Alternative Class Days: Paper Art / Paper Sculptures Day 2

Ms. Liza Flores, guest facilitator

Our Alternative Class Days in school ended last Friday on a high note. What Liza Flores, our guest workshop facilitator, started with us on Day 1 we continued on the second day.

I set up the workshop space early that Friday morning. There was an area for materials and supplies, an area for reflection, a work area and a display area. There were fourteen students in the workshop and seven of them came in early. At 7.45 AM, they were all in their work table cutting, pasting, mounting and quietly creating to their hearts' desires. With the help of my co-teachers, we guided all fourteen of our students in finishing their paper art projects. Well, there was very little supervision from us. They seemed to have taken the input session of Liza like fish to water. 

Our Griffins produced paper art on interesting themes. Some picked their favorite games and leisure activities, a cartoon character, a few played around with colors. One of them did a 3D model of a train. There was a student who made a notebook and designed a paper art on the cover. One senior made paper flowers which he put in a paper cup. It's amazing how one student stepped up to challenge of making a pop-up paper art and a Beacon Academy inspired art work. Many chose to work individually, but there were a few who paired and worked together. 

Some works on display at the school lobby

Before ending the day with the exhibit of works, we asked the students to write their reflections. This will help us decide where to go further with paper art / paper sculptures. For one, I am thinking of setting aside 45 minutes of paper art sessions in the library. If there is one thing we discovered with the ACD on Paper Art, it is a good stress reliever! 

Since I played the role of mother hen on Day 1, I didn't get to do the art exercises which Liza conducted for the group. So, I made sure to do at least two paper art projects of my own. I couldn't decide what to do at first. Flowers and leaves are the easiest to do, but my love for books won over. I looked for patterns of the White Tree of Gondor, the lamp post in Narnia and images of my favorite characters in Spirited Away. After selecting images, I went to work.

The White Tree of Gondor

The tree of Gondor was so intricate, it took me two hours to finish the piece. But boy, oh boy! I felt so good afterwards. Then I moved on to make soot sprites. My homage to Hayao Miyazaki. The lamp post in Narnia was shelved for another time. I had to give instructions to students as they prepared for the exhibit of works at 2PM. Together, we set up the paper art exhibit.

At the end of the day, we all felt accomplished. All of us were simply happy creating art with friends and colleagues during the two days Alternative Class Days (ACD) in the academy.

Here is the link to my blog post on ACD Paper Art / Paper Sculptures Day 1.

Alternative Class Days: Paper Art/Paper Sculptures Day 1

Earlier today we had the amazing Liza Flores as our workshop facilitator in one of our Alternative Class Days workshops, Paper Art and Paper Sculptures. She gave a short talk on her art, how she got interested with paper as a medium for her art and showed everyone samples of her works. From visual arts to advertising, Liza Flores has grown tremendously as an artist. What she set out to do illustrating books using paper cutouts and paper art has transformed into paper sculptures used in advertising, installation art and set backgrounds for arts and culture shows.

What truly impressed me about Liza Flores is her love for her art. Her work ethic is admirable. One can be talented and skilled at his or her chosen art or profession, but, it is another thing to show a sincere passion to work with others and to share one's knowledge. I hope that her brand of professionalism rubs off on our high school students who, they may admit this or not, are looking for adult role models to look up to and emulate.

I am still on cloud nine as I write this. Our students made wonderful paper art today. Even our teachers joined in the fun and had their creative juices running!

Here is the art project, which Liza demonstrated to our students.

Begin with the basic: a tree

Add leaves. Be brave to use different kinds of paper!

Experiment. Move the paper around until you get it right.

Liza Flores and I collaborated on a children's picture book, Dear Nanay, which was published in 2014 by Lampara. Read her interview in the blog: Filipino Illustrator Interview: Liza Flores. 

Pinoy Illustrator Interview: Liza Flores

Liza Flores, illustrator and former President of Ang INK, answers questions about her creative process and the challenge of illustrating Dear Nanay, our book which was published by Lampara Books (2014).

a. What attracted you to use paper when illustrating a book for children?

I have always loved paper! As far as I can remember, whenever I'm at National Bookstore, or any store that has paper, I'd be looking at the store's paper selection (whole sheets, cut sheets, gift wrappers, notebooks), even if I had no real use for it. In a trip to the US, I bought Manila paper, just because their Manila paper had a nice thickness, and was in a nice yellowish-crafty color. 

I think the idea of using paper was planted in my head when I got a set of Japanese bookmarks when I was around 10 years old. 

Then I discovered I was pretty good with scissors. 

b. How different is this medium to, say, water color or digital media as far as rendition is concerned?

When I use paint or colored pencils, I have to have a very clean and detailed drawing of the whole book before I can color. (1) I start by making small thumbnail studies. (2) Then, I draw all the pages again, but this time bigger, a little bigger than the book's size. I use regular bond paper and a pencil when I do this. (3) With A light box, I trace my drawings on to the actual paper board I'll be using. (4) Finally, I color my line drawings.

With paper cutouts, I can jump from rough thumbnail studies straight to cutting. I don't draw on the paper I cut. I just imagine the shapes I need, like a circle for a head of a character, then I cut. Almost any object can be simplified into simple, basic shapes. So I would cut one piece or element at a time, move things around to see what works, and build each character, scene, and page as I go along. Then, I glue the parts when I'm happy with what I have.

c. What was your approach to Dear Nanay? The story is pretty sad, but you made it appear light and cheerful.

I remember Beth Parrocha saying that whenever she got a sad story, the more she wants to make the illustrations happy. That's how I felt after reading the manuscript. 

Also, how the story was written was already easy to understand. So I figured there was room for the illustrations to be less literal. I could illustrate sending a letter via snail mail, or via email, but why not via paper airplanes? 

d. Is being an artist/illustrator your first choice of career? If not, what made you become one? If it is, what keeps you in it?

I couldn't decide what course to take when I was applying for college. I knew I liked art, and maybe something communication-related, but that was it. So I ended up choosing Visual Communication (Fine Arts), not really knowing what I'd be when I graduate. 

It never occurred to me that being an illustrator was a career until I saw INK's exhibit whan I was in college. In fact, it's funny that it never occurred to me that real people made the drawings in my favorite books. And when I saw the illustrations of Robert Alejandro, Mel Silvestre, Joanne de Leon, Beth Parrocha, I thought, hey, I'd like to do that too!

I enjoy the process of making a book. I like imagining the story and making it "real". I learn something new every time: about the materials I use, about what I am capable of, about how to tell a story better. Then, there's the happy bonus of seeing my work printed, and being enjoyed by the one reading it.