Youth Classes

The Faraway and Up Close: Mixed Media Works Inspired by Georgia O'Keeffe

Description:
Another of our week long summer camps this year was inspired by the artwork and ethos of the much beloved Georgia O'Keeffe. The following mixed media project was developed in order to explore more deeply the influence that photography had on O'Keeffe's work. From the beginning, O'Keeffe was moved to paint vast open landscapes of land and sky, a place that she called lovingly "the faraway." But it was from the rise of art photography and those artists working in the new medium, including her husband Alfred Stieglitz, that O'Keeffe learned the value of zooming in. Some of her most iconic works are the result of these up close studies. In this lesson, students take their cues from O'Keeffe and create their own vision of the faraway, while also practicing seeing what is up close. This project was designed for our 6-10 year old cohort but could be adapted for any age group.

Betye Saar Inspired Palm Collagraph and Assemblage

This project was hands down (pun intended) the students' favorite from our week long summer art camp inspired by the artwork of contemporary artist, Betye Saar. It is accessible for most students age 6 on up through high school. Saar, born in 1926 and still working today, is considered the grande dame of assemblage art. She also works in collage, printmaking, and watercolor. Her works address a wide variety of themes including spirituality, mysticism, time, personal history, ancestry, race, class, and gender. Her works are rich with symbols, both personal and collective, and they challenge us to find new meaning and possibility in old stories. This activity was inspired by Saar's depression era ethos of “use it up, make it do, go without," as well as her love of symbols and old objects. It is a three part process that took us several relaxed, fun-filled days to finish.

Whimsical Watercolor Fox Face

This whimsical process based activity is accessible to very young artists and artists of any age with special needs. The large round surface of the fox's head provides a great "empty canvas" for play and experimentation with watercolor paints. With very few additional steps, the process based painting is transformed into a large and happy fox face that will surely put a smile on anyone's face. Enjoy and happy springtime!

Diatom Paper Sculpture

Description: This activity pairs science with art, observing and exploring with making, and gives students the chance to take a tour at the OSU Museum of Art. It is inspired by Glass Houses, a multimedia artwork by Marguerite Perret and Bruce Scherting that is currently on display in the exhibition The State We’re In Water: Constructing a Sense of Place in the Hydrosphere (until May 29, 2021). This exhibition explores humanity's complex relationship to water- our dependency on it, our awe and love for it, as well as our careless waste and destruction of it. Glass Houses is a large, colorful installation piece that celebrates the tiny micro-organisms known as diatoms. Diatoms provide the earth with much of its oxygen through the process of photosynthesis and they are known as the "gems of the sea" because they are encased in glass and made of all the colors of the rainbow.

Harriet Powers Story Quilt Collage

In our last session of Art Academy for 6-10 year olds, we focused on folk traditions from around the world. This lesson is inspired by well known American folk artist and quilter, Harriet Powers. Powers was born into slavery in 1839 in rural Georgia. She was a wife, a mother of nine, and it is speculated that she earned a living later in life as a seamstress. Only two of her quilts survive, both of them traditional applique and piecework. They are bold and skillful examples of so called story quilts, an art form which extends back to ancient African textile traditions. Each panel uses symbols and figures to tell a story. Powers' stories are an interesting mix of the mythical and religious and the personal and local.

Mixed Media Winter Tree

This activity combines two mediums (watercolor and collage) and has both an exploratory, process-based step and a more focused, compositional step. In other words, a little something for everyone. The salt mixed with the watercolor will create an interesting and somewhat surprising snow storm effect that is sure to please. If you find this lesson after the holiday/winter season, you can always make a night sky and let the salt effect become the shining stars. Enjoy!

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