Wicked Witches and Mysterious Masks with Heather Baharally

“Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn and cauldron bubble.”

3D pen artist Heather Baharally has been summoning the creative spirit, and has quite a few enchanting crafts for you to behold. Her weird witch Doodles and magical mask tutorial have landed just in time for All Hallows’ Eve.

We had the opportunity to speak with her about her creative processes and her very personal connection with this hair-raising holiday.

Thanks so much for taking the time to meet with us, Heather. We are absolutely in love with your Halloween masks and witches! We wanted to ask you, what do you love about Halloween?

It is so much fun to dress in costume and act silly or scary. I love the chance to get out and meet the neighbours – to celebrate and confront our fears as a community.

Can you comment on the inspiration behind your Doodled witches?

Kitchen witches are a tradition I grew up with, where you hang a witch in your kitchen to give good luck and prevent food spoiling or burning.

Often made as old women on wooden spoons, I changed the design to be pin-up figures on brooms. The bright colour range of plastic filaments available encourages a playful attitude.

My first witch was inspired by a friend going through a hard time.

She was starting fresh in a new home and I wanted to give her some good luck. I love the story and symbol of kitchen witches and I keep making them and other fun fantasy figures that inspire narrative.

Can you speak about your creative process with the witches, and any challenges around Doodling human figures?

Creating a character is a chance to tell yourself a story. Who are they? What are they doing? What clothing or accessories do they have?

I like to start with the head of a figure. It is the hardest part to make, and the rest of the proportions for the body are based on the size of the head. Once I have a face I like, I can measure the length of the limbs and torso and begin to create the basic shapes, often using a ‘skeleton’ of filament strands. Smoothing the skin is challenging, but making costume details is a lot of fun.

You’ve been making Doodled masks for many years. What do you love about making masks and creating your own costumes?

This may sound strange, but I think my fondness for masks comes from the current social culture. It is a response to the lack of privacy and the saturation of cameras and social media in everyday life. Masks are also characters, telling a story, and I love how that reflects in a lot of my artwork.

Masks and costumes can come is any shape or color and gave me a form to experiment with the variety of materials and techniques available to 3Doodler users. I learned my scribble technique by making masks and wanting a light cool structure. I learned ways to mimic ice with layers of filament by making a couple of different styles of ice masks.

For all of the aspiring Doodlers out there, do you have any advice on making masks you can share?

Refinement can happen as you go, so don’t worry if it’s not perfect right away! Paper cutouts covered in tape work great to add details like ears or horns. Be inspired by what you love, then put the time in and see the project to the end.

Scales Mask Tutorial

Materials Needed

Directions

  • Let the pen warm up, and click to start, holding the pen’s nozzle where you want the first scale to go.
  • Hold the nozzle in place until a large blob of filament has accumulated. Click to stop, and hold pen in place a moment before quickly pulling away with a jerk.
  • Allow the filament to cool only a moment before pressing it down quickly in short, quick pats.
  • Once filament has settled in place, you can smooth fingerprints or scuffs out.
  • Heather’s Tip: Using a blank mask, I started in the center with yellow filament. Making scale rings around the eyes in yellow, green and turquoise. This mask is a great example of the scale texture and could be adapted for many kinds of creatures!

Are you inspired by Heather’s Halloween Doodles? Let us know on social media, and be sure to share all of your spooky sculptures with us!

@3Doodler #3Doodler

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About the artist: Canadian artist Heather Baharally started working with 3D pens when she received her first 3Doodler order from backing the kickstarter campaign. She has spent the years since exploring the endless possibilities of this new and exciting media, developing several unique and distinct techniques and styles using 3Doodler pens. She won several of the early 3Doodler social media challenges and contests, solidifying her intent to use the pen to create artwork. From drawing portraits on plexiglas to large sculptural paintings on canvas, wearable chainmail and masks to 3D fairies and witches, she continues to push the limits of what can be done using 3D pens and plastic filaments.

Curriculum from the Cauldron: Halloween STEM

October is just around the corner, and one thing is on students’ minds… Halloween!

We know that they can hardly contain the excitement as October 31st inches closer. To help you bring some focused fun to your lessons, we have compiled a list of STEM projects with some Halloween flare. They can be adapted as needed for your hybrid learning needs.

Spooky STEM Activity for All Grades!

STEM Challenge: Catapult Pumpkin Launch

Have you ever heard of a pumpkin launch? We have just the activity to help you do it in your classroom.

Materials:

Share the Goal

Pairs of students will create a pumpkin launcher that shoots mini pumpkins the farthest in the classroom. There will be at least 2 rounds of the pumpkin launch so that each partner can launch the pumpkin.

The components of the catapult The components of the catapult
  1. Split students into pairs.
  2. Have the students discuss and write down two hypotheses regarding the launch, such as whether a half a pumpkin would go farther or less far than a whole pumpkin, or if any modifications, such as the size of the catapult, could affect the distance the pumpkin goes.
  3. Have them each Doodle parts of one Catapult Stencil to make a small scale pumpkin launcher. *Students can split the stencil in half and take turns Doodling the component pieces together to make the final product.
  4. Once the Doodled pumpkin launcher is completed, have students come to the front of the classroom.*Safety first: Before handing out pumpkins for the first launch, ensure nobody is in the line of mini pumpkin fire!
  5. Hand out one mini pumpkin, then have each pair launch their pumpkins in the classroom one by one.
  6. One student from the pair will launch the pumpkin, and the other student from the pair will use a measuring tape to see how far the pumpkin was launched from the catapult. The teacher can note the measurement on the board for each pair in the rounds of launching.
  7. Allow the pairs to modify their design in between rounds based on inferences made during the launch.
  8. Repeat steps 4-6. *Note: you can do two rounds of the pumpkin launch, or as many rounds as you’d like.
  9. Finally, have students calculate the average distance between their launch rounds based on the numbers written on the board.
  10. Announce the winning pair!

Hooray for Halloween Lesson Plans

If you’re looking for a full scale lesson plan to bring the ghoul into school, these are sure to spark some high-spirited engagement in the classroom!

Fibonacci Spiderwebs Lesson Plan

Use our creepy, crawly Fibonacci lesson plan to help students understand mathematics! They will gain a better understanding of the Fibonacci sequence, its presence in nature, and create their very own spider webs based on the golden spiral. Be sure to use the Doodled spider webs and spiders to decorate your classroom for Halloween!

TIME REQUIRED: Two 45-60 minute sessions
SKILL LEVEL: Intermediate
RECOMMENDED GRADES: 3rd to 5th

Elemental Superheroes and Supervillains

In our Elemental Superheroes and Supervillains lesson plan, students will creatively explore elements from the periodic table. Students will work in pairs to design their own 3Doodler contour superhero or supervillain mask, which will embody the qualities and associations of their assigned periodic element. Have students wear their masks after the completion of the lesson plan to bring the Halloween spirit into the classroom!

TIME REQUIRED: Three 40-minute sessions
SKILL LEVEL: Intermediate
RECOMMENDED GRADES: 6th to 8th

Are you excited to bring Curriculum from the Cauldron into your classroom? Please let us know on social media, and be sure to share pictures of your students’ projects!

@3Doodler #3Doodler #3DoodlerEDU

Posted in EDU

Notable Doodlers: Come Together for John Lennon’s Birthday

Good Day Sunshine!

  • 3d pen design john lennon sketch
  • 3d pen design john lennon sketch
  • 3d pen design john lennon sketch
Did you know that today is John Lennon’s 79th birthday? In remembrance of John Lennon, we thought today would be the perfect day to celebrate the life and works of one of our favorite Notable Doodlers.

In the year of 1940, John Winston Lennon was born in an English city called Liverpool. Little did anyone know at the time that he would go on to be one of society’s most renowned creative geniuses. He is best known for The Beatles, one of the world’s most influential rock bands, and for being a prominent peace activist. Of Lennon’s lesser known works are his surrealist scribbles, which he made consistently from his early childhood until his passing. During his life he drafted countless sketches and lithographs, a spectacle of his spirited drive to create.

Many don’t know that Lennon expressed the visual arts as his first love, nor do they know that he was an art student at the Liverpool College of Art from 1957-60. Though art wasn’t his primary focus after forming The Beatles, he continued to Doodle throughout the years, and even drew the first sketch of the Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album cover.

"Surrealism had a great effect on me because I realized that the imagery in my mind wasn’t insanity. Surrealism to me is reality."-John Lennon Share
Depicted above is John Lennon’s original sketch of the <i>Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band</i> album cover. Depicted above is John Lennon’s original sketch of the Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album cover.
"Peace is not something you wish for; It’s something you make, something you do, something you are, and something you give away."-John Lennon Share

His favorite style of art was line drawing using pencil, pen, or Japanese sumi ink. In 1969, Lennon started holding art exhibits with pieces from a series titled Bag One, a portfolio that was inspired and dedicated to his relationship with Yoko Ono. The sketches detailed their marriage ceremony, honeymoon, and their fervent pleas for world peace. His peace drawings from that series were used in a number of anti-war movements.

The drawings from his early years until his untimely death in 1980 have been compiled into a book titled John Lennon: The Collected Artwork. John Lennon’s drawings exude his visionary, surrealist personality, and they serve as a testimony to his creative spirit. His music and artwork have enriched millions of lives throughout the years, and will continue to send ripples of inspiration across the universe.

  • Lab team creates 3D pen art.
  • Surrealist John Lennon drawing with whimsical animals, elongated neck, and strangely shaped heads.
  • Two people playing game with 3D pen art.
  • Children and man creating 3D pen art

3D pen drawing: Man at desk with coffee

I’ve got a feeling that John Lennon’s works have inspired you! Please share your stories with us on social media.
@3Doodler #3Doodler #AllYouNeedIsLove

You can visit the John Lennon Strawberry Fields memorial in Central Park to celebrate his life and works.

Beatles Reference:
The Beatles. “Come Together.” Abbey Road, 1969
The Beatles. “Across the Universe.” Let It Be, 1970.
The Beatles. “I’ve Got a Feeling.” Let It Be, 1970.
The Beatles. “Good Day Sunshine.” Revolver, 1966.

©All rights of reproduction reserved to the Estate of the late John Lennon

Close-up: 3D pen art cake with sticks design

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