by Cori Hilsgen
Creating a drawing with a pencil, without stopping and starting again, can be a challenge.
Fifth- and sixth-grade students in Tess Koltes’s and Susan Huls’s classrooms at All Saints Academy recently met that challenge when they learned about the element of line through art.
Local artist Carol Euerle taught the students how to create wire drawings. Her granddaughter, Addison Keul, who is a fifth-grader at the school, assisted with the lesson.
Euerle gave each of the students a piece of watercolor paper. They were asked to put their pencils to the paper and think of it as a piece of wire. They were told to twist and move but not to start or stop while doing their drawings.
Euerle said she brought along a sample for students to follow, but they did their own designs and were not intimidated at all.
“They just took off and weren’t scared of a thing,” Euerle said.
Students then used an ultra-fine-point marker, added some shading and some color in the background using magic markers, paint, crayons and more.
Euerle first learned about wire art when she took a class from artist Karen Knutson, who challenged the class to draw one wire drawing for each of 30 days.
Euerle said it has helped her to become much better at drawing. She prefers black-and-white drawings with just a little color in the background.
Koltes said they try to integrate all the elements of art while using different media to apply the element.
“Students loved it,” Koltes said. “Thank you, Carol for showing us different techniques with creating line and art.”
Students received several sheets of watercolor paper, a pencil and an ultra-fine-point marker from Euerle at the end of the one-hour class. She encouraged them to carry it with them and practice their drawing.
Although she prefers watercolor paper, Euerle said students could use any paper as long as the marker doesn’t bleed through the paper.
The students expressed excitement about their art tablets from Euerle.
Euerle has been an artist for more than 12 years. She teaches workshops with her friend, artist Carol Spychala. They teach monthly classes in Albany, Bagley and Cold Spring.
For additional information about classes, contact Euerle at 320-249-7220.