This year, a highlight of our Art Show was the ‘Glow Room’, which quickly became the main attraction! I undertook quite a bit of research and planning to ensure its success, considering key elements such as effective UV lighting and a space that could be completely blacked out. All of my classes created artworks that lent themselves to fluorescent colours, allowing them to glow under the UV lights and create a striking visual effect. Rather than following one overarching theme, the artworks reflected the diverse topics students were exploring in their classrooms, as my art program is designed to complement and extend their classroom learning.
First of all: set up. I did buy a number of lights from Amazon and did a trial with those and a few artworks around the room. As the room was slightly larger than an average classroom, I decided it probably needed some stronger lighting. I hired four floodlights (pictured) from DJ Warehouse here in Melbourne. They came with a tall stand and long cables- very easy to set up. I put one in each corner of the room and tilted them slightly upwards, so they reflected off the white ceiling, dispersing the light in that area well. Hire is very reasonable ($40 per two lights, delivery extra.) I returned them myself to save extra costs.
The materials used for artworks for the glow room included fluorescent and glow paint, oil pastels, paint sticks and neon paper.
Liquicryl acrylic fluorescent colours by ‘ec’ paints and UV Glow paint which glows brightly under UV black lights (also made by ‘ec’). The glow paint dries quickly, so best to pour it into palettes just before use. I mixed a little bit of the matching Liquicryl colour paint with it to stop it drying too fast.
Fluoro oil pastels were fantastic under the UV lights and paint sticks worked well too.
Fluorescent Kinder Squares and crepe paper looked great under the UV lights.
In all the materials, warm colours: yellow, orange, pink, glow the brightest under the UV lighting.
Two dimensional artwork was displayed on pin boards, walls and the front of cupboards around the perimeter of the room, with smaller boards arranged in the middle. Tables were used for three dimensional artwork. Fluorescent tape was attached to the floor as a guide around the boards and tables.
In time I will share more details about the artworks in the Glow Room. Here’s just a few:
In the week before the Art Show, students made a headband by painting a design in glow paints on a strip of white fabric to wear in the Glow Room.
