Younger Children

Nancy Rubins

American, born 1952

Drawing

2007

Subject: 3-dimensional shapes
Activity: Foil Drawings
Materials: Cardboard or mat board, cardboard or mat board scraps cut into strips and shapes, glue, brush, aluminum foil, tape
Vocabulary: Collage, texture, layer

Introduction:

The artist who made this drawing is a sculptor who is used to working with large metal objects. She made the sculpture with canoes outside of this building. Even though this is a drawing, she wanted it to look like sheets of metal. To do this she took graphite, the material in pencils, and drew all over thick sheets of paper until they were completely covered. Then she hung them on a wall to let the edges curl and fold just like sheets of metal.

Questions:

If these were sheets of metal, what could you make out of them?

Can you see the texture the artist made by drawing in different directions?

Observations:

Even though it is one solid color you can see shapes and lines all across the drawing.

Activity:

Create a collage by gluing strips and shapes of cardboard onto a large piece of cardboard. Glue shapes on top of one another to create a relief.
Squeeze a small amount of glue on one side of a piece of aluminum foil the same size as your picture. Use a brush to spread it around.
Before the glue dries place the piece of aluminum foil over the top of your collage. Using your fingers gently press into the shapes of the collage behind it until you see the details through the aluminum foil.

Vocabulary:

Collage - The supplies artists use to make a work of art. Paint, chalk, wood, and stone are all materials.
Texture - The area in and around a sculpture.
Layer - Placing one shape on top of another.

GIVE TODAY