Caught In the Rain: A Lace Doodle

Read about how my lace drawing, and video, came into existence:

One day, earlier this year, I was sitting in school with all my work done. There was still more than ten minutes of class left, so I decided to take out a piece of paper and draw. The only paper I had at the time was lined or graph paper. I chose the graph paper because it had lighter lines.

At this point, I did not know what I was going to draw. First, I needed a writing utensil. All my pencils needed sharpening. I managed to find a pen that barely worked. I moved the pen in circles to get the ink started.








When I took the pen away, I noticed that these squiggly lines looked like stitches in cloth. I practiced making this type of line a few times, as you can see in the photo on the left, and then decided to draw lace.










I was not able to finish my drawing before I had to switch classes. However, when I got home, I decided to work on it. My camera and tripod were already nearby, so I filmed myself drawing. I didn't notice that there was a smudge on my camera until after I finished the drawing. I didn't have time to start over. Instead, I saved the footage on my computer, and debated whether to turn it into a video.

Months went by. I soon forgot about the lace video. When the school year ended, I took all my papers and folders home. The other day, I was flipping through one of these folders when I found my lace drawing.

The corner had been damaged from one day where I had to walk through heavy rain, but luckily the water had not reached the ink.

Looking at this paper again, I decided to finish the video I had filmed months before. The footage was a little shaky, but I felt that since this drawing had survived the rain storm, it was worth finishing the video.

And here it is:

Printmaking: The Element Stannum (Tin)

In my art class at school, we made our own prints that represented an element. I was given the element stannum, which is more commonly known as tin. The stamps had to include the atomic number and symbol.

First, I made three sketches with a black, thin-tipped sharpie:

 As far as archaeological records show, tin was first discovered by people somewhere in Europe or the Middle East. This map with a question mark symbolizes how the exact location of the first tin mine is unknown.

(This is the sketch I used to make my print.)

 Tin can be melted with copper to form bronze. This process was first used around 3000 BC, a time known as the bronze age.

The atomic symbol of copper is Cu, and the atomic symbol of stannum is Sn.

Bronze is used to make bells and other objects.

Tin is also used to coat the spot where two wires join.

 After I decided which design I would use, I traced the sketch with pencil.

Then, I flipped the tracing paper, placed the paper on top of a board, and used a pen to go over the edges of the design.







Next, I used a cutting tool to remove material from the areas of negative space. When I was done carving my stamp, it looked like this:

I used a roller to put paint on my stamp. Then, I placed a paper on top, and pressed the paper down by rubbing a wooden spoon over it in a circular motion. I carefully removed the paper, and let it dry overnight.

This is what what the final stamp looked like:

An Attempt at Making Clay Food

For my Spanish class, I had to preform a restaurant scene. We were allowed to use props, and I decided to make clay food (rolls, flan, and a strawberry).

Dinner Rolls:

I made clay rolls by making aluminum foil balls, and covering them in a thin layer of baking clay. I wanted to paint the rolls with different shades of brown, to make the rolls appear baked. I used watercolor paints, until all the colors started to blend together. When I tried to add a second coat of paint, the first coat became wet again. In the end, I painted the entire roll with one shade of brown. I placed the rolls in a wicker basket.

Flan:

I thought it would be easier to make the flan out of paper mache than clay. First, I tried to make the flan out of a yogurt container covered in paper mache. The next day, the paper mache dried, but the yogurt container smelled like spoiled milk, even though I had washed it with soap and water. I decided to throw this flan away, but I didn't give up.

I looked through the recycling for a container shaped like a flan. I found a plastic applesauce container, which didn't smell of spoiled food. Due to lack of time, I decided to paint the container without covering it with paper mache. I covered the entire container, inside and outside, with yellow acrylic paint. After the yellow paint dried, I covered the top of the flan with light brown acrylic paint.

Once all of the paint dried, I placed the flan on a plastic plate. Then, I placed a clay strawberry on top of the flan.

The Strawberry:

The strawberry was the only piece of food I was able to make without any problems arising. It was made out of baking clay, which I covered with acrylic paint. To see how I made the strawberry, click the video below:

First Post, First Video

Hello Reader,

    My name is Miriam Sachs, and art is my passion. In 2012, I started the YouTube channel Varietygirl1. My first video was How to Draw a Five Petal Flower, which went live on November 29, 2012.

   Since then, I have uploaded eleven more videos, and am currently editing five more. I enjoy using my camera to capture the process of making pieces, but a camera can't capture everything. This blog will allow me to share artwork I made off camera, and give viewers a chance to see behind-the-scenes sketches and the thought process that went into making the videos. It will also allow me to infuse another one of my passions into my artwork, writing.

  

  I hope both my channel and blog will inspire and teach. Enjoy.

My YouTube Channel:

https://www.youtube.com/user/Varietygirl1