Trash art

Last week on the path we found a key. It was old, rusted, lost a long time ago. My first reaction was to throw it away. But as I looked closely, I thought how it would look if I stitched it on the front of a leather notebook, with the notebook sealed by another means. I won't have any other decoration on the book, just a key that doesn't turn a lock.

This week, look for materials on the ground. What items look like trash, but really will make a great piece of art? Fabric scraps? Plastic? Wood? Metal? Powerstation beach might be a good hunting ground.

There are so many hundreds of art sites you can explore. A couple of good ones to get you thinking about combining found objects is An Artist's Journal and The Erosion Bundle Project.

Take photographs of your creations and let's put them on this site.

I'd love to create an inflatable bag monster. Simple and brilliant.

Lichtenstein

Not the first/last time you'll stumble over Lichtenstein, the required pop artist of the exam syllabus industry.

But first! Let's find a magnifying glass! Who's got it? Where is it? Is it down the sofa?

(Intermission until next Friday.)

Aha! Found it! Now use it to examine a variety of print materials. You may see dots! Ask your father. Or find out about the Ben-Day Dots printing process from Wiki.

Now read this kid's guide, then look at the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation site and visit some of his works in museums around the world.

Hey, some of his dots are over the walls at the Gagosian Gallery in Hong Kong! Let's visit and see how he handled China. (You can have ice cream after.)

What do you think? Do you like his dots? Certainly these people do.

How would you reproduce a scene or a subject in the Lichtenstein style? (horse? fish? ice cream? flower?)

Finally... your father's astute contribution: to remind you that you need only one good idea in life, then you can spend the rest of your time and attention making it pay.

Greek sculpture

I say let's trust the BBC.

Watch a clip of How Art Made the World.* (If you like, go on to watch more of this programme or choose other programmes about Greek sculpture.)

Here is a place for information on the Riace bronzes shown at the end of the clip.

Maybe visit this site. (Remember when Mr W helped you make a model of the Parthenon? I bet it's still in his attic.)

On the same site are pages on sculpting material and techniques for marble and bronze.

Look at the explanation for casting bronze at the bottom of the page. Does it remind you of your visit to the Henry Moore sculpture park at Perry Green?

If, after all your reading and talking, you want to try the quiz, go ahead. (I knew more than I thought.)

Me, I want to visit Greece. Who's coming?

*Maybe a particular geographic area of the world and a particular way of looking at it. There's plenty of world not affected by Greek art 2,500 years ago. What do you think?

Aachen to Zais

Time for some European art! Visit the National Gallery website.

On the sidebar under Explore the paintings, you choose how to access the works - by artist, century, or pot luck.

Click around and choose a painting that you like. Visit it, and tell me why you chose it. When we're in England, let's make a date to go and see them!