We welcomed a new bunch of kids to our Kids Workshop today.  We gathered around clay, which was a new experience for some.  It was nice to hear children offering one another feedback about what they were working on.  Working with clay was quite a social experience today.

In one small group we talked about upcycling and using materials in new ways.  Sometimes we alter a material to use it to create, and today we deconstructed damaged books so we can use the pages for our project work this session.  In our other small group, we worked on a large, five dog mosaic.  One group took some pieces off of the mosaic that were not functioning right in terms of the overall aesthetic of the piece.  We talked about how artists often create, assess their work and make adjustments.  After we removed the pieces that weren't working, we painted a back ground for the mosaic.  We had to work carefully to paint the background and not inside the dogs.

We did not have time for free exploration today, so we will be sure to include it next week!  

Dogs have an undeniable presence in the City of Alexandria.  They are frequently seen walking with their owners, playing in one of our city’s many dog parks, drinking from bowls outside businesses, and enjoying treats from shop counters. Numerous businesses in Alexandria cater to the needs of dogs and their owners, and it’s unlikely a day will pass without a resident encountering a dog. Our project explores the roles that dogs play in the City of Alexandria and how they fit into our community. 

Fur-Vor will encourage and enhance artistic engagement with businesses, students, local artists, and the Alexandria community throughout the phases of the project. The project will engage over 500 students enrolled in Alexandria City’s out-of-school programs to introduce them to new artistic media. The project will also engage businesses in Alexandria in a competition to create Fur-Vor art using their own upcycled material. We intend to enlist the assistance from Alexandria-based Torpedo factory artists to create a dog-themed float and costumes for the Scottish Walk, which draws 30,000 visitors to the city each December. Finally, at several community events, including Del Ray's First Thursday, Art on the Avenue, the AWLA Shelter Walk, and Alexandria's Earth Day Celebration, Fur-Vor will engage the public in and provide opportunities for the community to create upcycled art.

This project is funded by generous support from the Alexandria City Commission for the Arts, 2015 Arts Grant program.  As well as the following individuals, businesses and organizations:

TOP DOG
Animal Welfare League of Alexandria


FIDO'S FRIENDS
Baylor Solutions

YOUR PARTICIPATION IS WELCOME AND YOUR SUPPORT IS APPRECIATED!  
FUR-VOR PROJECT PAGE

Day 1:   Today we gathered around opening CDs and sorting the cases, CDs and papers.  Some friends used the cases to make frames to hold their work from this week.  (Returning friends have frames at home.)  In small groups we made paper cloth and snakes out of bottle caps.  We also hammered bottle caps into a log.  One friend said, "Real hammers?  I'm not allowed!"  Well, they are allowed at UpCycle and they have gotten the hang of hammering.  During free exploration, we explored colored film on the light box, built a house boat out of materials and worked in the message center.  See you tomorrow!

Day 2:  Today we gathered around books to get ideas for our sculptures.  We then made a plan by drawing our animals and machines before we began building.  We also embellished our paper cloth from yesterday with stitches and beads.  During free exploration time, we added to our bottle cap snakes, made a group piece of paper cloth and watched a repair man work on a nearby roof.

Day 3:  Today we gathered around upholstery samples.  We took the papers and staples out of them, and then we sorted them by color.  There was interesting debate about whether certain fabrics were brown, gray, light or oddballs.  In one small group, we added details to our found object sculptures.  In our other group, we pieced the upholstery samples together to make a back for our pillows.  We also stuffed the pillows ourselves.  During free exploration we continued working on our bottle cap snakes and we explored punches and stamps in the message center.

Day 4:   On Thursday, we gathered around clay.  The group developed a story about eggs and a nest that evolved to include a mama bird, several baby birds, lots of worms and extra nests.  In small group, we did observational drawings of our sculptures and painted them with liquid water color.  Did you know you can make your own liquid water color out of dried-up markers?  In our other small group we made prints with found objects.  We tested out the materials and then made a final composition.  

Day 5:   Today we gathered around clay again.  Many friends made impressions with various items we had available for mark making.  In small groups, we explored the effects of water color and salt on a hunk of ice.  We also moved water in a large bin, using basters, pipettes and PVC pipe.  In our other small group, we selected, traced and cut out a piece of our prints for our frames.  We also sewed a piece of paper cloth we made as a group, and put this small sample in our frames.  Our bottle cap snakes also came home today.

We had a wonderful week with your children.  Thank you for sharing them with us!

Kelley & Susan

Art on the Avenue was a big event!!! Even though it rained for most of the day, we had a very steady stream of visitors come to the UpCycle tent. We offered three experiences with materials. Decorating a log, found in the river, with bottle caps donated by Los Tios was a very popular experience. The decorated log will become the base to a small glass-tip table.

Another opportunity that was offered was weaving with color collections.

We also offered collage. The glue did not cooperate fully with the wetness of the rain but that did not stop one young lady who created a doll with the materials available. She used the nails and hammer from the log to create what she wanted.