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Hello, friends and students!  Since I can't teach Play-Shops in person right now, I thought I would occasionally send out something for you to try at home.

For those of you who have never attended a Play-Shop, and as a reminder for those who have, a word about the point of them.  Some art teachers hold classes that are aimed at teaching the students to make a finished piece of art just like the teacher makes.  Play-Shops are not like that at all!  They are not about "making a piece of art," (although that happens sometimes, often by happy accident.)  The point of a Play-Shop is to experiment and get absorbed in the experience; to try things out and see what happens, and question, and discover.
   We also never use expensive materials, and you never have to think of yourself as an artist, or be able to draw (although both are fine if you want!)

So, whether you want something to distract you from worrying about the current state of the world, or want something fun to do with your kids or grandkids, see a short version of the tutorial below, or follow the link to see the full details on my blog!  And hopefully one day before too long, we'll be able to play together in person.  Feel free to send me pictures of your experiments; I love to see what other people are doing and making!
 
peace,     Janet
Tutorial - making rubbings
 
Inspired by the amazing Terry Maker, who has an installation at the Longmont Museum right now, (which has been extended till September; go see it when it re-opens!) I have been exploring making rubbings the last few weeks.  Now, before you start thinking "That's just for kindergartners,"  it is actually an honest-to-goodness art technique, going by the name frottage, and used most famously by surrealist painter Max Ernst.

Materials:
Paper: 
Preferably blank and lightweight, but be creative; use the "this page intentionally left blank" page from something, or a brown paper lunch sack!
Pencil or crayons:  Softer pencil lead (B or 2B) gives a darker impression than HB, but they all work. Kids' crayons can be fun.  Colored pencils work nicely.  Any of the above should be sharp, so you have a large flat surface along the side of the point.
Textures to rub over:  This can be anything with a hard textured surface.  (Fabric doesn't work well unless you can stretch it taught over a hard surface.)  Once you start looking for textures, you will start seeing them in unexpected places!  Experiment!  Use scratch paper to test things for suitability.
Optional:
Watercolor paints: 
These don't need to be artists' grade (although they could be.) The kids' pan sets that you can buy anywhere for a couple bucks will work.
Lightweight card-stock and a glue stick: if you want to make your own rubbing plates.  Junk mail postcards are perfect for this, and the cardboard from a cereal or cracker box for the backing.

 
So  this email doesn't get too overloaded with pictures, I've put a few below, but the full explanation and lots more pictures are on
this post on my blog!
Follow the link for way more fun. (no ads, I promise!)

PROCESS: 
There are two styles of rubbings; over "found" texture, or over "created" texture. 

Let's start with found texture; things around the house to make rubbings of.  Find something you want to make a rubbing of, tape or hold your paper over it, and start rubbing with the flat side of the tip of your pencil or crayon.  The angle at which you hold the mark-making tool will change the character of the marks!
Can you see how flat to the paper I am holding the pencil?  You can also tell I was pulling dandelions right before I did this; my fingers are all stained!

Here are some things I found to take rubbings of:
On the left, the door of my studio.  On the right, the bathroom wall.
This is a bamboo mat, found at a thrift store, on my husband's bedside table.
Now, here are some of my home-made rubbing plates.  For more info about how to make them, go the the full tutorial on my blog, HERE.



Here's a block design rubbing plate, rubbed with both pencil and crayon.

And here's the beginning of a flowered one.  The nice thing about making your own is you can test them out and then modify them!
The next thing I often do is go over my rubbing with watercolor.  Sometimes this is all, and sometimes I also draw on them with colored pens, especially on plainer ones, which then become the background for a little drawing.
Does that look like fun?  If you'd like to see more detail of this process, and try it out yourself, check out the full tutorial here:
That's the Rub, on www.icouldmakeartoutofthis.com

If you'd like to spread the fun, click here to FORWARD this email to a friend.
This is my favorite one so far!  It was designed especially to make cards to send to folks who might feel lonesome sheltering-in-place.  I will have sets of these on my Etsy Shop soon, or follow the tutorial and make your own!


P.S.  Because I know someone will ask; the piece of art at the very top of this email was made with a rubbing of the bottom of this coiled basket.
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