A Net in Time

Curriculum and book reviews, faith, homeschooling and more!

Art

Plastic Canvas: Cars and Trucks

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The other day (couple months back) I was out kicking around and saw some plastic canvas creations.  They were rather well done and it spurred me on to see if I still had any plastic canvas around.  I found some, but no yarn or thread to do it to be found, and then well.. life got a bit hectic.  

In the process of packing/unpacking I found this plastic canvas book and tucked it away with my arts/crafts books.   Ergo, when I was searching for an art book for today I stumbled upon it and since it brings back happy memories for me why not! 

What happy memories you ask?

I remember sitting with my mom and a group of girls learning how to do plastic canvas.  I still recall the peals of laughter rolling around the table, the conversation lightening quick, the questions and answers, the fights over who got the yarn next and can you pass me the scissors.   

After I earned the badge, I found myself continuing to work with plastic canvas, cutting, shaping, learning new techniques.  Then college came along and life got busy and I set it aside.   I still look back at this crafting skill with fond memories.  And I keep my limited supplies around but I honestly don’t know if I will ever get back into it.

THOUGH…

This book with the cute cars intrigues me.  Wouldn’t they be fun to make for a little boy or girl?

Plastic canvas cars and trucksAfter learning how to make wheels we are taught how to make seven different vehicles

  • big rig
  • pickup
  • bluemobile
  • antique coupe
  • yellow sports car
  • pink convertible
  • gasoline tanker

Plastic canvas cars and trucksWhat do you think?

Good toys for girls and boys?   Fun to make you think?   Perhaps I should get re-inspired. 🙂

Living Maps

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People often talk about a city as if she were a person, Adam Dant takes that notion and thought… what if I could draw a map of a city showing her personality?   From that we get the book Living Maps, a look into the heart and history of 28 cities from around the world.

Living Maps

From the cover:

This collection of maps explores the unique personalities of 28 cities around the world, shedding light on the strange and marvelous ways in which humans interact with the places they call home. Artist and creative cartographer Adam Dant dissects Manhattan in an anatomical diagram, traces the form of a Picasso nude in the streets of Monaco, and transforms the crisscrossing paths of boats on the Bosporus into the nerves of Istanbul. Dant draws on the history, culture, and geography of each city and on the beguiling aesthetic of antique maps to create gorgeous works of cartographic art. Witty, insightful, and adorned with a gold foil-stamped cover, this book will capture the imaginations of travelers, map enthusiasts, history buffs, and dreamers.

What you get:

The author has three page introduction explaining the origin of the maps (Dr. London) and the thoughts behind the making of them.  Rearranged and displayed for us from the crumbling pages of old books.

living maps

Each city is introduced with four smaller images, and one larger one depicting different aspects of th ecity.  Brief text accompanies each of the smaller images.

Living Maps

The next page presents us with a full-colour image of the city personified.  The images were well put together, presented in different formats, some on a tile background, others laid out on paper, and others appeared as simple outlines with city streets, others had smaller images running around the edges of the maps.  A good variety in typology.

Living maps

My thoughts:

I have to admit, I’m not sure what I think of this book.   Part of me is intrigued, but there is also a solid part of me that is a bit freaked out.  I don’t quite understand it myself.  The map of Edinburgh showing the mix between the old and the new had me intrigued, and Venice with the lion… I liked those, they made me think…. yet the maps of London and Tokyo had me quickly turning the pages saying nope, nope, not that. 

The freaked out moments had me not wanting to turn back to the book despite my intrigue with the rest of the book.  So it’s hard for me to get past the negative to reach the positive, but I am admittedly a person that is easily freaked out by the unusual.    And frankly, seeing a city personified is a bit unusual in the drawn form. 

At the same time, I have inklings of the possibilities for an art class (not one taught by me) where students are challenged to see the personality of an object, city, thought pattern and then find a way to express that in a visual form.  This book could prove to be an inspiration for that type of class.

living maps

 

Living Maps: An Atlas of Cities Personified
Adam Dant
Chronicle Books
Hardcover, 128 pages
Art, Geography, History, Maps
Reviewed for Raincoast Books.

Find it on Amazon.

 

 

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Building with Paper

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Building with Paper

Building with Paper is a neat book that gives you specific projects in working with paper.  

You can build a Paper Town, Bridges, Boats, Castles & Forts, and a Stadium. 

You get clear instructions

building with paper

With excellent drawings

building with paper

Each Section is clearly delineated with a face page.

building with paper

My thoughts:

My son went through a period where he was constantly building things with paper. I had him look through this book to see if it was good and he said “yes, I would have liked this book two years ago”.  It teaches not only the folding and building, but how to put the pieces together so they hold together well.   Papercraft boat anyone?   The one in the book looks like it would float well and possibly even hold a small figurine making for a lovely play time that you make yourself.   It would be fun to do as co-op class don’t you think?  Building a castle together?  HA!  that would simply be a hoot!

Observe, Collect, Draw

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Observe, Collect, Draw is a journal to help you learn more about yourself (by collecting data) in order that you may become more connected to who you are.  Doing this will enable you to be the creative, talented person that you are.    So if you are an artist, or writer, or sculptor, you can bring forth your talents more easily.  🙂  This is my review. 

Observe, Collect, Draw - a visual journal

From the back cover:

A guided journal with a fresh approach to the trend of journal-as-tool-for-self-examination. The journal is delightfully illustrated in the authors’ trademark style-accessible, whimsical, detailed. Blending inspiring examples with engaging instruction, this journal asks: What do we learn about ourselves when we measure our gratitude, confidence, and distraction levels? What do our collections say about who we are: our books, music, the clothes we wear? Observe, Collect, Draw! functions as a mini-course in information design, as accessible to beginners as it is engaging to seasoned info designers.

Observe, Collect, Draw - a visual journal

The Nitty Gritty

Three main Sections to this journal

Part one: learning to see.  This is where you overcome your fear of the blank page while learning more about using the data you have as material. 

Part two: Observing, Collecting, Drawing.   Immersing yourself in the world of data by following guided exercises to observe, acknowledge, count and draw.

Part three: Crafting your visual language.  You’ll find open ended ideas for drawing with the data you have collected, following your own rules and using your own style.   Your work, done your way, using your own style and rules. 

Observe, Collect, Draw - a visual journalThroughout the pages you will find whimsical drawings starting with learning what Data is.  Data is simply getting the math about the things that are in your life: plants, people, food, events, interactions, it’s all just data.  It tells us who we are and what we do.  What’s important to us is shown to us in the data we collect about our lives. 

You can then take that data and turn it into a useful form.

Like when a person enjoys a beautiful sunset and takes those colours and turns into a painting, necklace or rug. 

The goal of this journal is to help you figure out what the data is in your life, so that you can in turn take that data and be the artist you are meant to be. To that end, guided exercises are given to help you collect data. 

For instance, grab up your camera/phone.  Take a look at the pictures that are on it.  Now map out what’s on it, animals could be blue, people red, houses orange… Whatever.  Just map it out.  Colour code and use dots and shadings to show connections.   This gives you data. 

Observe, Collect, Draw - a visual journalYou not only look at the good things of your life, but you also get into the harder things in life, like figuring out what makes you complain.  What you complain about?  Who do you complain to?   It’s all data. 

Observe, Collect, Draw - a visual journalThe more you document your life, the more data you can mine, which gives you more information you can turn into artistic endeavors.  Once you have worked your way through all 35 exercises, you are invited to then draw.  First you analyze the data you have collected, find the stories of your life, then experiment with how those stories look using colour, lines, images, and before you know it you have a data image.  Once you have that, you work your way through 12 additional exercises, or if you will, drawing prompts.

These drawing prompts include things like the animals you see, your holiday souvenir, your family, small talk, social media and more. 

My Thoughts:

I wasn’t too sure about this book when I first got it.  It’s like HUH?   I’m supposed to examine my life so that it makes my art better?  Who in the world has time for that?!?!?!?  But as I went through it, it started to make sense.  The more you know about yourself and the way you put things together, the more you can bring yourself out in the art that you produce.  It’s not a bad thing that, is it?  

Is it worth getting?  I think so. It’s good to stop and think about the things you do sometimes, helps a body to become more aware of personal foibles, strengths, interests they perhaps weren’t aware of, and gives ideas to talk about.. for instance today I was thinking about how much I like mint tea… making MY OWN mint tea, and then wondered if I could inspire others to like mint tea. This I thought about because of a page in this book.   Good yes?  Indeed. 

Observe, Collect, Draw - a visual journal

 

Observe, Collect, Draw! A Visual Journal.
Giorgia Lupi
Stefanie Posavec
Princeton Architectural Press
Softcover, 160 pages
Journal, Art, Self-discovery
Reviewed for Raincoast Books.

Other Giorgia Lupi books you might be interested in
Dear Data.
Dear Data Postcard kit.

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We Inspire Me

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You know how creative people like to have others around them? Well actually how most people like to have some type of support system? We Inspire Me: Cultivate your Creative Crew to Work, Play and Make by Andrea Pippins is all about reaching out to the people in your life now, or those that you cultivate, in order to help you work, play and make.

Although this book focuses on building your CREATIVE community, the lessons contained within the pages are for anyone who just wants to expand the number of people in their lives. we inspire me
About the Author:

Andrea Pippins is a designer, illustrator, educator, and author currently residing in Stockholm, Sweden.

What Do You Get?

we inspire me

Andrea Poppins brings together stories, essays, illustrations, advice and tips related to the importance of building and nurturing one’s creative community.   It is important to surround yourself with people that want to see you excel and thrive.  This is not a how to book, this is a tips and suggestions books with stories to inspire you to make connections with those around you. 

As you turn the pages you will notice the bright and colourful designs.  You’ll find a mingling of pinks, browns, yellows, and blues. The title pages are clearly delineated with a write up telling you what’s important in this section.we inspire me

Each individual who tells a story is enabled to do so with interesting fonts and important lessons.   

we inspire meLessons span topics such as sharing stories about dealing with mental illness, to how to find people with common interests, different formats to bring people together, how to celebrate each other’s creativity and more. 

we inspire meI was talking with Lisa the other day and she was telling me about different groups that she is part of.   Her accountability groups and mentoring groups and such like.   Some she paid to be part of, and others she chose to start.  And I have to admit, as an introvert, trying to figure out how to start a group and be able to chat with different people about ideas is difficult, even if it is on-line.  It’s so easy to get lost in the conversation whether it’s in person or on-line.  I don’t quite get how one does it.   Books like these help. 

I don’t think a tribe of one or two is what this book is calling for though eh?   A tribe implies more than just one or two. I can see the advantage of having a variety of people with differing skills as part of your group, and how it is vital to inspiring one’s own creativity.  We can inspire each other. 

This book talks about that though, how an introvert who prefers stick to the quiet things, can push past that to attend events that lead to friendships.  It’s good to do that eh?  To take that risk and try it something new out. 

Some of the ideas I ran into:

Wine Tasting, Team sports, paint night, go out for brunch with at least four people, throw an event that YOU would be interested in, bring a business card to a meeting (maybe 5-7) and make a goal of passing them out before the night is through and you can start a neighbourhood project… perhaps you need a new park or art centre?  Who knows the people you will meet along the way.  Might be your new best friend or just the person you need to inspire you to greater heights in your life.  You just never know if you don’t take the chance. 
we inspire me

 

We Inspire Me: Cultivate your Creative Crew to Work, Play and Make
Andrea Pippins
Chronicle Books
152 pages, hardcover
Creative, Teamwork
Reviewed for Raincoast Books.

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Things to Make and Do

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As you can see from my image, my copy of Things to Make and Do is a bit battered and stained.  Although this small book doesn’t have any many crafts in it as some do, I like it because it has projects in it that I haven’t found in most other craft/art books.  Let me take a moment to tell you about this helpful book.

Things to make and do, main image

What do you get?

Produced by Scholastic Services, this almost 80 page book contains about 40 projects.  These range in difficulty from easy (book marks) to hard (prickly vase).   Well written instructions help the maker complete their projects well. Part of the author’s goal is to help the young makers design and create projects they may be able to sell.  To that end she enclosed a small section at the close of the book to assist them in their endeavors (things to do). 

Table of contents, book things to make and do

The Nitty Gritty

Illustrator Ethel Gold provides simple drawings to guide the maker in their projects.  Some of the projects look remarkably simple, but their complexity is see as you go through the steps to make them. The projects use items often readily found around the house, I didn’t run into anything I didn’t know what it was.

Things to make and do - sample project

I have to admit, I did need to research what crafting wax is. I’d heard of it before but wasn’t sure what it looked like. Now I know more eh?

 

I mentioned a couple of the projects to my lad and he thought they sounded good to make.  “That could be helpful mom” and “do you think something like that I could sell?”   It’s good to raise an entrepreneurial lad you know?  

Things to Make and Do - sample project

This project made me think of  how my mom likes to make cards. Designing them well for each person, the pride she takes in giving something personal to others.   It’s cool to see and this project would be a good first step in helping a new generation learn the skill of card-making. 

Things to Make and Do

 

 

Things to Make and Do
Linda Beech
Ethel Gold (illustrator)
Scholastic Book Services
80 pages, softcover
Crafts, Projects, Make it
 

Hands Around the World

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Do you ever struggle with helping bring about cultural awareness?   Hands around the World is filled with 365 creative ways to help build cultural awareness in your students and to help us respect one another around the globe. There are activities for every day of the year.

hands around the world

So why am I talking about a cultural awareness book on my art day?  Well.. you see, often part of building awareness with each other is engaging in crafting or art projects with each other.  Reading the poems or seeing the crafts that people around the world make.  Whether it’s a japanese wind sock, or colouring a flag, making a puppet so you can put on a puppet show of a native story, or even making a Batwa story mouse.   There are so many ideas floating around the peoples of the world, why not build on them together?

hands around the world, contents

What do you get?

365 ideas, one for every day of the year.

Ideas vary in their ranges: recipes, stories, activities, crafts, games, physical activities, and more.

Learn new skills such a folding napkins, making a homemade toy, acting, or putting on a cultural sale.

hands around the world, ideas

My Thoughts:

I love the sheer variety of tried and tested ideas presented in this great Kids Can! Book.  Susan Milord does a great job of providing some very unique ways to help children from a variety of cultures connect with each other.  It’s good to see how other people do things, to learn their history, and to discover how we express ourselves within our cultural heritage. 

hands around the world, how to

hands around the world, book coverHands Around the World : 365 creative ways to build culture awareness & Global respect
Susan Milord
Series: Kids Can
Williamson Publishing
160 pages, softcover
Elementary, Cultural awareness, Heritage,
Art, crafts, cooking, dance, activities
Where to find.