This workshop was realized by Claudio Cantelmi, art teacher at the middle school Alberto Manzi in Rome. The activity is inspired by the italian artist Fabio Mauri. In particular by his art works inspired by the Van Gogh Room, made with dry prints to be observed in grazing light.
To create the works inspired by Van Gogh’s room with the art technique devised by Mauri, you need:
- thick cardboard or a wooden board of A3 size (cm. 29.7×42)
- white cardboard of thickness mm. 1Vinyl glue
- Vinyl glue
- Paintbrush
- Scissors
- Cutter
- Plaster
- Ready colored gouache (of the color you prefer)
- Letters, (which can be cut out from cardboard or found already made of wood) to compose a word or a short sentence
- The prints of the drawings attached below
First, print the attached drawings (one in A3 format or two in A4 format) and cut out the shapes of Van Gogh’s room.
Use thick cardboard or wooden board as a base and glue the shapes of the objects in the room. You can arrange the shapes in a different order. Subsequently, glue the letters freely, but making sure that the word or the short sentence is legible.
In a bowl mix three tablespoons of quick-setting plaster, half a glass of water, two tablespoons of vinyl glue, and the colored gouache. Paint the base with the colored plaster and if necessary give a second coat. Let it dry.
Students can also customize the work by photographing their room and drawing the main elements, in order to obtain the shapes and proceed as explained. Here are the works carried out by Claudio Cantelmi’s students:
