Roll out the carpet - art project

Arts & Activities, Dec, 2002 by Robert Basso

MATERIALS

* Carpet samples (department stores and carpet outlets often remove discontinued samples from display and can then be acquired for a small charge---I often get these for free or for about 50 cents each)

* Hardboard (home-improvement stores sell 4' x 8' x 1/8" sheets of hardboard paneling for about $7 each, which they will cut to size)

* Window stop trim (any wood measuring approximately 3/4" x 3/4" will suffice)

* Latex paint (primer for boards and trim)

* Acrylic paints

* Carpenter's glue or hot glue gun and glue

* Hammers

* Hand saws

* Electric drill

* Brads

* Art knives or multi-purpose shears

* Picture-hanging accessories

* General art supplies (for planning, sketching, cutting, tracing, coloring, etc.)

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Students will ...

* understand how combining art media adds interest and variety to an artwork.

* demonstrate skills in mixing and duplicating textures.

* learn the meaning of the term "trompe-l'oeil"' and be able to identify the technique in works of art.

My high-school studio-art students had experienced various media and produced a wide range of quality artworks. They were well prepared to venture into new territories. Mixing media has always been one of my personal favorite directions with which to carry an artwork. It was now time to explore new materials, mixing these with more traditional options and blending them together to form some new images.

We began the important process of developing our compositions as usual: researching, making thumbnail sketches, critiquing, selecting and finalizing a desired composition, making and transferring full-sized sketches, making color selections, etc. Each of our class assignments is a review of past art learning and this particular assignment is a great one for reinforcing, among others, texture and color theories.

A major portion of the design problem would also be to accurately observe, interpret and duplicate both textures and colors from actual three-dimensional materials (rug samples) to a two-dimensional surface. Accomplishing this would require both skill and patience, a true test of past learning.

With the selected composition in hand, students began planning for the construction and visual translation of the design. Our landscape designs were first to be interpreted with various colored and textured rug samples. As rugs are relatively heavy, we were required to use a strong, solid base for construction. I chose a 1/8-inch-thick hardboard paneling that we primed with white latex paint.

Students centered their compositions on the boards and traced the selected landscape drawing onto the primed surface. Three-quarter-inch-thick wood trim was attached to the top of the board at the outer edges, forming a frame. The same-dimension trim was used as an inner frame, outlining the edges of the drawn landscape. The hardboard backing measured 24" x 32", while the landscape drawing measured 12" x 18". This allowed for a substantial border on all sides. This border would become the painted section of the finished piece.

The trim boards are both functional and decorative. They provide for a retaining wall, separating the textured area from the painted area. They also add strength and stability to the hardboard backing. The outer trim also functions as a frame for the completed artwork. Trim was attached with carpenter's glue and brads. (Note: the hardboard must be pre-drilled to receive the brads.)

Carpet samples purchased from a major department store would be used as the main surface material for the landscape collage. I was able to acquire a vast assortment of both colors and textures over a period of several months as the inventory of the rug department was changed. This material made for a most exciting and stimulating palette. Students studied the available samples, compared them to their paintings and proceeded to select appropriate pieces to interpret areas of their compositions. Special attention was given to color and texture interpretation and students began the strenuous and tedious process of cutting and fitting pieces into their compositional puzzles.

The original full-sized drawing (made on a strong index stock) was used as a template to make pattern pieces. These pieces were traced onto the rug samples. (It is important to remember that the pattern piece must be traced onto the back of the rug sample in an upside down position.)

Remind students to place the pattern as close to the edge of the carpet samples to conserve the material.

The rug backing is a strong material and craft knives must be used to make a clean cut. (Safety caution: Care must be taken with these tools, as they are extremely dangerous and sharp.) Several light strokes may be necessary to cut completely through the material. It is safer to use several light cuts rather than one heavy stroke, as serious accidents can be avoided using this technique. Multi-purpose scissors are also a useful tool for cutting these shapes.

As the pieces are cut, they should be attached to the hardboard with white glue or, preferably, a hot-glue gun. This process is continued until the entire landscape is cut apart and reconstructed in carpet textures. The landscape is now extended by drawing a continuation of the image beyond the inner trim to the outer border. This may require some additional design consideration, as the original composition must be expanded to, and around, the exterior border. More details or objects may be added to the initial landscape. The drawing should wrap up and around both trims. This will make the finished artwork move across the entire surface of the construction.