Photography (Cyanotypes & Rayograms)

Learning about photography has always interested me. This was one of my favorite art projects. It blew my mind.

I think its important to first go over the history of photography: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_photography.


We then learned what a Cyanotype is (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyanotype)  and how to make them

We talked about Man Ray and his famous Rayograms:

We also talked about Anna Atkins (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Atkins) and how she used cyanotypes in research about British Algae in the early 1800's.

Here are some supplies that Dr. Dan suggested:

"Here are some supplies... we used the new cyanotype formula in class, but I would stick to the old one since it is easier to mix and the times are longer for kids to chill out a bit with the exposures... link on Amazon for the kit."

5) And if you have some money in your budget... then these are papers that are already sensitized..."

I absolutely loved working with sun sensitive paper. This is an activity that is very doable with student and can be used for social studies, math, or a cultural awareness project. I included  mine in my Critical theory Adaptation for a social project. 

I sent Dr. Dan a picture that I took of the Dome of the Rock in Israel. He then made it black and white and inversed the color scheme. 

He then printed it onto an overhead transparency.

I then put the transparency over the photo sensitive paper and covered it with black paper. When I went outside I took of the black paper for about 55 seconds and then covered it back up again. Once inside, I developed the paper using water and got this:

 For my Rayogram I borrowed jewelry from some girls in the class. I tried to set it on my paper under the black paper before I went outside but it moved around like crazy. Once I got out side it immediately started developing so I had 2 seconds to move the jewelry and then I had no choice but to leave it their (unless I wanted a blurry picture). It was unbelievable to watch how fast the reaction took place.

This could be used for a chemistry lesson as seen in the example below. 

Here is a cool idea about a pinhole camera made with photo paper:

http://www.petapixel.com/2011/03/29/pinhole-cameras-made-with-photo-paper/

Here is another link for a pinhole camera:

http://www.meetmeatthecorner.org/episodes/pinhole-photography-for-kids

Tie Die

Who would have ever thought that my first experience with tie die would be in college. I had so much fun that I regretted that it was my first time. We were all instructed to bring in a tee shirt made of 100% cotton.  We had it soak in soda ash for at least a half hour before we started working on it. The first thing we did was roll our shirts into a pattern using chopsticks.

Once our shirts were rolled into  a very tight shape we put elastics all over them. We then began the dying process.

There are tons of different tie die kits out there to be used in the classroom.  Here are a few that I found online.

We let our shirts sit for 12 hours at least before rinsing them in cold water and putting them through the wash (by themselves!).

Here are some tie die basic instructions:

There are many traditional variations of tie-dye around the world, each unique but basically Tie-dye is a way of creating patterns of color by folding, tying, stitching, crumpling or otherwise preparing the fabric to inhibit the flow of the dye into the folds of the fabric. The pattern of the folds and where the colors are squirted determines the final design. With experience, the end result can be predicted and controlled to some extent, but surprise is part of what makes tie-dye an exciting and interesting art form that even a first timer can have great results with. A fun & easy craft for children, camps and groups. step 1: fold and tie your garment Fold and/or tie the fabric into the desired patterns. For more defined patterns wet the shirt and squeeze or spin out excess water before folding. We have several books and DVDs with great pattern ideas! step 2: soak garments in soda ash solution Wear your dust mask & gloves! Use - 1 cup (8 oz.) of Soda Ash Fixer per gallon of warm water. A gallon will soak 10-12 adult XL tees – so way more kids tees, fewer dresses, etc. Soak the tied garments about 5-15 minutes. Squeeze out the garment so it is damp but not dripping. You can reuse solution until gone. step 3: mix your dyes Wear your dust mask & gloves! Measure urea and warm water into a container, an old pitcher works well. Use the chart below for amounts. Paste up your dye with the urea water (see below), then add rest of water and stir ‘till thoroughly dissolved. Pour into squeeze bottles with afunnel. An already wet, tied up adult tee will absorb about 4 oz of liquid dye, depending on how much you apply. Use this as a guide to help you decide how much to mix up. Check the name of each color on the label of the jar, some colors need more dye, they are marked with an * or ** by the name. step 4: squirt on your dye Apply dye with squeeze bottles, paint brushes, sponges, etc., as many colors as you want. (see below for tips). step 5: let it rest Put tied fabric in a plastic bag (you want to keep it damp). Let it cure for at least 4 hours but preferably 24 hours for the brightest colors. In temperatures below 70º F, it takes longer. step 6: wash it out Pre-fill your washing machine with hot water and 1/4 cup Synthrapol or Professional Textile Detergent. Rinse the tie-dyes thoroughly before putting in the machine. Leaving ties on, rinse under cold running water (faucet, hose or shower), to stop the dye reaction. Next rinse in warm water while you untie the folds, keep rinsing until water runs fairly clear. Throw in machine as soon as it is rinsed, running it through a full cycle.Don't wash more than the equivilant of about 8 adult size t-shirts at a time or the water gets too muddy. You can use Milsoft professional fabric softener in the final rinse to make your tie-dyes super soft!. http://www.dharmatrading.com/tie-dye/instructions.html Tie die is great and can be used in a Chemistry Lesson such as :http://www.dharmatrading.com/html/eng/9193637-AA.shtml

Pencil and Paper

On the fourth day of class we learned a lot about pencils and shading.  Pencils range from soft to hard which are represented by the letters 'B' and 'H'. A '9B' is one of the softest pencils you can find. It is very thick so that the led will not break. The higher  the level of 'B', the softer and darker the color. A '6B' pencil is  dark- leaves a lot of texture.

'H' pencils have clay to the content to make it harder. The higher the level of H the more silvery the color is.

For more information on pencils, check out this wikipedia sight: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pencil

Paper has a texture- has a tooth, which is a texture and thickness -  (bristol is very fine).  About.com definition of tooth: "

The surface feel of paper is its tooth

. The more tooth a paper has the rougher it feels to the touch. Some inks may adhere poorly to papers that are extremely smooth with very little tooth.

Tooth also refers to a slightly rough finish that takes ink well. It is a preferred surface texture for charcoal and pastel art."

I really liked how Dr. Barney drew this on the board. He emphasized that it is all about learning and practicing the skills.  So much of drawing is about being observant. It is about noticing where the light is hitting and where the shadows are cast. There are a whole range of activities that we can do with our students concerning this. We can have them mimic this drawing like I did (a few pictures below). For a slightly more advanced student we can have them draw pictures of objects and make them 3D by determining the light source and having different values throughout the shape.

He posted this later:

Here are some little experiments that I did on my own. I think that it would be useful to have my students do a similar experimentation with the different hardnesses of pencils. I think that it will stay with them longer if they experiment on their own. Before even telling them what the numbers represent you can give them a variety of pencils and ask questions like: How thick is the led? How hard do you have to press to make it go on dark? Is the color more silver or black? Does it write on your skin easily?

All of the above questions can help students experiment with pencils and understand more about shading.

I practiced shading different 3D objects on my own. It definitely is something that needs a lot of practice. This could be used in a Science experiment when talking about the moon. You could connect it by relating that what we see is dependent upon the light being reflected.

This is a youtube video that explains how to shade different 3D shapes: