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Debra Disman

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Landscapes

Of Polka Dots and Butterflies: Inspired by Yayoi Kusama

May 13, 2024 By Debra Disman

In what I am calling my “Girl Power” after-school artmaking class (“Making Art Inspired By Great Artists!), my group of seven power artmakers are hard at work creating polka-dotted butterfly books inspired by Japanese Artist Yayoi Kusama!

First up was to learn the correct pronouncement of Kusama’s name…not familiar to the girrrls. Next they created accordion-fold book spines, added the front and back covers, and finally, butterfly wings to the center fold of the spine

Then it was off to the races to add colorful polka dots to their books, in honor of Kusama’s interest (obsession with?) circles, polka-dots, and their endlessness and thus the expression of  infinity the circular shape affords, at least in Kusama’s book (!)

Adding also flowers, butterflies (stickers), ribbons to honor May Day and even using a butterfly shaped hole puncher, the girrrls wowed with their use of materials, their creativity, and imagination to create unique, whimsical, beautiful and stunningly singular works. Just like Yayoi Kusama does with her materials, creativity and imagination!

What a marvelous group. Brava!

Spines folded, covers and wings attached, let the adornment begin!


Weaving ribbons through the holes.


 Can there be any more polka dots?!?


Using the butterfly hole puncher.


Deft use of the polka dot (and other) stickers, which she is adding white texture to (overlaying the original orange color polka dot color on the wings) , which she took out or replaced later, to have just the plain orange polka dots. Just amazing!

Filed Under: All She makes, ARTISTS, Artists' Books, BOOKS, Student Work, Teaching Artist, TEXTILE/FIBER, Women Artists, Work Tagged With: Afer School Arts Enrichment, After school art class, After School Art Classes, After School Arts programs, Arts Enrichment, butterflies, City of Santa Monica Youth Office, Collage, Color and design, CREST, Drawing, Drawing Faces, Girl Power, Girls Making, Girrrl Power, Handmade Books, Horizon Line, Landscapes, MAKING ART INSPIRED BY GREAT ARTISTS, Perspective, Polka Dots, Print Media, Santa Monica Public School After School Enrichment, Springtime, Teaching Artist, Yayoi Kusama

Girl Power! Making Surrealistic Landscapes Inspired by Salvador Dali

May 3, 2024 By Debra Disman

In what I am calling my “Girl Power” after-school artmaking class (“Making Art Inspired By Great Artists!), my group of seven power artmakers are hard at work creating surrealist landscapes inspired by artist Salvador Dali.

They learned about the concepts of horizon , vanishing points, perspective and scale ad used them to establish and landscape then develop it into a personal, surrealistic world.  It was fascinating to watch.  For our next class, they will be adding images from magazines to complete their works and add another layer of surrealism to them and learning about the artform of collage in the process!

What a marvelous group. Brava!


Intensity, care, creativity, connection, learning, what else is there?

Filed Under: ARTISTS, Student Work, Teaching Artist, Uncategorized Tagged With: Afer School Arts Enrichment, After school art class, After School Art Classes, After School Arts programs, Arts Enrichment, City of Santa Monica Youth Office, Collage, CREST, Dali, Distance, Drawing, Drawing Faces, Girl Power, Horizon Line, Landscapes, MAKING ART INSPIRED BY GREAT ARTISTS, Perspective, Print Media, Salvador Dali, Santa Monica Public School After School Enrichment, Scale, Surrealism, Surrealistic Landscapes, Teaching Artist, Vanishing Point

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