Connecting with (Immigrant) Kids through Art

Art is an excellent way to connect cross-culturally. It easily crosses any boundaries of language and becomes a language unto itself. I use art as a "guided meditation" to help children (and the mothers) to express their experiences and to name God present in their circumstances. As I often say to the women and children in my mediocre Spanish: I do not have enough words in Spanish to express my love and concern for you, but through art we can have a conversation that we all can understand. I provide basic steps and show a sample related to the project. Then everyone interprets and expresses as desired. I let them know that there are no rules when Pastor Helen does art. Have fun. Use any of the supplies that you would like. Express what is on your heart.

There are LOTS of options for art-making.

Punch tools in various shapes are popular with the kids.

Experimenting with 99% Alcohol and Pastels

I've been wanting to experiment with 99% isopropyl alcohol as a medium to "set" pastels to reduce or eliminate the need to use sprays. I'd special ordered the alcohol from a local pharmacy but had never gotten around to giving the technique a try. When my artist friend Tanya arrived for our Saturday art play day it was the perfect opportunity. She'd brought a box of pastels and I introduced the alcohol concept which she embraced as willing to experiment. 

I about had a heart attack when Tanya opted to begin the experiment in the center of her art! She poured alcohol in the lid of the bottle, dipped a cotton swab in the alcohol and gently applied. 

Once the cotton swab became too tedious she switched to a foam brush.

I'm the spirit of experimentation she lets excess alcohol from the "dirty" foam brush drip onto one strip of art which I had used to clean my rollers (I was mono printing with latex house paint). The alcohol puddled up on the latex paint. Once dry the pastels were adequately embedded on the surface and the splattered look "set" without further need for spray.

Mission success! A new way to "set" pastels. Beautifully.

Graphite Paper Image Transfer

Prepared journal page: white gesso with pastels.

And easy way to "be" an artist is to use graphite paper to do an image transfer of a photograph onto your journal. The process will "trash" your picture so make sure you use a copy. The ideal image would be to make a digital file of your original by either scanning it OR take a closeup digital picture of the picture. Then size it to fit your journal page and push print on a cheap B&W inkjet printer. Voila! Ready to transfer. Follow the steps indicated in the cations of the sample shown here to create an image transfer with graphite paper.

Position graphite paper face down under picture.

Use graphite pencil on picture as guide for outlining and shading.

Remove the graphite paper to see transferred image.

Enhance with graphite pencil as desired.

Graphite paper image transfer that has been enhanced with additional shading.

Border details on right page: stamped images of "girl" things to represent his wife.

Border details on the left page: stamped images of "boy" things (bugs, trucks, etc.)

The completed journal page: Growing UP

The catalyst for this reflection piece was actually an old piece of art I found when cleaning out our back shed: a silhouette image of our son that was done when he was in pre-school 26 years ago. The framed size is 16x20. I didn't want to hang onto it, but I didn't want to throw it out either. So, I recycled the art by taking a digital photograph of it and then I printed it on my cheap inkjet printer to fit inside my journal. It sat there for quite awhile (several months) before "part two" emerged in my reflection process which became this piece.

Adding Zentangle to the Mixed Media Mix

Stamped image with Zentangle and pastel shading.

Zentangle is stylized doodling with the intention to foster mediation and relaxation through the redundancy and tedium of repetitive marks with a black micron/fine tip pen. It also is an interesting addition to mixed media art journaling; whether it takes over the page or whether it is added here and there. The key is to "tangle" away (AKA practice this stylized doodling) and see what works best for YOU!
 I am using my 3-1/2" x 5-1/2" pocket journal to experiment with mixed media and Zentangle. So far, my favorite materials include black OR colored micron pens with a stamped image and pastels OR graphite pencil for gentle shading.

Zentangle around stamped flower with yellow pastel for shading.

Colored micron pens with pastels for shading.

Black micron pen with graphite pencil in the middle to shade.

Colored micron pens zentangled around stamped butterfly image; yellow pastel for shading.

A Hope and a Future

I recently put together a series of scrapbooks for our grown son which are collection of photos, grade cards, assorted memorabilia from school and family vacations, and art work and classwork. In the process I was reminded of the roller-coaster-ride his teenage years had been. By way of processing the mom in me, I created a timeline overview of those roller coast years high school through college graduation. For the background I used eight B&W "proofs" that I had taken of him as his high school senior portraits. I used a light coat of clear gesso on the photographs then tinted each picture with a different color Pan Pastel. I adhered these to a journal page and indicated the ups and downs with the "timeline" chart. The hand colored (with pastels) portrait on the bottom right was my favorite of the portrait series and it indicates the son I knew (and again now know). I cut the portrait into even 1/2-inch strips and adhered them down with spaces between strips to indicate the brokenness of this time in his life.

I initially titled the page "CLIMBING FOOL'S HILL" because my father-in-law calls ages 16-25 climbing fool's hill which was exactly our experience with our son. But I switched the title to A HOPE AND A FUTURE to reflect our prayer and confidence in God throughout this season. The title is based upon the verse of scripture by the prophet Jeremiah in the Old Testament (Jeremiah 29:11). All these years later it was helpful to put the ups and downs into perspective: to name the pain but also to celebrate the triumphs as he gradually climbed the hill and became the responsible young man that we knew he would one-day be. For the top layer I stenciled the Bible verse from Jeremiah 29:11. For some, the tedium of using a stencil is painfully annoying, but it is this tedium and slowness which helps to facilitate reflecting thinking. In other words, it is not just about doing the art but also (and equally important) about the thinking (and feeling) during the art process.This reflection/art process would work equally well to plot a vocational journey, marriage, or grieving process.

Draft out the timeline on scratch paper before putting into the art.

A portion of the timeline of the high school years.

Simple hand coloring with pastels. 

A portion of the timeline of the college years.

Birthday Flowers

I tried (and failed) to do an image transfer photograph of my birthday flowers onto encaustics. Then I tried and failed to adhere it as a photograph. I used the second failed attempt as a template, cutting around each portion of the flowers and then edging a groove outline onto the plain wax of the page. Then I used oil pastels, Pan Pastels and colored encaustic paints to record the birthday flowers (a lily and a tulip) on the right side. I did a "mirror image" hand colored B&W on the left.

Grooves outline the shape of the flowers.

 It was an exercise in appreciation: for my flowers.

Oil pastels on the tulip.

Pan Pastels on the lily.

The left page is a hand colored (pencils & pastels) on plain laser printer white paper.

Abundance with Encaustics

 Background prep: white gesso in an altered book. Smudge on several colors of Inka Gold Metallic Rub. Add a layer of pretty paper. Cut out a watercolor flower from another piece of art paper and layer on top. Edge the page with washi tape. Now: time to experiment with encaustic wax. Begin by coating the pages with a layer of clear wax/encaustic.

 This is the "disappearing tissue paper" technique in Encaustic Workshop by Patricia Baldwin Seggebruch. Draw a design with very soft pastels on a piece of tissue paper cut to the appropriate size. Layer it on the pre-coated (with clear wax) page and seal with a heat gun. I added encaustics on top of the watercolor flower and fused the wax with a heat gun. During the art process of I had been thinking about my prayer for our son & daughter-in-law. I kept thinking "abundance" but I waited and listened, and prayed, and I realized that my prayer for abundance for this is peace, hope, and love. I added a second "disappearing tissue paper" with the words "Peace Hope Love."

 Then I stenciled "abundance" into the wax with a graphite pencil.

Experimenting with Encaustics

Dry pastels and oil pastels on corrugated cardboard.

 I had a fun evening experimenting with encaustics (hot wax) with an avid high school art student who also wanted to experiment. We fired up the pancake griddle, filled the mini muffin tins with assorted colors, and experimented with mixed media and encaustic wax. Among the experiments, we used soft (dry) pastels on corrugated cardboard with oil pastels topped with encaustics. We also used dry pastels on tissue paper that we then embedded on a board using layers of clear wax. There was no goal; simply to experiment with some of the ideas I've ready about in books on how to incorporate encaustics into mixed media art.

Dry pastels on tissue paper topped with clear wax.

The palette: wax in mini muffin tins.

Adding hot wax selectively with a paint brush to board covered with dry & oil pastels.

Using a hot (travel) iron to spread the previously applied encaustic wax.