MANY THANKS...

to seniors Shreya Sheth & Jacqueline Yu,

along with all my other art students

for taking us all on a wonderful trip with their incredible body of artwork 

thru the 2016-2017 school year.

Here are Shreya & Jaq modeling their de-constructed garments,

one of their last assignments of the year.

They both took apart 3 thrifted clothing items,

cut them up,

 dyed some parts, 

and reconstructed them into a whole new garment.

VINEGAR & AMMONIA

METAL & WOOD SCULPTURE

SPECIAL STUDIES 3-D ART

copper, wood, propane torch, wood burning tool & acrylic paint

This is senior Shreya Sheth's last project in her 4th year Independent Study class

where she gets to design her own curriculum.

She chose to work with wood and metal.

Shreya used a propane torch to patina several of the copper pieces,

sawdust mixed with vinegar for the two pieces that look multi-colored,

and an ammonia float for the more solid looking turquoise piece.

She learned these techniques in her 2nd level 3-D Art class.

It was really great to see her go back and use that knowledge again.

She used a wood burning tool to mark up the wood blocks,

then applied several colors of acrylic paint that mimicked the various patinas she achieved.

She used a staining technique with the paint,

sponging it on then wiping it off. 

WEAVING & CONSTRUCTION WITH SHREYA

SAORI WEAVING

ADVANCED 3-D ART

Saori loom, weaving fibers, weaving tools, sewing notions

Seniors Shreya Sheth and Jacqueline Yu were both required to learn to weave

on a Japanese Saori Loom,

and then to construct a 3-D bag or piece of clothing.

Today I will feature Shreya's piece and tomorrow Jacquelines.

Here is Shreya in the midst of weaving her length of cloth.

She has chosen a light neutral color scheme.

Both girls will have used the black cotton warp that was on the loom.

Here is the piece of cloth as it came off the loom.

You can see Shreya's careful measurements for each portion of her bag.

She made up her own pattern before she even started to weave 

so she would know exactly how much length she'd need for each section.

And here is her amazing completed bag.

A brilliant design Shreya showing off your incredible problem solving skills.

Snaps with the flap open

And the leather bottom from a recycled leather jacket I found at a thrift store.

I am so proud of you.

This was probably one of your most difficult challenges this year!

A REAL BIG MIX

MIXED MEDIA ON HANDMADE PAPER

ADVANCED 3-D ART

handmade paper, vintage  dyed fabrics, machine & hand stitch, pencil, watercolor & handspun yarn

A lot of ingredients went in to this piece inspired by the works of British Artist

Deeann Rieves.

I found her on Face Book a few years ago and very much liked what she was doing at the time,

so I purchased one of her pieces.

Note: if you go to her website now she has moved in a different direction.

Anyways,

I brought the piece into my classroom last year for my students to see

 and both seniors Shreya and Jacq loved her work.

So I asked if they would like to try something similar on one of the larger handmade papers

 they were pulling at the time.

YES!!

Here are the results.

This first one was done by Jacqueline Yu.

I especially like the machine stitching she did,

and how her non-objective subject looks a bit like a cross.

or maybe a witch's profile.

And next is Shreya Sheth.

I don't know if you can see that the texture of each of their handmade papers is a bit different,

but Jacq's is smooth and Shreya's textural.

Both girls had cool deckled edges on their paper 

and of course I loved that Shreya incorporated a bit of her hand spun yarn.

EXPERIMENTS IN CONCRETE & PLASTER

SPECIAL STUDIES 3-D ART

4TH YEAR 3-D INDEPENDENT STUDY

balloon, concrete & plaster

Last year senior Shreya Shah saw a couple ideas on Pinterest that she wanted to try out

that would fit into her 3-D area of study.

She saw someone modeling/sculpting with concrete & plaster over a balloon.

She found the concrete incredibly difficult to control,

and way more grainy/lumpy bumpy then she thought it would be...

but she ended up with a pretty cool garden sculpture;

painting the inside with acrylic cooper paint.

And even though she had done some Plaster Figure Sculpture in 2nd year 3-D,

that was a reductive way of working versus this additive technique 

that was messy then crumbly when dry.

She was trying for a smooth lip all the way around but I sure like the broken edge effect.

And then I really like what she did with the broken off lip pieces.

She glued them down into a heart shape.

You have always been a gutsy lady Shreya.

I admire your determination and drive to try out new ideas!
You are fearless  :)

TRYING SOMETHING NEW

CLOCK MAKING

3-D SPECIAL STUDIES - 4TH YEAR

wood, clock kit, sandpaper, stain & wood burning tool kit

Senior Shreya Sheth wanted to try her hand at clock making and putting it on wood.

I believe she was inspired by one she had seen on the Internet.

And because she had an Independent Study Art course with me,

she could go wherever she wanted as long as she created art everyday.

I bought her a couple disks of wood and off she went.

I really liked the touch of woodburning that she chose to bring into the two pieces she made.

Both clocks sold instantly at Open House.

WHAT'S ON YOUR LOOM?

2-HARNESS TABLE TOP LOOM WOVEN SCARF

ADVANCED 3-D ART

2-harness tabletop loom, warping board & weaving essentials

Let's see what our 3rd year 3-D girls are up to.

In 2nd year 3-d they learned to weave on a frame loom,

so this year they graduated to a 2-harness tabletop loom,

and also learned to use a warping board.

Above we see senior Shreya Sheth helping senior Jacqueline Yu remember her warping sequence.

And below Shreya is bored waiting for her turn.

Pretty cute Shreya!

Here is Jac's lovely and yummy finished scarf hanging on display at Open House.

And a couple of close-ups.

Fringe was optional.

I really like how Jac played with several different sizes and types of weft yarns.

Next we have Shreya's finished scarf.

She went a completely different route then Jacqueline.

She was inspired by hounds tooth cloth and made up her own pattern

for a very striking piece.

The girls told me the warping process was way too tedious but once they started the actual weaving they were loving it.

Yeah!

THE BIG REVEAL

SILVER SOLDER
SPECIAL STUDIES 3-D ART
handcut glass shards, silver solder, flux, soldering iron & tons of patience
  
I made you wait a little longer than I'd intended...

to see the end result of Shreya Sheth's Silver Soldered Lantern.

So without further ado here it is.

An engineering marvel,
one of the most difficult techniques to master.

Pulled off like no other solder piece ever created here.

You are unbelievable Shreya.

So very talented.

Kudos to you dear girl.

I want to take this chance Shreya,
 to wish you the best
 at Chapman University in Orange , Ca.
studying the History of Art.
I have complete confidence that you will be a Superstar there
like you were here in the Whitney Art Department.
One day you will send me an email telling me you are putting up a Van Gogh show
at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Or repair and restoring a Degas sculpture.
What do they say?
The world is your oyster!

CONGRATS CLASS OF 2017!!!

What a perfect ending to your 6 year journey here at Whitney High School.

I'm so glad I was able to be here to cheer you all on as you walked across the stage.

I'm one very proud mama and art teacher.

Thank you for taking the time to drop by to say good-bye

 along with your touching heartfelt notes and gifts.

It was an honor to have taught this very special group of students from 7th to 12th grades.

I'll be posting more of you and your artwork this summer,

but am taking a bit of a break this week  and probably next to rest.

Much love to you all

Debra Agrums Sposa

A SNEAK PEEK

SILVER SOLDERED LANTERN

3-D ART - SPECIAL STUDIES

colored glass, copper tape, silver solder, soldering iron, clamps, glass cutter, cutting mat, flux

Senior Shreya Sheth, 

who has 2 Independent Study classes with me back to back (2 hours),

has taught herself to silver solder over copper tape.

Using this Stained Glass technique over cut pieces of glass,

she has created a fabulous lantern.

She cuts her glass pieces on top of a self healing green mat

 using a traditional glass cutter tool.

Above you see her playing with her design.

Next she wraps each piece with copper tape and using a wooden clothes pin

as a burnishing tool,

she smooths the tape down tight.

Next she uses clamps as a third hand to hold her piece as she solders from the bottom up.

Flux is applied first with a make-up sponge to all copper connections

before she solders.

And here we see her about to solder her sides together.

Stay tuned for the finished piece.

One of the eye catchers at Open House this year.

STITCHIN" & BITCHIN'

Not these two.

looks like seniors Jacqueline Yu and Shreya Sheth  

 are in perfect sync with their sewing machines and their Paper Quilts.

Too cute!

STITCH PAPER QUILTS

ADVANCED 3-D ART

muslin, white tissue paper, Elmer's glue, stamps & ink, acrylics & sewing machines

I first saw the idea of combining paper & cloth in the Quilting Arts Magazine years ago.

They had featured Mixed Media Artist Kelly Nina Perkins 

and her Stitch Paper Quilts and I was a goner,

completely smitten.

So much so that I contacted her

 and bought two of her pieces to show & inspire my students.

Then a year or two later she wrote a book to explain in greater detail her ideas and processes,

so it gives the students even more visuals to try out.

Over the last couple years this assignment has evolved with each current crop of kids

 giving it their special twist.

If you were to put Stitch Paper Quilts in my search engine

 you'd be able to see what I'm talking about.

So let's see what these two goofy girls came up with.

Ahh...

 here they are hard at work.

They put in a lot energy and creativity,

so let's see what they came up with.

We start with Jacqueline's super cool and surrealistic piece first.

It's really amazing to me where these students come up with such sophisticated design ideas.

I could have never in my wildest dreams have come up with something like this at age 17-18.

They are so many layers of goodness here.

Below and above are some close-ups for you.

Shreya's piece was a tribute to our fighting servicemen,

                                                    and the loved ones they leave behind.                                                                                                                                                        

Some close-ups.

If you look closely you will see pieces of a hand written love note that Shreya incorporated,

along with the skyline that so is a part of her daily commute.

OH SHREYA, WHATCHA UP TOO?

PIN/STRING ART

SPECIAL STUDIES 3-D ART

dressmakers pins & sewing thread on foam core board

Well, it's been a while since I featured senior Shreya Sheth.

She's been crazy busy working away at all kinds of things.

Today I'm showcasing this large scale piece she completed for Open House.

We saw her trials/testors a couple of months ago.

So this is the culmination of all of that in one large 18" by 24" piece.

It's stunning in person and people seem to gravitate to it because it's so different.

Shreya was inspired by all the huge power lines that run thru L.A. county

 on her commute to downtown L.A for her internship. 

But this is not the only art work this industrious young woman has been up to,

so stay tuned for more!