Ruth Marcus teaches an art class with students who are mostly Sudanese refugees. Recently she did a project where they learned how to make some basic pop-ups. “With only two pieces of paper, some cutting and some glue, the kids can make moving cards of their very own, and color all over them as well.” Visit the kids at Ruth’s blog to see more photos.
The long-awaited Volume 2 of Carol Barton’s The Pocket Paper Engineer is on it’s way, and will be available in late June. This volume will cover the steps in constructing four glued pop-ups: platforms, props, spirals, and straddles. The book includes ten new projects to be constructed right out of the book, plus lots of photos, ideas, and step-by-step instructions for creating your own pop-ups.
Visit http://www.popularkinetics.com/sales_page.html to place your pre-publication order now!
A number of readers have sent us emails about the paper sculptures of Danish artist Peter Callesen. We’ve been a fan of Callesen’s work for some time; his single-sheet, dreamlike renditions of fairy-tale figures are all the more magical because he works with the simplest of materials. If you’re not familiar with his work, be sure to visit his nicely-designed web site to enjoy a few minutes respite from the workaday world. petercallesen.com
And speaking of castles, Carolyn Hughes reminds us of another pop-up media sighting, Bruce Foster’s animated pop-up book seen as the opening and closing of the Disney movie Enchanted.
We’ve just returned from China where The Pocket Paper Engineer, Volume 2, is being printed, and one of the things we’re always fascinated by there are the joss papers. Also known as dzi-dzat, these are paper reproductions of commerical objects that are burned as offerings for the dead. Traditional joss papers are silver and gold paper squares. Others take the form of stacks of faux paper money (known as “hell notes”). But these days, all manner of objects are appearing in temple stores: paper cell phones, TV sets, laptops, and even small cars, to be burned in large ovens on site. Pictured above is one of our favorites, a dental kit featuring a paper toothbrush, toothpaste tube, mouthwash bottle and cup.
The tradition of joss papers goes back to feudal China, when printed paper charms and offerings were displayed and burned at auspicious times of the year. For more information on joss papers, visit these sites:
wikepedia.com
latimes.com
library.thinkquest.org
Want some fun furniture for your kids to play on? Try making these folded paper pieces: a stool, a chair, and a rocker. Designed by Swiss architect Nicola Enrico Staubli, these simple yet sturdy items can be constructed from corrugated cardboard (preferably recycled) and decorated with paints, crayons, or collage elements. You can download the patterns for free from Staubli’s Foldschool web site: http://foldschool.com/_objects/objects_stool/objects_stool.html
Paper Animation is hot this year! Fraud in the 80’s is a light-hearted music video by the band Mates of State that combines paper cut-outs, collage, dancing art materials, and more. Here’s the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERW1UfLalw4
The ABC web site is now up! ABC stands for Arts, Books, & Creativity, and is an elementary-level arts integration program that helps students make connections between visual art, writing, and other classroom subjects. Based on a two-year pilot program designed by the National Museum of Women in the Arts and funded by the U.S. Department of Education, ABC is a model for integrating the visual arts into core school curicula.
A complete set of lesson plans on incorporating book arts into the classroom is now available on the web site, www.artbookscreativity.org Please pass this information on to any teachers who might be interested in utilizing this important resource! I’ve been involved as one of the artist-teachers in this program from its inception, and have found that teaching kids to make their own books empowers them to improve their reading and writing skills, explore new subject matter, and develop three-dimensional design and trial-and-error problem-solving techniques. In an era when the arts have been reduced or cut from many school programs, this is an important way to incorporate them back into the classroom as a vital teaching tool.
Did you ever want to pop up photos of your family, your pet, or your best friends? Now you can, by following the step-by-step instructions we’ve posted on Wikipedia’s How-To Encyclopedia. Just go to http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Pop-up-Photograph.
The Wikihow Encyclopedia covers a wealth of subjects, from crafts, to plumbing, to how to make Eggs Benedict. You can add the “How-To Of The Day” selection to your own Google page by going to www.google.com/ig. And we’re excited that our Pop-Up Photo How-To has been chosen by Google to appear as their feature on September 10th!
Lesson plans on how to incorporate book arts into standard classroom curicula will be available this fall on a new web site sponsored by the National Museum of Women in the Arts. The web site will be posted in September. Please pass this information on to any teachers you know who might be interested in utilizing this important free resource within their classrooms! Email me and I will send you an announcement with the web address when it is up.
ABC (Art, Books, and Creativity) is an elementary-level arts integration curriculum that helps students make connections between visual art, writing, and other classroom subjects. Funded by the U.S. Department of Education, ABC is a model for integrating the visual arts into core school curicula. I have been involved as one of the artist-teachers in this program from its inception, and have found that teaching kids to make their own books empowers them to improve their storytelling and writing skills, explore new subject matter, and develop three-dimensional design and trial-and-error problem-solving techniques.
In an era when the arts have been reduced or cut from many school programs, this is an important way to incorporate them back into the classroom as a vital teaching tool. Please take advantage of this resource!
Quick-change artist Ennio performed in Washington, D.C., this summer, donning over 20 paper costumes and miming to the music of a host of well-known stars and musicians.
Born in Venice, Italy, Ennio began making costumes for the Venetian carnival while at the same time working in his father’s espresso machine repair shop. He made his first paper costume of Marilyn Monroe in the 1980’s to amuse his family and friends. Since then, his repertoire has grown. He has teamed up with costume and fashion designer Sosthen Hennekam, and has taken his act around the globe, combining mime, dance, and music with his over 300 cardboard and paper outfits.
Watch Ennio’s performance on YouTube, or visit his web site to learn more about his work.
