NaNoWriMo

I have decided to participate in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). During November I will attempt to write a 50,000 word novel (about 200 pages, double spaced). This will be a great challenge but one that I believe I’m up for.

I will still post five days a week during November and I hope the articles will meet standards, but please bear with me if you notice that you are reading many entries about Vincent van Gogh. He will be a character in my novel and I have been and will continue to do a lot of research on him.

NaNoWriMo also has a Young Writer’s Program for writers 12 years or younger. You choose your own word-count goal ahead of time and you will be victorious if you reach that goal by November 30. If you need help setting a reasonable word-count goal, your parents or teachers may be able to help.

If you decide to participate in NaNoWriMo, leave me a comment and we can encourage each other along the way. At the end of posts throughout November you’ll notice a word count and, if you’re interested, you can track my progress. I would love to hear about your progress throughout November!

19 Days until NaNoWriMo!

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Book Recommendation: The Young Artist by Thomas Locker

Thomas Locker’s picture book, The Young Artist, tells the story of Adrian who becomes an artist through apprenticeship. Adrian’s story is different than that of the typical apprentice because he is the artist’s only apprentice. Also, this artist’s main goal is to teach Adrian, not to make money for himself.

Still, Adrian struggles with many of the issues an artist of the past would have had to deal with. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn more about how an artist would have lived in an age without art schools. Find out how Adrian is able to create the art he wants and still earn enough money to live.

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Learning Art Through Apprenticeships

Until only recently—the last 200 years or so—artists learned about their trade and made their name known to art buyers by becoming a famous artist’s apprentice. The artist acted as the teacher and the apprentice was the student. For some, becoming an artist’s apprentice meant they could do a job they loved and earn enough money for their families to live. Others never became artists, either because they weren’t talented enough, or did not please the artist they were supposed to be learning from.

A new artist’s apprentice would do tasks that were not even related to art, such as cleaning the studio. Eventually, he would be allowed to clean the paintbrushes and help mix paints. After several years of these tasks, if the artist liked the apprentice enough and thought he had enough talent, the artist would let him work along side him. Sometimes the apprentice would get good enough and become well known enough to be an artist himself, with his own apprentices.

Today, anyone can be an artist. Anyone who wants to can go to school to learn art. Though art apprenticeships still exist, they are different than those of the past. They do not involve years of cleaning another artist’s studio.

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Create Your Own Papier Mache Sculpture

Making a huge papier mache sculpture like Niki de Saint Phalle is not easy, but making a smaller one is very simple. Follow the directions below to create one of your own.

Supplies Needed:

Newspaper, torn into strips
Flour
Water
Salt
Bowl
Acrylic Craft Paint
Paintbrush
Cup for rinsing paintbrush
Craft Sealant
Coated Craft Wire (Optional)

Cover your work space with sheets of newspaper to make clean up easy. Gather your supplies.

In a bowl, mix one cup of flour, two tablespoons of salt, and two cups of water and stir until the mixture is smooth. You’ll know you’ve stirred it enough when it looks like thick glue. In the picture you can see that my mixture still has a few lumps left but it worked fine. Keep you wooden spoon handy for stirring later because the floor tends to settle at the bottom of the bowl .
I find it’s easier to create a sculpture if you make a frame out of wire and then attach the papier mache to the frame. This is what Edgar Degas did when he created Little Dancer, Age Fourteen. You don’t have to do this, though. Be careful when twisting the wire—the ends can be sharp.
Dip a strip of newspaper into the papier mache mixture and wet both sides. Try to wipe off any extra mixture. This will allow your sculpture will dry faster. I find it’s easiest to run the strip through your fingers to wipe off the excess. Then add the strip to your sculpture. Keep adding strips until the sculpture looks the way you want it.
Let your sculpture dry. This could take as long as two days depending on how much papier mache you used.

When the sculpture has dried, use your acrylic craft paint to decorate it. Let the paint dry and then brush on some craft sealant like Mod Podge to protect your sculpture and to make it shiny.

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Sculpture Spotlight: Niki de Saint Phalle

Niki de Saint Phalle, born in Paris in 1930, became famous for her enormous and colorful sculptures. Most of these sculptures are of women, and are called Nanas, but she did sculpt other subjects, as you can see here. These are picture of Stravinsky Fountain in Paris, France.

De Saint Phalle created her first Nana in 1965 out of papier mache. Later, she began using plaster because it was sturdier and allowed her to make sculptures so huge that people could walk through them. The Grotto in Hannover, Germany and the Tarot Garden in Tuscany, Italy are two of these sites.

After building a sculpture, she painted or applied mosaic in wild patterns and bright colors. If you ever get a chance to visit one of de Saint Phalle’s sculpture gardens you will have a great time. They are like playgrounds made out of beautiful sculpture.

You’ll also notice that there are a lot of fountains and metal sculptures in de Saint Phalle’s gardens. These were created by her husband, Jean Tinguely. I like the contrast between the dark, cold, metal sculptures by Tinguely and the rounded, happy, colorful sculptures by de Saint Phalle. What do you think?

For more information about Niki de Saint Phalle, click to visit her official website.

Check back tomorrow to learn how to make your own papier mache sculpture!

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