A student completed her first finished project- and she MADE MONEY!

Okay, she didn't sell her first masterpiece...she created paper money.

The front side of Spain's new paper money (currency), held by the artist, Jamie. 

After weeks of learning how to see as an artist does and then getting what she sees down on paper, we launched our first project of the year. (It was a nice break from working from a still life, shading exercises and contour line art.)

The first "REAL" project of the year was designing and then creating new paper money for a country of her choice. To find out where she might want to create money for we asked her, "Where do you want to live in the world? Pick a place that you want to visit some day."

SPAIN! Jamie answered breathlessly.

We then researched Spain separately and together.

Jamie loves animals, and is very concerned about animal rights, endangered animals, and human impact on their habitats. She discovered that Iberian Wolves are endangered. Right away she KNEW Iberian wolves would be featured on her money.

Close up of Iberian Wolf** on project.  Iberian Wolf image courtesy of Wikipedia. Photographer unknown.

We looked into historical figures**, along with Spain's largest exported crops, manufacturing, and largest imports. When we saw the photos of the Spanish coast taken from space that showed the extent of their tomato green houses, we knew we had another winner.  Adding colorful tomatoes was a must. And then we learned the increased demand for bananas as an import!

Spain's coast all of the white area is greenhouses 

Image courtesy of UNEP.

The icing on the cake, so to speak, was the colors of Spain's flag. 

Three, brilliant primary colors in horizontal bands. Viola!     

Red= Tomatoes          Yellow= Bananas              Blue= Fun!   

Back of the new currency, featuring a juggling Iberian Wolf.

To stop people from forging money, it has intricate designs, over lapping cross-hatch lines, holographic or iridescent printed elements, and is on highly specialized paper.  All of those design elements were considered, and replicated using gel pens, ink work, and attention to detail.  

Discovering that money goes by other names in other countries was an added bonus- before the EU Spain's currency was called Peseta.

A special thanks to Matt G. who gave us Mexican paper currency to see up close and personal. Mexican currency (Peso) is colorful compared to older U.S. paper money. We also looked at money from pre-European Union (EU) days so we could appreciate all the variety that traveling in Europe once entailed. (We did not get into currency exchanges and rates, because that is just a migraine waiting to happen, LOL)

**If you look closely at the wolf, you can see where Jamie pays tribute to Pablo Picasso! The head is seen both head-on and sideways at the same time.  

_____________________________________________________________________

Curriculum notes:

We love this project because it encourages learning about another culture, their heritage, their historical landmarks and figures, and holistically engages HISTORY, ART, ECONOMICS and CURRENT EVENTS. While encouraging free thought, design concepts, color layering, and intricate line work.

We have been busy! We taught the Jackson Pollock program at Macedon Public Library and Leroy Public Library the past two weeks. Here are some photos of both events.

Next week we are performing at Macedon and Gates Public Libraries, and the program is Artist Musical Chairs. No one loses a seat, we draw, create, destroy and confound each other all to music from around the world!  

MACEDON, JULY 5, 2016

LEROY,    JULY 7, 2016 

NYS Summer Reading theme meets Jackson Pollock

This summer , the reading theme at libraries in New York State is "Ready, Set, Read!".  It is about being or staying physically active; my translation, read, but don't be a couch potato.

After several days of "What were they thinking?"  Because as a Visual Arts Teaching Artist at first I was stumped.

THEN I had one "A-HA moment!" Start Here Studio (my DBA) has a musical chairs round-table art-making program we have used for years. No one loses a seat, everyone draws, and the participants are exposed to music from around the world.  So- tweak that program and we have ONE potential idea to tell the librarians about. 

Then enter, Stacy W. (a teen librarian) who says, what about  Jackson Pollock?  And the gong in my head rang, and I slapped myself on the forehead and said "Doh!". 

Photo credit Museum of Modern Art, NYC.

After a week of serious thinking about having kids ages 8 and older splatter painting in a LIBRARY, I am bibliophile, books are the one thing in my life I take excellent care of. (Okay, my Golden brand acrylics, and my sable water color brushes)  I realized I am just crazy enough to do this. (And I am armed with drop cloths and 18 years experience in teaching all ages.) 

Add another few weeks of letting the program's format and sequence roll around in my head. Add more time researching Jackson Pollock (JP)- and finally re-watching Ed Harris' brilliant portrayal of JP- I was ready. 

Add a day of buying supplies, deciding which paints to go with- washable or not, latex house paint or not, and an evening of paint prep and making the surfaces. 

Finally, it all culminated today, the debut of ART and MOVEMENT featuring JACKSON POLLOCK. 
Fifteen brave souls, including parents and grandparents splatter painted as a group. The weather gods were kind- sunny and no longer 90 plus degrees out, a gentle breeze added the element of surprise a few times, but SUCCESS!

Here are some photos of the art. I always have the kids hide their faces, and even the adults wanted it that way today.  :)

Warsaw Library, June 21, 2016