Welcome to ArtStarts Explores.
I’m Kay and I work at ArtStarts
as a Gallery Coordinator and Preparator.
I started the ArtStarts Explores program
3 years ago, and am excited to
bring a version online that
can be enjoyed
by families across the province.
Today, we’re going to explore
the theme of Tracing.
The word tracing can mean different things
when exploring art-making such as
copying and transferring an image from
one surface to another, using an object
to create an outline, or drawing an image
into or through a material.
You can also say that you left a trace
when you mark a surface or
leave an impression behind.
We use tracing to help us
quickly make copies, leave outlines
or marks to help us cut-out patterns,
and even to help us learn,
like when we trace the alphabet
to practice writing our letters.
If you’ve never joined us for Explores
in the past, I want to take
a quick moment to tell you about
3 rules or guidelines we like to follow.
First: is respect.
We practice respect for ourselves
by listening to how we feel,
respect for others by listening and sharing,
respect for the land by
acknowledging the nations and
indigenous people who have served
and continue to serve as guardians and
stewards of the land and by doing our
best to be respectful guests as
we learn and play here.
Second: is no expectations.
Try not to plan too much before
trying something today.
If we get a picture in our heads
of how something should turn out,
we can be disappointed with ourselves
when it doesn’t. Try to practice
surprising yourself, and always ask
“I wonder what will happen if I…”
Third: is that Nothing is for Keeps.
In the gallery in Vancouver, we like
to say “take nothing home with you
except your experience” but since many
of you are at home now,
we challenge you to unmake everything
you try today! This means, after you’ve
finished trying something, try to
disassemble or take it apart so you
can use it again for something else.
Try not to make any completed thing,
and whenever possible pull from your
recycling bin to practice (and if it can
still be recycled when you’re done?
Put it back). Trying something new
doesn’t need to make something for keeps
- and that’s just what we’re practicing
today!
Let's start exploring tracing together.
Have you ever used your finger to try
tracing a picture in the air? As you move
your finger, can you see a picture in
your brain? What about tracing
your finger through dirt or water?
What happens?
Remember, the ideas
that I suggest we try here are just a
few of the things that you and your
family can try to explore together.
For today’s activity, we’re going to
focus on using light to transfer or show
images through different surfaces so that
we can quickly repeat an image and
be influenced by lines we have drawn
before. We’re going to use a window
to help us with this.
Before we go to the window, I’ve collected
the following things: Tape,
(you could also use poster tack or putty
if you don’t want to tape things
to the window).
Some mark-making tools. I know from
experience that darker markers or a pencil
will show up better than a lighter marker,
but try everything for yourself
rather than just listening to me.
What happens if?...
If you want to use a yellow marker -
see what happens! And finally, some paper.
I like to use printer paper, but I also
suggest you look in your recycling bin.
Old receipts are very see-through so
it’s easy to use them for tracing.
What changes when you use a blank page
compared to one that has marks on it?
Try it out.
Now let’s bring all of our tools over
to the window. If you and your family
are sharing the same window,
you can take turns on different layers.
If the room you pick has different
windows, you could each take a window
and then share what you did at the end.
Tape up your first piece of paper
and draw a mark.
I suggest not making a complete picture -
just a really quick mark.
Next, tape up another piece of paper.
Notice how the light from the window
shows the marks you just drew
through the paper?
Now you can either trace
exactly or add different marks around
those original lines.
Keep adding layers and add new lines
as you go along. When you’re all done,
pull the pages away from the window
and look at each of your drawings.
How are they the same?
How are they different?
Put them back on the window in
different orders.
How does the image you see
when you layer them together change?
There are lots of ways you can
explore tracing, and today
we explored how light travelling
through an object can help reveal
existing images for us to trace.
Be sure to download our
Activity Resource Page this week
for additional questions you can
ask each other as well as some
words you can use to challenge yourself
when you’re practicing tracing.
And don’t forget, when
you’re all done playing and exploring,
try to take things apart and put them
away again so that the only thing that is
left behind are the pictures in your brain.
Thanks for watching this
video today. If you have any suggestions,
please let us know.
If you’re watching this in May 2020,
we’ll be hosting 2 live art-making
workshops over the next
couple of weekends on Saturdays
on Facebook Live where
you can MAKE at home, ask
questions or just watch me practice!
Check us out on Facebook or Instagram
I hope to see you then.