Origami

Origami is the Japanese art of paper folding. You have probably seen paper cranes before, and I’m sure you’ve folded a paper airplane. Both paper cranes and paper airplanes are origami (but that doesn’t mean you should play with either in class!).

The Chinese had paper long before the Japanese. Sometime after 500AD the Chinese introduced the paper to the Japanese. It wasn’t long before they began folding paper into art.

Origami became very important to the Japanese. Origami folded around dried meat was often attached to gifts. This origami, called noshi, was thought to bring luck.

Origami plays a part at some Japanese weddings, too. Origami butterflies are placed on wine bottles to represent the bride and groom.

The best-known origami legend has to do with paper cranes. It is believed that if you fold 1000 paper cranes, one of your wishes will be granted. It would take a long time to fold 1000 paper cranes but the result would be beautiful. And who knows, maybe one of your wishes will come true!

Fold your own origami cranes, butterflies, paper airplanes, and more at this great site!

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Berthe Morisot

Berthe Morisot was born in 1841 to a wealthy government official. When Morisot was 11, her family moved to Paris. Because her father was important, and because the family had money, Morisot and her two sisters received proper education. They had tutors for many subjects including art.

Berthe Morisot and her sister Edma both showed artistic talent and decided to become painters. Though very few women became professional painters in the 1800s, the sisters were encouraged by their family.

The young women painted side-by-side until Edma got married and decided to become a fulltime mother.
Berthe Morisot showed her work at the Paris Salon each year for nine years. She met Manet. She posed for him and the two painters learned many things from each other.

Morisot then made friends with several Impressionist painters and became an Impressionist herself. Morisot showed her work with the Impressionists until the final exhibition in 1886. She missed only one of the eight Impressionist exhibitions.

When she was 33, Morisot married Edouard Manet’s brother, Eugene. They had a daughter, Julie, who became Morisot’s favorite subject to paint. After Eugene died, Julie and her mother painted side-by-side.

Morisot died in 1895.
Berthe Morisot, like Mary Cassatt, painted a lot of family scenes. Most of her paintings show women and children. She used quick brush strokes, in the Impressionist style, and preferred light colors. You won’t see black in Morisot’s paintings, though there are sometime touches of dark grey, dark blue, or dark green.

The paintings above, in order, are The Cradle, Reading, and Lady at her Toilette.

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The Art Lesson by Tomie dePaola

The Art Lesson by Tomie dePaola is the story of a boy who loves to draw. He goes to school, excited to begin art class, and finds that his art teacher expects the students to copy her drawings off the board. Tommy wants to be creative! He wants to use his brand new birthday crayons, not the powdery school paints! You’ll have to read the story to find out how Tommy deals with this problem.

This story is somewhat autobiographical. Tomie dePaola is, of course, an author and illustrator of children’s books. It’s inspiring to read the story of a boy who grows up to do exactly what he always wanted to do.

I recommend this book to anyone who loves to draw.

I’d love to hear your opinions about this book. Please feel free to leave comments.

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Museum History

Awhile back I read a book that talked about the way museums have changed over the centuries. I was thinking about how differently museums are set up today than they were in the 1700s. I found it interesting and thought I would share the information with you.

Before the 1800s, museums were places where wealthy people could go to look at art. These wealthy people thought of workers as dirty and noisy. They certainly didn’t want dirty, noisy people ruining their trips to the museum. Because of this, museums were only open when workers would be working. They also had dress codes that made sure that workers wouldn’t be able to afford the right clothing to visit.

Paintings were hung from floor to ceiling, in no particular order. There were no identification cards to give visitors information about the paintings. Even if a worker were somehow able to visit a museum, he would have no idea what he was looking at.

In 1803, the King of France decided that everyone should be able to visit museums. He wanted museums to help educate people. On his orders, the Louvre stopped enforcing its dress code and changed its hours so that workers could visit. The museum also began to arrange its artwork into exhibits which included informational cards. At first, the paintings were arranged into only four categories: Dutch, French, Flemish, and Italian. Over time the exhibits became more and more specific.

Today, paintings are hung only at eye level and every painting has its own informational card. Sometimes you can receive more information about a painting by listening to an audio tour. Many museums even offer guided tours. There are often events and activities designed to help kids understand the artwork they see. Museums truly do try to educate their visitors about art.

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Create Your Own Fine Art Puzzle

Here is another use for those old calendar pictures. If you don’t have any old calendars you can print a picture from the internet. You could also use a photo (just make sure to get permission first!).

Supplies Needed:

Picture
Poster board
Glue stick
Scissors
Decorative-edged scissors (optional)
Spread glue over every inch of your picture and stick it to your piece of poster board. If you feel that your puzzle is still too thin, glue a second sheet of poster board to the back.
Use either your decorative-edged scissors or your regular scissors to cut the picture into pieces. I’ve given you examples of both. A third option is to trace the pieces of a puzzle that you already have. If you choose to do this, make sure your puzzles are the same size before you start. Also, trace the pieces onto the back so your pencil marks don’t show on the picture.
Enjoy your new puzzle!

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