Accordian Altered Books

Submitted by: Kara LiCausi, Northport Middle School, Northport, NY
UNIT: Research - Technology - Bookmaking
Duration of Lesson: 2 weeks
Grade: 7th Grade (Middle School through High School)

 

Objectives:

Upon completion of this project, the student will be able to:

1. Search for and organize assorted information through the use of the Internet.
2. Organize and present found information and pictures into a handmade "artist book" based on the life and work of a Great Artist.

 

New York State Standards:

1. Creating, performing and participating in the Arts.
2. Knowing and using art materials and resources.
3. Responding to and analyzing works of Art.
4. Understanding the cultural contributions of the Arts.

Picture courtesy of Vamp & Tramp Booksellers (Archive - Site didn't seem to be up when I checked)

 

 

Materials:

- Internet access
- Procedure Sheet (design one)
- 3 sheets 5"x 20" (12.7 x 51 cm) Drawing Paper
- Glue Sticks
- Scissors
- Assortment of Decorative Paper
- Poly Vinyl Acetate(PVA)
- Popsicle sticks
- 2 Book Boards, 6" x 6" (15.2 x 15.2 cm) (The original plan called for 5" x 5" (12.7 x 12.7 cm) but I couldn't find any that size)
- Wax Paper
- Brushes
- Photo Corners
- Scrap Paper
- Decorative Scissors
- Old Art Image Publications catalogs (for small images of artist works - good for covers)

 

Instructional Resources:

- Example of Accordion fold "Artist Book"
- Assortment of handmade books in different styles and bindings.

 

Book: Making Books by Hand: Exploring Miniature Books - The authors share innovative, unique, and previously unpublished binding structures that incorporate scrolls, flaps, folders, and more. In addition, some book projects are made from unusual materials or found objects, such as a book out of a ukulele, a real accordion book, and other experimental creations.

 

Picture courtesy of Vamp & Tramp Booksellers

 

Vocabulary:

- Bookmaking
- Bone Folders
- Biographical
- Medium
- Style - Period
- Accordion Fold

 

Instruction/Motivation:

The motivation of this project is to expose the students to the idea of researching, organizing and sharing information in such a way where students are learning about a particular Artist, and to also be able to expose other students to information about the Artist in a clear, organized and artistic way.

 

Preparation:

Design a procedure sheet for your students to use. Decide what all information you would like your students to find. Adapt Artist Research file. Select a group of artists for your students that you would accept. Have more than enough for one per student. Only one student per artist. Cut up old Art Image Publication catalogs and put works in envelopes by artist (include small images found in magazines too) - these will be good for cover design.

 

Procedures:

Day 1:

Students will be shown a demonstration book and will be introduced to a sampling of handmade books. They will then learn the proper way to construct their own accordion fold book, using the proper materials and procedures. Students will be given 3 sheets each of 5" x 20" (12.7 x 51 cm) drawing paper that they will need to properly fold and glue, so as to result in a 12 page accordion fold book. The books will be left to dry and will not be needed until the following week when book construction will commence.

 

Day 2:

Students will be given a list of Artists and will be asked to choose an Artist to research. Only one student per class may pick a particular Artist, and students will be encouraged to choose an Artist that they may not already be familiar with.

 

Days 3-5 (Computer Room):

The students will be meeting in the computer room for a total of three days in an effort to collect, organize and format the specific information needed to complete their books. Students will be given a Procedure Sheet and checklist, which will clearly define the information that needs to be collected, and the format in which it is to be printed.

 

Students will begin by using AltaVista.com and Vivisimo.com (Both no longer exists. You can also try MetaCrawler) as search engines. With these search engines, students will have quick and easy access to a variety of images and information about their artists.

 

Students will be given a quick demonstration on how to copy and paste pictures from web sites into the Microsoft word program. They will then be taught how to format the size of the pictures and text.

 

Afterwards, students will begin a sort of "treasure hunt" leading them through various sites on the internet to help them to find all of the required information. Students will be saving all found information into their personal folders and will format the information on Day 3.

 

Days 6-11 (Bookmaking Procedure):

Students will begin the bookmaking process by constructing a cover. They will pick from a variety of pre-cut papers that will be used as a background for the front and back covers of the book. They will be taught the appropriate way to measure, fold and glue the papers. They will later place a printout of the artist name and a sampling of their work on the front cover. The class will then glue their accordion fold book into the book covers and allow to dry over night.

 

Students will then choose any decorative devices that they choose in order to design the inside of their books. The information must be presented in the order outlined on their procedure sheet, but may be designed in any way they choose, so long as it is neat, orderly and readable. The construction of the book should last up to 1 week.

 

Evaluation: Students books will be displayed for the classes to see and later in the display cases. Students will have a day in class to see and discuss each other’s books, allowing time for constructive criticism. Students will then fill out a self-evaluation form that will be used as the basis for their final project grade.

 

Suggestion for Book Assemblage:

Format each page to 4 ½" by 4 ½" (11.5 x 11.5 cm)

Cover: Design the cover of your book. It should consist of art work by your artist (no bigger than 4"x4", but may need to be smaller) and the artist name in 48 point font.

 

Page 1: Title Page: Please include:

* Name of Artist
* Year of Birth-Year of Death
* Style of Artist (ex. Surrealist, Impressionist, etc.)
* Medium of Artist (ex. Painter, Sculptor, etc.)

(This information should be in a READABLE font and collectively, it should be no bigger than 4 ½" x 4 ½ ")

 

Page 2: Photo or portrait of Artist

Include in formation about the photograph or portrait

 

Page 3: Biographical Information:

* Place of Birth
* Info about Family
* Education of Artist

(You may bullet this information or word it in the form of a paragraph. Again, the completed version should be no larger than (4 ½ " x 4 ½" / 11.5 x 11.5 cm)

 

Page 4:

Interesting Fact about the Artist. (4 ½ " x 4 ½" / 11.5 x 11.5 cm)

 

Page 5, 6, 7:

Reproductions of the Artist Work. (Work must be no larger than 4" x 4" (10 x 10 cm), but also print out the name and date of the work. This info will go below the photo and may be small (about 10pt. Font).

 

Page 8:

Brief description of the Style of Art (Ex. What is Fauvism? Who started it? In what time period did it exist? - format no larger than (4 ½ " x 4 ½" / 11.5 x 11.5 cm)

 

Page 9:

Famous Quote by, or about the artist. Use a general quote about art if you cannot find one to suit your Artist. (No bigger than (4 ½ " x 4 ½" / 11.5 x 11.5 cm) If no useful quote can be found, use this page for a work of art that exemplifies the style of art most and explain.

 

Page 10:

Write a brief statement about how you feel about the Artist and their work. Did you like it? What did/didn’t you like about it. Would you recommend for other people to learn more about this artist? (No bigger than (4 ½ " x 4 ½" / 11.5 x 11.5 cm)