Theme: Accordion Books inspired by Gina Page
Topic: Artists Among Us 2006
Exhibition Background:
Artists Among Us is an annual community event featuring works by local Richmond artists. At the closing of the Richmond Art Gallery exhibition, all the participating artists will open their art studios on the weekend of June 24 and 25 for visitors to see more of their works and meet with the artists. Artworks include watercolour, acrylic and oil paintings, Chinese brush painting, drawings, glass works, ceramics, sculpture, prints, books, and jewelry.
Artist Gina Page is participating in this years Artists Among Us, and currently divides her time between Powell River, BC and Richmond, BC. Much of her poetry and art reflect the influence of time spent by the sea and salt-water marshes. Her artworks include etching, lithography, and woodcut prints. Her book works are comprised of her own poems and prints. She has been publishing her own chapbooks since 1986, and has been a member of the Malaspina Printmaking Cooperative on Granville Island since 1991.
Objective:
• Students will gain a better understanding of an artist’s work.
• Develop an understanding of using images with text.
• Create an accordion book using images and text that relate to one
another.
• Develop a story or poem using creative writing.
• Develop an understanding of using images to express ideas, emotions,
or stories.
Materials:
• Pencils and erasers
• Coloured felts, crayons, pastels, or other drawing materials
• Drawing paper cut to 6” x 18”
• Glue sticks
• Scrap paper
• Optional - 2 pieces of poster board or heavy construction paper cut
to 6 ¼” x 4 ¾” (for the book covers)
• Optional - Yarn or ribbon cut to 24’ long
Preparation:
Teacher will choose a theme for the students’ books. Depending on
the age group you are working with, you can:
• work together to brainstorm key words for a poem or story
• provide a lead-in sentence to begin (i.e. “My favorite part
of summer is…)
• read an age-appropriate story and have the students respond to this
book
• write out words for students to copy down and they respond with their
own images
• use a piece of writing they have created in the past as a continuation
of a creative writing project
Procedure:
1. Introduce the idea of creating illustrations for stories. Provide samples of children’s books for them to read or look through and discuss how the pictures relate to the text.
2. Work together on the creative writing of the story or poem for their books. (See above “Preparation”.) Remind students that their words will need to be illustrated. Discuss some of the ways other artists and writers have combined images with text.
3. Once students have completed their creative writing, they will need to make their accordion book. (For diagrams on how to create these books, see http://www.sdmart.org/pix/accordionbook.pdf or http://www.makingbooks.com/accordion.html )
4. Using the 6” x 18” paper, students will place this in front of them horizontally. Fold the paper in half.
5. Fold the top page in half by folding it back to meet the original fold.
6. Turn the paper over.
7. Fold this page in half by folding it back to meet the original fold. The accordion book pages are now made!
8. Optional book covers - Place a piece of scrap paper on the inside of your book, under the first page. This is to protect your other pages from getting glue on them. Cover the entire front page with glue, going right to the edges and onto the scrap paper. Once you have all the glue on, remove the scrap paper.
9. Glue on your piece of thicker paper for a cover. Smooth out all the air bubbles and make sure this piece is glued on securely.
10. Repeat steps 8 and 9 for the back page and cover.
11. Optional ties – Lay the piece of yarn or ribbon across the back of book so that the ends meet evenly when you turn the book over. Glue this tie down ONLY on the back cover. Once glued, you can wrap it around to the front of the book and tie it into a bow.
12. Now the structure of the book is complete, students can begin to illustrate and write their stories in the book. Students will draw, colour, and write on one side of the book only; the back pages are left blank. Students have the option of illustrating every page and combining the text within images, or having images on one page and text on the opposing page throughout. How text is written, printed, or collaged with also affect the look of their books. Discuss options for creating the visual appearance of text in relation to the materials you are using for illustration.
13. Students title and decorate their front covers.
Conclusion:
Students will have a finished book with illustrations and text. Display
the books opened up so everyone can see all the images and words. Compare
the different stories and how each artist chose to use words and images
together.
Note to Teachers:
Images will vary greatly depending on the medium you use. Other options
for images can be collage, prints made from Styrofoam printmaking, pencil
drawings, textile collage, watercolour paints, or any other mediums you
have on hand. Text can also be done with the same media, which helps to
give books a more cohesive look.
RESOURCES:
BCATA Journal for Art Teachers. Various issues.
Herberholz, Donald and Barbara. Artworks for Elementary
Teachers: Developing Artistic and Perceptual Awareness. 8th edition. McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
1998.
ISBN 0-697-34424-X
Leland, Nita and Virginia Lee Williams. Creative Collage Techniques. North Light Books, Ohio. 1994. ISBN 0-89134-563-9
The Incredible Art Department - http://www.princetonol.com/groups/iad/
Making Books With Children - http://www.makingbooks.com/accordion.html
San Diego Museum of Art, Education Pages - http://www.sdmart.org/education-plans.html#book
Left: Gina Page, Accordian Books