggesting a peaceful and calm winter day. The notion of calm led to the selection of green as the local color of the barn buildings, since both color and value contrast would need to be minimized in order to convey “peace”."