Six-legged Celebration: a Frankensteinian conglomeration of bugs!

Arts & Activities, Nov, 2003 by Karen Bonda

Having been a district-wide gifted-education coordinator, I spent many years intertwining art into all subject areas of the academic curriculum. Now returned to the art room, I find myself reversing the process and weaving the very same curricular content areas back into the art program.

This eighth grade printmaking project was an application and culmination of art concepts covered during the middle-school years. It was so successful that all five student pieces entered in the Northeast Area Scholastic Art Awards Competition won awards in the areas of textile/fiber design or printmaking. One student's work advanced to take a national honor at the 1999 Scholastic Art Awards Competition in New York City.

To begin this project, students pored over a veritable swarm of insects. They figuratively dissected bug body parts and chose intricate areas to realistically render in line. Drawing many different sizes within an 8" x 9" framework was strongly encouraged. Some budding artists magnified sections, others minimized.

Favorite drawings were chosen, given a slightly bubbled border and then cut out. These were arranged on another 8" x 9" paper, twisted and turned; some were overlapped until they flowed into a "Frankensteinian conglomeration of entomology." Attention was given equally to positive and negative space, taking care to turn the drawings so that the resulting negative space would be asymmetrical.

Once the students were satisfied with their metamorphical transformation of drawing to design, the individual drawings were "glue-sticked" down. Next, the insects were linearly connected to each other. Bee legs grew to meet butterfly proboscis, luna moth antennae were elongated to join the pointed appendage of a staghorn beetle, dragonfly eyes sequenced to meet the elliptical orbs of a ladybug.

Replicating this composition was necessary in making a repeat-pattern design. Of utmost importance was making the top and bottom match so that a repetitive design would develop. This was accomplished by folding the paper, top to bottom, in thirds, with the top and bottom touching. Shapes and lines were added so that the designs flowed off of the bottom edge of the paper.

Wow! We were moving right along. Drawing armies of insects and then turning them into a working design was a mind-grinding task. Everyone was ready for a much-needed mental break.

Flipping the work over, it was absolutely therapeutic to scribble hard and heavy with a pencil over the back of the design. This preparation was necessary for transfer to the linoleum block.

Taping the design to the 8" x 9" linoleum block, graphite side down, all pencil lines were traced hard with ball-point pen. When the paper was removed, the design now appeared on the linoleum. Using a ball-point pen again, the pencil lines were traced so that they would remain permanent on the slick surface.

The students were familiar with carving linoleum; however, reviewing safety rules was a must. (Use a bench hook, keep free hand behind carving hand and no talking.)

Concentrating intently, the class began carving the positive lines and shapes. They now had the option to reverse the existing positive and negative. An emphasis was placed on creating value with line. Improvised textural patterns were added. Another stage was emerging with the designs becoming powerfully graphic.

Everyone was eager to print. We brainstormed potential divergent printing surfaces--crumpled brown paper bags, wrapping paper, phone book yellow pages, newspaper financial pages, magazine advertisements, various fabrics and so on.

Each student was required to do one "quality" black ink on white print, making any necessary corrections. They were then free to be inventive and experiment on any type of surface that they desired. Using different colors of ink in nontraditional ways was encouraged. The prints done on muslin were especially beautiful, as the natural quality of the fabric lent itself to the subject matter.

In retrospect, the finished product was achieved through the superimposition of multiple art concepts. Using insects as the basis for design made the possibility of success highly plausible, as nature truly is the greatest teacher.

GOAL, OBJECTIVES AND HELPFUL HINTS

* Encourage students to capture and bring in a live insect.

* Students will develop an understanding at the way art concepts build upon each other to create both simplicity and complexity.

* Review line drawing versus sketching.

* Review concept of repeat and alternate patterns.

* Review design principles, especially those relevant to variety of size, texture, value and shape.

* Review techniques for creating value with line: hatch, cross-hatch, linear textural patterns, distance between lines.

* Review the interrelationship of positive and negative space.

* Review safety rules for linoleum carving.

* Review what constitutes a "quality print."

* Brainstorm for unique printing paper possibilities.

MATERIALS

* Live bugs

* Bug books, magazines, videos

* Pencils

* Ball-point pens