Block Crayons

Visitors often ask where we get the colorful block crayons that we use at the drawing tables during our Drop-In Workshops.  The answer is that we make them!  We save all of the small unusable crayons ends and sort them by color.  When we have collected enough we use a wax melter palette (similar to this one) to melt each color.  Using aluminum eye-droppers we transfer the colors from the wax melter to small plastic containers (empty containers from small portions of butter or jam can work well if you do this at home) and mix the colors into different designs as we transfer the melted wax.  This process is a great way to recycle unusable crayon pieces while creating a new crayon to use for rubbings, for children with small hands or just for fun.

Clay Wheel-Throwing Workshop

Here are a few photos from our great Wheel-throwing Workshop last weekend.  If you missed it, check out our next workshop on  Dec 6^th from 1-4pm ($36 for members, $48 for non-members).

Cylinder Seals Drop-In Workshop

Our Sunday Drop-In Workshop for the month of September is called “Make Your Mark!  Personal Seals,” and gives visitors an opportunity to make a simple cylinder seal similar to those made in ancient times.  These seals were first created in the Near East and later were made in Mesopotamia and Egypt and were used to create multiple impressions of the same document.  Usually made of stone (often amethyst or lapis lazuli), the cylindrical seal would have images or symbols carved into it.  When the seal was rolled over wet clay, the indentiations created an impression in the clay; this process could be repeated countless time to make many copies of a document.  Because the seals were often made of beautiful stones, sometimes they would be included along with gold and jewels in graves of important people.

In our workshop visitors will be able to carve their own symbols, patterns or pictures into a wax cylinder and then roll their seal over wet clay to create an impression.   Visit us any Sunday in September in the Student Lunchroom from noon-4!

Cyanotypes

In conjunction with the special exhibition: Photography, The First 1oo Years, on Saturdays in September, visitors to the museum will have the opportunity to participate in a (free!) drop-in workshop called Photograms: Cyanotype.

A photogram is a photographic  image made without a camera.  It is made by placing objects directly onto the surface of a photo-sensitive material such as photographic paper and then exposing it to light.  The areas of the paper that have received no light appear white, those exposed through transparent or semi-transparent objects appear in a medium tone, and areas that receive full light become dark.

Cyanotype is a blueprint process which provides permanent images in a beautiful range of cyan blue values.  The process is thought to have been discovered by John Herschel in 1842 and first used in a photographic way by Anna Atkins who is regarded as the first female photographer and who made the image above.

Visit us in the Student Lunchroom from 12-4pm on any Saturday in September and make your own!  If you find that you enjoy the process and results, there are many great resources for materials on the web.  One that we have used is www.blueprintsonfabric.com.  This store is an excellent resource for pre-treated cyanotype fabric and paper.

Second Saturdays on the Riverfront

Head down to Rivard Plaza on the river (1340 E. Atwater Street in Detroit; click here for a map) to visit us on the 2nd Saturday of each summer month through September.  The DIA has partnered with the Detroit RiverFront Conservancy and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra for this fabulous once-a-month event.  Click here for more information about the program from the Conservancy’s website. 

We’ll be there this Saturday (8/8) from 11am – 1pm with a free drop-in workshop for all ages.  We’ll provide all the materials you need to make your own kalimba instrument (a type of African thumb piano) to take home.  Come join us!

Summer Camp!

Our second camp session of 2009 ended today.  What an exciting and productive week – check out our flickr page to see how much fun we had!

Cristo Rey Mural Collaboration

For the past several months, DIA Art Studio instructor and artist Vito Valdez has been working with 14 9th-grade students at Cristo Rey – a new Catholic high school on the SW side of Detroit - on a collaborative mural project.  The mural is now finished and will be installed in their school before the Fall semester begins.  Vito was really impressed with the dedication of the students and their beautiful work on the mural. 

This project was made possible by a generous contribution from the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan.

Summer Camp at the DIA!

Today is the last day of our first week of summer camp!  The week has flown by and today is the campers’ art show for their parents.  Everyone has had a fantastic time making art together.  The older campers have, among other things, been working in painting, drawing, sculpture, clay, and papier mache.  The younger group has been making cement stepping stones, critter houses, bubble wands, butterfly nets  and books.  Check out our flickr page for more images from our first session of camp!  

If you missed out on this camp, never fear:  our next session is from July 13-17 with camps for ages 9-12 and ages 5-8.  

Each session costs $180 for members, or $225 for non-members.   Pre-registration and pre-payment required.  Call (313) 833-4249 to register.

We hope we’ll see you on July 13th!

The DIA Evening Post

Throughout the recent Norman Rockwell exhibition at the museum, hundreds of our visitors created their own “DIA Evening Post” magazine cover  in our Drop-In Workshop.  You can still check out the spectacular results displayed on our Flickr page.  

Camp Days at the DIA – engage your camp group in the discovery of Art!

The Art Studio at the DIA offers a fantastic opportunity for camp groups in Southeastern Michigan.  On Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from June 1st to August 31st each summer we open our Studio to groups of campers.  For $12/student, campers  ages 8 and older can spend a day discovering art together.   After art exploration in the galleries, participants have a hands-on opportunity to make art in the studio.  Group organizers can choose between clay, painting or printmaking  for the group.  This program is always popular, so be sure to reserve a date early.  Call (313) 833-6448 for more information.