candice ashment art: *Reduce *Reuse *Recycle

April 11, 2012

Reduce Reuse *Recycle - NEWSPAPER Abe {tutorial}

During the month of April, EARTH MONTH (yay), I will "attempt" to post all of my current repurposed and recycled art projects. I'm a big fan of using repurposed items in my art projects and in daily life as well. What a great month of learning and getting into good habits!

Newspaper Abe

This has been one of my most simple, collaborative, kid art murals made with elementary kids, but for all ages! I love the fact that we used the portrait of Honest Abraham Lincoln (one of my favorite presidents), repurposed newspapers, crayons, a permanent marker, and of course...

almost 80 1st graders!

And... you can make your own newspaper art in a smaller form with your preferred portrait/s! Be creative.

(We actually completed this near Presidents' Day, but this is my life. Art projects are one story, posting them is another!)

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Here's my quick tutorial:

(measure, cut, screw, spackle, sand, clean, gesso)

Materials for Wood Canvas:

1" x 2"s
masonite board, 1/4" thickness
flat head screws, size 6x3/4
spackle
gesso

(Depending on your desired size will also determine how much of each material you will need.)
*Instead of making your own wood canvas you can use a pre-stretched canvas board, any size.

Materials for Newspaper Abe:

transparency sheet (and a projector)
newspapers
permanent marker
crayons
Mod Podge
plastic wrap

Use transparency and overhead projector - free images from openclipart.

Tape newspaper seams together on the back side, trace, and fill in image with permanent marker on the front side.

On the back side, graph and number the amount of squares or "shapes" you want. I made a small model on another paper, labeling all of the outside squares just in case I was confused later-it helped!

Cut the newspaper and then color each square with crayons. Be creative! (pattern art, theme art, color schemes, shapes...)
Reassemble your shapes back together.
Apply a little more than a thin layer of Mod Podge to your canvas.
Carefully lay your colored squares on the Mod Podged area.

Lay plastic wrap over the Mod Podge newspaper squares to help smooth out.
Stack books on top so the squares dry flat and do not curl. This helps protect the artwork and books. Dry time as directed on bottle.
Repeat until complete.

Helpful Tips:

Instead of adhering square by square, tape 2 rows together at a time, only using a small amount of tape on the reverse side. Then adhere on the canvas two rows at a time. This helps make sure everything will line up and it's fast!
During each drying wait, wrap & seal your brush up in plastic wrap (so it won't dry out or have to clean it several times).