Funky Fun with Chalk Pastels

I recently taught a workshops at my state art teacher's convention called Funky Fun with Chalk Pastels, and I want to share all about it here!  The hands-on workshop was intended to share unusual and innovative ways of using chalk pastels, especially for people who don't like the dust and are fearful of chalk.  The room was set for about 30 people; about 60 attended.  We squashed people everywhere!  Some were even sitting/drawing/painting on the floor!!

Nevertheless, it was a great workshop, with everyone creating enthusiastically.   All photos in this post are pieces created by the workshop participants.  I was blown away by the work they did!

 In the workshop, we mostly used bogus paper, an inexpensive and highly absorbent thickly fibrous ugly gray paper.  I purchased it through Nasco but it can also be purchased elsewhere.  I soaked the bogus paper in a tub of water.  Workshop participants used a variety of soft pastels drawing directly onto the surface of the wet paper.  The chalk pastels become paint-like on the wet surface, creating luscious vivid color!

A second technique was to paint lines in black acrylic on white (or bogus) paper.  Then, areas of the paper could be painted with water, and colored with chalk. 

Or, chalk could be colored and then blended with liquid starch, using your finger, a paintbrush, or a Q-tip. 

An additional technique is called 'chalk dips', and was done on colored or black paper.  Participants dipped their chalk pastel sticks in white tempera paint and worked in bold strokes of chalk.  The paint 'outlines' the chalk color, as in the photos below.  Any color tempera can be used for this technique.

 

My favorite thing that happened in the workshop was the way the participants combined the various techniques and materials.  Chalk dips were added to the chalk drawings on wet bogus paper, and on the white paper with liquid starch. 

And some people combined the chalk on wet bogus, the white tempera chalk dips, and also added the black acrylic.  Can't you see some of these pieces, such as the ones below, re-interpreted as giant abstract paintings in oil or acrylic?

When the pieces dry, they will turn chalky again  (unless the colors were blended with liquid starch, which 'fixes' the chalk).  To restore the vibrancy of the colors and prevent the dry chalk from smearing, you can paint over the artwork with Mod Podge, or some other acrylic gloss varnish (or also Sax Gloss Tempera Varnish) to seal them.  But this needs to be done carefully to prevent smearing the chalk.  I recommend painting the gloss over one chalk color at a time, and rinsing/wiping the brush in between colors. 

 Here's a few more pieces from the workshop.

 

I taught a shorter version of this same workshop three years ago at my state convention.  You can find a blog post about that workshop by clicking HERE.  And click HERE for a link to a post where my after-school students used chalk and liquid starch as part of a project they were doing.  

Presenting a workshop - why YOU should submit a proposal!

It's THAT time of year for art teachers.  Here in NY state, proposals are due soon for workshop presentations at the annual NYSATA convention, held in November.  And I expect that soon, it will again be time to submit proposals for the NAEA annual convention, to be held in Minneapolis in March 2020.

Today, there was a conversation on Facebook about whether or not there were enough elementary workshops at the NAEA in Boston.  My immediate reaction was this: were the people who wanted more elementary workshops willing to present a workshop?  Because, after all, we who attend the convention ARE the convention!

I've been presenting annually at my state convention for at least a dozen years, and nationally for about 5 or 6.  So, I want to tell you why, despite the inconveniences, I continue to present workshops, even now, in my 7th year of retirement.  I'll explain the many benefits of presenting a workshop at either your state convention or at the NAEA convention, in hopes that maybe YOU will take the leap and submit a workshop proposal.  And for full disclosure, I'll explain the negatives as well.  I hope you'll find the positives outweigh the negatives and you'll take the leap and dive in!

FIVE GOOD REASONS TO PRESENT A WORKSHOP:
Presenting a workshop helps you to meet lots of awesome people, and make meaningful connections.
Years ago, before the internet was such a big thing, my region of our state organization (NYSATA) was inactive, and, teaching in a rural school on my own, I knew nobody, and wasn't good at making easy connections in crowds.  I decided to present a workshop at my state convention.  The workshop was a major success, and I suddenly had people inviting me to sit with them at meals, hang out at the Saturday night party, and so on.  They became my friends, and my workshop groupies; I was no longer all alone.  The connections I've made as a result of teaching workshops have been lasting and meaningful. 

Presenting a workshop is a fabulous advocacy tool.
After I presented my first workshop, I brought copies of my evaluations, which were excellent, back to my administration.  They were so proud that I represented my little rural district so well at such a big event, and shared the evaluations with the school board.  It made them value my program, and ME, as the reason the program was successful.

The bonus of this was that, each year afterward, when I requested to go the convention, and they turned down my request, I told them I already had a workshop proposal approved, and they changed their mind and allowed me to go. EVERY TIME!!!  And they made sure that my registration fee, and sometimes my hotel (depending on the year's finances) were paid for.  They wanted our school district to be noticed!

Presenting a workshop helps you to refine your presentation.
We get used to talking to kids.  But adults can be a more challenging audience.  As a result, I've discovered that figuring out how to present successfully to adults helps you to refine your presentation to kids.  You HAVE to be organized and prepared.  If you are not, you'll bomb.  Even in a good workshop, if something goes wrong, you will learn from it.  Last year someone wrote something on an evaluation of one of my NAEA workshops that made me reevaluate my presentation.  I took it as a challenge to improve.  The workshop had been successful but still, there was something to fix.  So I presented the same workshop this year, and tried to hopefully right my wrong!

Presenting a workshop will make you feel appreciated and proud.
At the state level, here in NY, presenters receive a certificate, and a little token certificate for the NYSATA store, to use for something like a t-shirt or an apron.  Nationally, you don't get those perks, but you DO find that people will remember you, and will show their appreciation. Maybe they'll approach you in the vendor hall to tell you you are appreciated.  Maybe they'll offer to help you with your stuff.  Or maybe they'll 'friend' you on Facebook after the convention.  Whatever the case, even without a certificate or token for goodies, you WILL feel appreciated!  And that's something we all need!

It feels good to give back.
Yup, it feels good to share your knowledge with others.  It's as simple as that!

THE DOWNSIDE OF PRESENTING A WORKSHOP
Scheduling of your workshop(s) will define your convention schedule.
You probably won't be attending a workshop before your presentation, unless you want to attend the workshop that will be in the same room where you are presenting.  And you probably won't be attending a workshop after your workshop, because by the time your laptop is back in your bag, or your supplies or visuals are packed back up, you really have to hustle to get to another workshop (unless, of course, you want to attend whatever is in the room you've just presented in!).

Also, workshops at NAEA can be at wacky times.  This year, I taught a studio workshop from 6-7:50pm, which made it more challenging to make dinner plans.  Or maybe your workshop might be right smack in the middle of the day at NAEA, when all your friends are heading to a museum for the afternoon with free admission, and you fear you won't be back in time.  These challenges are not unmanageable.  This year, even with the timing, I still made it to the Boston MFA, and still managed to grab dinner with friends!

You will probably have stuff to transport, beyond your suitcase, and that can be an annoyance.
You'll likely need to bring your laptop for a slide presentation, and maybe you are bringing visuals or examples of some sort.  For a hands-on workshop, you'll need to transport materials, too.  If you are presenting at a distance and need to fly to attend the convention, rather than driving, that can present a challenge.  Nationally, NAEA will pay to cover the costs of shipping your  materials for a ticketed studio workshop.  But they do not cover the costs of shipping anything back home afterward.

Also, you might find yourself dragging your stuff around the convention for a while in order to keep yourself from missing anything, if you aren't staying in a room near enough to quickly drop off your materials/laptop.  Convention centers rarely have lockers where you can put stuff temporarily.

 SO... note that I've listed FIVE positives and only TWO negatives.  Be brave; next time you have the opportunity, offer your expertise!  You won't be disappointed!

NYSATA convention, 2018

 

The week before Thanksgiving, I attended the annual NYSATA (NY State Art Teachers Association) convention.  It's NYSATA's 70th anniversary year, so the convention was held in the city where the organization originated: Buffalo, which is on the opposite side of the state from where I live.  There's so much I would have liked to visit in or near Buffalo, including the Albright Knox Art Gallery, Niagara Falls, and more, but with the combo of a busy convention, teaching two workshops, and winter weather, I never left the convention hotel until it was time for the long drive home.  Hopefully I'll be able to return in better weather to see everything that I missed! 

My first job at the convention was to set up the Bling Your Badge table, that our Region sponsors.  This table was my idea about 1/2 dozen years ago, and I've been in charge of it ever since.  It's a favorite pit stop for attendees at the convention.  I mean, who doesn't like to play with hot glue, rhinestones, pipe cleaners, beads, buttons, sequins, feathers, and more???

I taught two hands-on workshops at the convention.  One, Roofing Felt, was a repeat of a workshop I've taught before at both my state convention and at a regional workshop.  The topic of the other workshop was Kumihimo, which I'll talk about later in this post.

Forty people attended the Roofing Felt workshop, and it was fast, lively, and fun, and everyone did a great job.  I've talked about the roofing felt technique several times before on the blog, HERE, HERE, and HERE, so in today's post I'll mostly just share pictures of the creations of my workshop attendees after a quick explanation.  Participants drew in either chalk (chalkboard or sidewalk chalk) or soap, and then painted around their lines with acrylic paints, under-painting with white when brilliant color was desired.  The final step will be to wash off the chalk lines, so in these photos the lines are still very much visible.

 Here's everyone lined up to get their paints!

 Look at this roomful of people!  I think every seat was full!

This is me, showing samples, and explaining the paint options.  

Yup, my hair is sort of flame-colored this year. (It's also been turquoise and purple.)

 Thanks to this smiley friend who took many photos for me!

And here's some more images of work-in-progress from participants.

 Underpainting with white to make the colors show up more brightly:

On to the next workshop, Kumihimo:  Kumihimo is a Japanese braiding technique, that creates a spiral braid.  The basic materials are a simple circular loom (we used cardboard cake circles) with a hole in the center, and slits around the side, either 16 or 32, and yarn.  Participants learned the simple technique quickly and then dove right in.

One of the workshop attendees looked familiar. It turned out that she was a former elementary student of mine, at least a decade ago, who was attending the convention as one of the college art ed student volunteers.  How cool is that?!  I saw her later in the convention, and she was still working on her kumihimo. It had grown a lot!!

I also briefly shared a quickie method for making a rope, that can be done WAY faster than kumihimo or a traditional braid. This  technique will work great if, for example, your students have worked for weeks making woven pouches, and want to quickly make a handle.  The method was taught to me by my mother, who was an avid knitter and crocheter, and used this technique to make drawstrings or ties for sweaters.  Use two or more colors of yarn, cut to more than twice the length you need.  Have someone hold the other end, and twist the yarn as tightly as possible.  Don't let go, or it will un-twist!  When it is nice and tight, fold it in half and hold the two ends together.  The yarn will twist up into a rope.  Knot the ends you are holding so that it doesn't come untwisted.  Try it out!

When I wasn't teaching workshops, I was attending workshops!  My favorite was an almost 3-hour Intuitive Painting workshop.  It was a fabulous way to get rid of the stress from the previous day, and put everything aside to simply create.  I found it restorative.  If you ever have an opportunity to attend an Intuitive Painting workshop, give it a try!!  We painted with acrylics, with no pre-planned outcome, without talking, listening to (and responding to) music, responding to simple prompts, turning our paintings as we worked.  Here's my painting at various steps in the process.

I'm not sure of which way to show the final product. Here it is again, below, turned 90 degrees. Actually, I liked it better earlier in the process.  I think I might go back into the painting with oil paints and see what happens.

 Here's some paintings from other workshop participants.

There's much more I could say about the convention - the Friday Art Party, the student show, the 10x10 Member Show to benefit the scholarship fund, the vendors, the giveaways, and so on.  But the best part, of course, is the people, and the camaraderie of  interacting with other like-minded art educators.  It's worth the energy and stress of a long drive in bad road conditions in a loaner car, and having to clean up the mess of a popular activity.  Below, the Bling Your Badge table during cleanup. Thanks to the lovely folks who stepped up to help with the cleanup!