Bear Mask

Finishing the Bear Mask

This sixth-grader is adding the final touches to his papier mache project.

I didn't even have to suggest he get right down on his knees to make it good!

And look at all those TEETH! (I asked him if his father was a dentist and he said "no".)

The class project was to make masks of critters in the South American rain forests, but they followed their whims after they really got started--besides a work of art reaches a point where IT tells the ARTIST what to do next!

This mask obviously wanted to be a BEAR!

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Grape Day Park Tomasito

Hello, Readership.

The below information was sent to the art community of Escondido. thought some of you might be interested.

I am still on vacation from my blogs. Best wishes,

Tomas.

Art in the park, Paper Mache with Thomas Wold

Artist Joshua Gagliardi in Grape Day Park

Upcoming June 12th, 2- 4pm

Recycled Art

Paper mache is fun and easy and very earth friendly. Tomas will help you turn yesterday's news into today's art project. Tomas has been schooled in the Southwest, Europe and who knows where else. His influences are international and his masks are incredible.

A little bit of information about Grape Day Park:

Since the early 1930s, Grape Day Park, Escondido's oldest park, has been the center for community events and activities. Every year from 1908 to 1950, people from as far away as Los Angeles came to celebrate the annual Grape Day Harvest, a major industry in the Escondido valley. The park continues its tradition as the center for community gatherings. It is a registered landmark and home to a turn-of-the-century working barn, Santa Fe Railroad depot, blacksmith shop, and other historic buildings, museums, and monuments.

Time Out

Me. (Tanya photo)

Dear Readership,

I am going to take a few weeks off from blogging but...
(Arnold Schwarzenegger voice:) I'll be back!

The best of the best to you!

Thomas F. Wold

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Creative Growth

Papier Mache @ School.

I have had the fun of taking "Tomasito's Creative Workshop" on the road this week with a three or four day papier mache mask-making session at a local private intermediate school.

(I have had too much experience of the "train wreck" which is the public schools in California to want to experience more of THAT!)

The kids enjoyed working in what was to most of them a new creative medium and I enjoyed seeing first hand what the new crop of kids are like and demonstrating for them some of the arcane skills of making papier mache masks.

About the new crop of kids: nothing has changed very much it seems from when I was that age except now I am the older generation.

I suppose the older generation of my youth who taught me what little I know of "art" had higher hopes about US--but it seems we have turned out to be pretty much the same as THEY were--though some of us--including me--have tried to grow in creative ways to the best of our ability.

But if we as a species are going to overcome the extreme ecological problems we have caused for ourselves and the earth by our careless lifeways, we are going to have to learn to change somewhat faster and in more creative ways it seems to me.

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Family Help

Everybody at Work

Seven-year-old artist Katya could only stay with us a half hour in our last meeting but she is so calm and focused that she completed a large page of colorful paper weaving to take home.

Some of her family appeared just before she left and pitched right in to help.

Everyone likes to decorate things and to make things more beautiful!

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Paper Weaving

Bright Border

The very colorful border for yesterday's blog is a bit of woven construction paper.

I found the idea for this project in a book from the public library: "Creative Paper Crafts in Color" by Chester Alkema.

This is a very nice little book full of projects and practical advice for producing the projects for kids and adults--just what the doctor ordered for us.

The bright border above helps show some of the interesting effects which come from weaving varieties of papers together.

The youngest of our workers is seven years old and she got the hang of it quickly and made a couple of very creditable woven sheets in the half-hour or so of the time she had.

We will probably do more of this soon.

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Vivid Alberto

Alberto--one of the long-time residents--stops by to observe our work almost every day--but today he surprised all of us by sitting down to watch.

Alberto NEVER sits!

He was so amused by Al's painting of a pizza-box picture frame that he just couldn't help it. I suppose.

Since he was sitting--almost for a portrait--I thought I would go ahead and sketch him. And since Al was painting anyway, he finished the cartoon with watercolor.

And here it is. Vivid Alberto!

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