International Dot Day is the idea of Teacher Terry Shay, who introduced his art class to The Dot on September 15th, 2009. The Dot, by Author/Illustrator Peter H. Reynolds, is the story of a girl who just can’t believe she is an artist! The Dot, and its companion books, Ish and Sky Color celebrate the creativity in all of us. International Dot Day is a day to make sure we have fun with art of any kind and not worry that “we’re getting it right.”
The Books!
The Dot, Ish and Sky Color celebrate having fun with art of any kind. All three of these books are by Peter H. Reynolds and available through gapines.org or your local library. Special thanks go to Cristina Lalli and Page Street Publishing for allowing Ms. Donna to share Nola’s Scribbles Save the Day, also available through gapines.org.
The Artistes!
Did you notice in the Facebook video that Ms. Donna had one long, and fairly weird, name? She combined the first names of a few of her favorite artists into one name. Did you recognize all of them? Here is a little information on the artists she listed, along with some suggestions for making your own art inspired by a few.
Georgia O’Keefe loved painting the shapes found in nature . Georgia’s Bones by Jen Bryant tells her story. Check it out from your local library!
Claude Monet began his art career as a caricaturist. He began to paint outside ( plein air) with friends in his late teens and early twenties. Monet is one of the founders of Impressionism, one of the world’s most famous forms of art. Although the word “impression-ist” was originally meant as an insult, today it means BEAUTIFUL ART. Can you be an impressionist? Sure! Take thick paper, similar to the paper in your Dot Art packet, card stock or cardboard outside. Don’t forget your watercolors or washable makers. Draw or paint an impression (an idea) of something you see. If you want your marker picture to look like watercolor, brush it with a clean, wet brush.
Berthe, Mary, Lilla, Cecilia and Childe are also Impressionist painters. In this list of Ms. Donna’s Favorites, all but Childe were women and all but Berthe were American. Visit the Georgia Museum of Art in Athens, to see works of art by some of these amazing painters. Enjoy World Make Way and Mary Cassatt: Extraordinary Impressionist Painter from your local library!
Do you like puzzles?
The last three names Ms. Donna used were Jan, pronounced YON, Johannes, and Vincent. You’ve probably guessed that Vincent is Vincent Van Gogh. Have fun reading Vincent Can’t Sleep. Will painting a Starry, Starry Night, with bright yellow and orange paint on dark paper help you sleep? Hmmm. So what do Vincent, Johannes and Jan all have in common? And how are they different? Well, they’re all Dutch! Johannes VERMEER and Vincent VAN GOGH were both Dutch. Jan Van Eyck was Belgian, but at the time he lived his country was controlled by Holland. Vincent painted in the wild style of the Post Impressionists, but Jan and Johannes, who lived much earlier, painted incredibly realistic and tiny paintings with hidden pictures and meanings. Both used a camera obscura, a homemade device that allowed them to see (and paint) detail, detail, detail! Click on the link for instructions on making your own camera obscura.
Where are the Puzzles? In the Paintings!
Check out these two paintings from the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. They are very small, but look closely at the paintings. How many hidden pictures can you find in each painting?
The Annunciation by Jan Van Eyck. (HINT: Scroll over the copy of the picture on the right or use your mouse wheel to take a close look. After you’ve finished looking at the art, check out the size of the actual painting. Grab a ruler and measure! Van Eyck hid this much detail in a painting HOW SMALL? )
Woman Holding a Balance by Johannes Vermeer (HINT: Use your mouse wheel again to look closely at this picture. What is the woman measuring? What time of day do you think it is? What kind of cloth is her jacket? What do you think the floor is made of? How big is this painting? Is it larger or smaller than The Annunciation?)
Thank you for joining us online and at this blog for International Dot Day! Remember, every day is a day to celebrate creativity.
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