Appreciating art doesn’t have to be a passive endeavor. These hands-on projects encourage art lovers of all ages to experience works on view at the Colby Museum from the perspective of a creator.
Art @ Home: Sugar Painted Abstract Watercolor
For this activity you are going to create your own colorful abstract inspired by Vincent Andrew Hartgen’s Neptune Churn using a technique called Sugar Painting. Hartgen’s work is on view in the exhibition A Poetics of Atmosphere: Lorna Simpson’s Cloudscape and Other Works from the Collection.
Art @ Home: Picture Your World
This art project is inspired by Aaron Siskind’s photographs in the exhibition, Act of Sight: The Tsiaras Family Photography Collection.
Art @ Home: Cassatt Inspirations
This art project is inspired by works of art in the exhibition, Inside Out: The Prints of Mary Cassatt.
Art @ Home: Reimagine and Transform
Roy Lichtenstein is well known for using comic book images in his pop art paintings. But, he began experimenting with appropriating images from the world of art and popular culture much earlier in his career. Take a look at some of the artist’s early works and consider his artistic process, then think about how you might use this idea of reimagining and transforming to create your own work of art. Try it!
Art @ Home: Tell an Important Story
In the Miracles on the Border: Retablos of Mexican Migrants to the United States exhibition, there are 50 retablos on display. Retablos are a type of art that features a story that is shared through words and images, and they have a long history. Think about your own life. Do you have a story of something that happened to you that could be thought of as a miracle? Or, perhaps you have something that you’re particularly grateful for in your life? Try it!
Make a New Friend: In the Studio
Today, we’re going to make friends with a work of art by Louis Charles Moeller called In the Studio. Artists often create works of art that feature rooms—filled with details that tell stories of that place and the people in it. Let’s get inspired by this work of art and create a drawing of an artist’s studio. You could imagine it’s your studio, or perhaps another artist’s studio you are visiting. Try it!
Make a New Friend: Carmen Herrera
In honor of Latinx Heritage Month, held from September 15 to October 15 each year, we’re going to make friends with a work of art by Carmen Herrera, Untitled. During this time, we honor the contributions of Latinx Americans, such as Herrera, who was born in Cuba and spent much of her life working in France and the United States. Today, inspired by her, we’re going to use some of the same ideas that guide her work as an artist, drawing straight lines to form geometric shapes using only two colors. Give it a try!
Write a Poem
Try your hand today at creating your own poems inspired by works of art in our collection. It’s easy to find images of works of art using the Search the Collection feature on our website—just type in the name of an artist or the subject you’re interested in like flowers or shoes. Poetic forms, like cinquain and haiku, can help provide structure. Read more!
Make a New Friend: Marsden Hartley
When you make friends with a work of art at the museum, you begin a friendship that will grow and grow, just like when you make friends with a person. And, you’ll discover that whenever you spend time with your friend, you’ll learn new things about what you see and how you feel about it. We’re going to use a picture to get to know City Point, Vinalhaven by Marsden Hartley. Give it a try!
Color Theory Challenge
In art, color is defined as an element of art that is produced when light, striking an object, is reflected back to the eye. Artists use color to express feelings and emotions, create a mood, or show something as it looks in peoples’ lives. The color wheel offers a visual reference for understanding relationships between colors. In this exercise, we’ll use the color wheel to create coloring pages show off our color theory smarts. Give it a try!
Make a New Friend: Red Lion
When you make friends with a work of art at the museum, you begin a friendship that will grow and grow, just like when you make friends with a person. And, you’ll discover that whenever you spend time with your friend, you’ll learn new things about what you see and how you feel about it. Let’s get inspired by Bernard Langlais and create our own lion relief sculpture from cardboard. A relief sculpture is a work of art that has a raised surface. Some relief sculptures are created when an artist carves away parts of stone or wood; that’s called a subtractive process. We’re going to create an additive sculpture, adding pieces of cardboard to a base to create a raised surface. Try it for yourself!
Strike a Pose
Artists who show humans or human-like figures think carefully about POSE. In art, a pose is a particular way of standing or sitting, usually in order to be photographed, painted, or drawn. And, by choosing a certain pose, it often helps to tell a story or express a feeling. Think about some words that describe an emotion or express a feeling, and then think about how you could express that with your POSE. Take a look at The Hostess by Elie Nadelman and see how it inspires you to strike a pose of your own!
Make a New Friend: Roadline Painter’s Problem
When you make friends with a work of art at the museum, you begin a friendship that will grow and grow, just like when you make friends with a person. And, you’ll discover that whenever you spend time with your friend, you’ll learn new things about what you see and how you feel about it.
Right now, the museum is closed, but we can still make friends with works of art there. We’re going to use a picture to get to know a work of art that might make you laugh, Roadline Painter’s Problem by Norman Rockwell and create a story using pictures. Give it a try!
Make a New Friend: Malcolm X #14
When you make friends with a work of art at the museum, you begin a friendship that will grow and grow, just like when you make friends with a person. And, you’ll discover that whenever you spend time with your friend, you’ll learn new things about what you see and how you feel about it.
Right now, the Museum is closed, but we can still make friends with works of art there. We’re going to use a picture to get to know Malcolm X #14 by Barbara Chase-Riboud and create a work inspired by its pairs of opposites–hard and soft, heavy and light, sharp edges and round coils. Try it for yourself!
Make a Recycled Boat
“For me, a ship is a vessel to carry you on a journey, to carry you from a place of conflict to a place of safety, or from the past into the future. It involves trade, it’s about a hope for a better life. It’s a container for the soul.” – Hew Locke
Create your own boat, inspired by the Armada installation in Hew Locke: Here’s the Thing, using recycled materials from your house, yard, or things you find on a walk.