Debra Disman

Artist

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The Work of Our Hands: Hand Building with Clay 1

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Creating masks in our Hand Building with Clay class at McKinley Elementary after school with the CREST Enrichment program has been a joy. With majority boys in the class, the tempo had to be high energy.

Students learned how to “pound out” slabs (flat) pieces of clay the week before, then created “armatures” (support structures) of newspaper, over which they stretched their slabs, so that their masks would be three dimensional.

It was exciting to watch the students develop their mask characters, inevitably thinking in terms of story…inspired by characters from film, television, and books, but always their own. Students used coil, scoring, incising and even pinch pot techniques to create their mask characters.


Creating detail.

 


Two faces, in one?


Creating texture!


Inspired by the zombie craze.


Our one young girl in class that day created…a self-portrait?


Creative use of coils…


Figuring it out…


A very coherent expression.


Tattoo?


What is going on here? Perhaps this young maker is working out his feelings through creating.

It would not be the first time…

All hail, the healing powers of Art.

Seeing Double Vision: Double Flower Bookmaking

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It has been exciting to lead programs at the Granada Hills Branch Library of the LAPL, as part of  my Artist Residency there:  “We Write the Book“, supported by the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs

In honor of  Chinese New Year, community members participated in creating “Double Flower” books (also known as “Exploding Books”).

Both adults and children learned to fold and “pop-out” the basic structure. They then made several and glued them together to create a  long or short book of repeated folded forms  that flatten into a single square. Finally, they had a blast adding covers and a tie if they wished, and embellishing their creations with all manner of materials.


Sisters with their folded up books: books closed..


Books open!


Taking the materials in another direction…


Mom gets into the act making her own Double Flower creation.

 


I also taught the “Turkish Map Fold”, (but that is another story…), and this intrepid maker was able to create one on her own!


Dad gets a gift from daughter…


The work of our hands…

Celebrating the beauty of the holiday, in community, creating together.

Beach, Books and Shelter

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Now that The Sheltering Book and The Big Beach Book are no more, except for fragments, in photos, and in memory, I wanted to look at the one structure/two projects piece in greater depth, and see the different ways the large book co-created in community was used. [Read more…] about Beach, Books and Shelter

Freedom of Expression and More…

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It has been exciting to lead programs at the Granada Hills Branch Library of the LAPL, as part of  my Artist Residency there:  “We Write the Book“, supported by the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs

In honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day and freedom in all its forms, participants created “single signature” sewn  and glued books, and then used their Freedom of Expression to develop and embellish the covers. A “signature” is a gathering of folded sheets that create pages for a book. Single signature bookbinding refers to a group of sheets (usually paper)  folded in the middle and bound together through sewing through their folds.

Although our program was originally planned for teens and “tweens”, several families attended including a number of dads with children. We had a wonderful time!


Sister and brother enjoy the delight of adding to their books after working step by step sewing and gluing to create them.


The glory of patterns. This young participant is age 3!


She attended with her mother.


In the background, mom and dad look on, taking a well-deserved break and enjoying the fun from the sidelines as their children worked and played.


Father offers support and presence to his son.


Our fearless leader, Branch Manager Pam, enjoys some creative “play” time, adding washi (decorative paper) tape to her book.

There is something very satisfying about hand-sewing a book together. It feels real…permanent. The work of our hands on a whole other level.
Hopefully, these books will continue to be developed at home, and most importantly, used!

 

2019 LA Open Exhibition (2)

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I  was honored to participate in the 2019 LA OPEN at  TAG GALLERY  December 2018- January 2019

The show ran Tuesday, December 18 – Saturday, January 18

Press Release | Installation Images | Inventory | Map

Thank you to curator James Panozzo  for including my piece, “Burning Bush”, and with Gallery Director Rakeem Cunningham, putting together a fascination show I was proud to be a part of.


“Burning Bush”


A sense of scale…


Texture

TAG is a wonderful Gallery in the Miracle Mile District of Los Angeles.  Cooperatively and artist run, the Gallery presents multifaceted shows in all mediums throughout its upstairs and street level spaces.

Gallery Location: 5458 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90036
Gallery Hours: Tuesday – Saturday, 11 am – 5 pm
Telephone: 310.829.9556
Email: [email protected]

Check it out!

 

“Be Part of the Story”: VAPA Students Make Books

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At a recent series of bookmaking workshops at Verdugo Hills High School, Visual and Performing Arts  (VAPA) students in VAPA Art and English classes learned to make their own books which they then shared with others in the school library, in  a singular exhibition and reading.

Thus we engaged visual, literary and performing/presentational art forms in a single four part series,.


“Be You”, an important message of the series.


Student artists set up their own books in the school library.


Then presented their works to an audience of other students, who had also participated in the program.


Some went up in pairs…(safety in numbers?),


While some braved it alone…


All expressed pride,


and absolute individuality.

I only wishg we had longer. It was incredibly fun, and gratifying to see these Visual Art and English students take off with the forms learned, and skills attained through the program.

Many thanks go out to Amanda  Swann, VAPA Coordinator and theater educator, Amy Lesserman VAPA English class teacher, Tina Staley, Art teacher, and Lisa Cheby, school librarian, who worked closely with me to make this experience happen.

Kudos and gratitudes!