Instructions to Create Your Final Art Piece:
 

Goals for the week:

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1. Choose your sections

2. Begin creating your final art piece

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Activities:

• Choose your section, and 2. download your section. 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XHq1_Iv9IoZWZLvpe7Yx11euSJjNK5wMIBwqqzeBoFE/edit

This document will guide you STEP by STEP. There is lots of super useful information in there. 

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• Shape your ‘canvas’ to the shape of your section.

Your art piece is going live inside the shape you chose. How do you create your art within this shape? There are two different ways you can approach this. 1. You can transfer the outline of the shape onto the surface, and then make your art is inside this outline. Or 2. You can make your art on a rectangular surface; and once your art is finished, Alejandro and Melanie can take a photo, and crop the art in the shape of your final art piece. Here is more information on both of these methods:

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1.Transferring the digital shape onto a large physical surface 

Transfer the image using the Grid Method. Since Egyptian times, artists have been using the Grid Method as a drawing tool for more accuracy. The Grid Method is super fun, and it can be pretty easy. For detailed steps to the Grid Method, go HERE (grid link).  

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2.Or, cropping after we take photos of your final piece.

At the end of the project, participants will drop off their art to a determined location. In September, Alejandro and Melanie will take high resolution photos of all the art work. Once the art work lives digitally, your artwork is cropped out to fit the shape of your section.. 

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The risks of the second method is that sections of your artwork will be cropped out. This becomes a problem when there are essential elements in your story. For example, if a character, a letter, or a symbol, gets cropped out, the meaning of your story may change. But if your image is an ongoing pattern, free-form shapes, or abstract, cropping parts of it may not be a problem.

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• CREATE YOUR FINAL ART PIECE!!

This is a very exciting stage. You’ve been learning many things in the past nine weeks. From creating concepts and themes, to using metaphors, and sketching stories. There are many truths about power we need to voice. What are those truths you are feeling pulled to uncover?

There are many ways you can approach a collage. Here is some advice:

1. Cover the whole surface. 

2. As you are reusing pieces of paper that have faces, objects and text, it is also useful to add pieces of paper of just colours and textures. This will help your collage to look less busy. 

3. Feel free to use sharpies in case you need to outline certain images to create contrast. 

4. Before gluing anything, it is recommendable to create the whole piece by placing the pieces one on top of the other. Once you are happy with your end result, begin gluing. 

5. Glue stick may work better than liquid glue. Liquid glue can wrinkle your paper, especially if you are using magazines that have very thin paper. 

6. Even Though Modge Podge is super fun to use for collage, it is always a good idea to run a test on your Modge Podge before using it on your final piece. Some Modge Podge can be too liquid on thin magazine paper and make your piece really wrinkly. 

• Supporting Materials:

Collage: Check artist Kass Copeland and her political collage portraits.  https://kasscopeland.wixsite.com/kasscopeland/collage

Collage: Check artist Johanna Goodman and her political collages. Collage: Check artist Kass Copeland and her political collage portraits:  

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Dada collages: Learn about 8 women, Dada artists, creating collages after WWII.  https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-women-dada-hannah-hoch-beatrice-wood 

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Truth to Power: Check out how Adbusters Magazine speaks truth to power by reusing images from the media (DISCLAIMER: language used here may be offensive) https://www.adbusters.org/spoof-ads