There were a couple of unfinished projects we needed to complete.
And I wanted to leave time for the kids to be able to play together with the Paul Klee inspired puppets they had made during the week.
And so poor ol' Antoni Gaudi and Hannah Hoch, two artists I was quite excited to share with the kids, had to share time in the studio.
This past fall my husband and I spent some time in Barcelona and Madrid. It was my first visit to Spain and will not be my last! What an amazing country to visit for anyone who possesses a creative spirit! I left both cities full of inspiration for future projects in the studio.
One of which was inspired by truly the most breathtaking church I have ever visited, Sagrada Familia, by Antoni Gaudi.
Antoni Gaudi's Sagrada Familia
I had a collection of early 1900's encyclopedia's that I had bought last spring in hopes of using for projects and they came in quite handy for this one. I shared with the kids the architecture of Gaudi's church and I think they all found it quite interesting to learn that although he has been dead for a long time, his church is still currently being completed. For me, it was exciting to share with the kids that art takes all kinds of forms, including buildings!
I then talked to the kids about creating a deconstructed book. I told them that they were giving books a new life that otherwise would of ended up thrown away. (I bought them in the last hour of a church sale for $2.00) And showed them a couple of "rules" they needed to follow when starting to fold the pages and then let them go using the Sagrada Familia as inspiration.
This project requires the kids to use some math skills, focus on symmetry, and precision when folding. At the beginning of the project, it is quite challenging but within a few minutes they all have mastered the techniques and wow! it was very exciting to watch what they began creating.
One of the boys declared this the best project of the week, which shocked me a bit because I thought the Paul Klee puppets would hold that title.
It is always quite amazing to watch what can be created with an old book, a pair of scissors, some glue and a whole lot of folding. The boys did not finish these pieces and were quite excited to keep working on them at home. I would love to see what they look like today.
As awesome as Gaudi is I could not leave Hannah Hoch unseen and so I presented Gaudi and Hoch at the same time. I gave all the kids the option to choose which project they wanted to do inspired by the artists. Interestingly enough, all the boys chose Gaudi and the two lone girls in the class chose Hannah Hoch.
I fell in love with Hannah Hoch's work during the Mash-up exhibit at the Vancouver Art Gallery. I was inspired by her work the minute I saw it on display. She is a German Dada artist and the originator of the photomontage.
Hannah Hoch, self portrait
I had printed off 8 different photos and clipart for each child and I gave them the same 8 images. I thought it would be interesting to see how each of them montaged those images together based on their imagination.
Once the girls had their images created, I handed them some colored pencils to add any other details they wanted. It took a bit for the girls to embrace the process, they kept wanting to use the entire image without cutting it apart, but they came around although they both deemed the entire project "weird".
Which is probably why I am so drawn to Hoch's work, because I love weird.
One of the boys looked over while the above art was being created and commented, "poor Queen Victoria". But I think it is a wonderful image of the late Queen as she truly did love "her king" all the while having her hands in dozens of things running the country. I'm not sure the 7 year old girl realized the symbolism she created by giving her octopus arms, (what mother at one time or another has not wished for more arms to manage things?!), or the "king" card attached to her head, then reiterated with drawing, of just how much the Queen's spouse was on her mind and in her heart.
Either way, cool image, if you can get over the fact that the poor Queen has been chopped up in the most unusual way.
The projects came to an end all too soon, just like camp, as the kids spent the last bit of the day creating puppet shows until their parents arrived for pick up.
I sure hope the kids had as much fun with the projects as I did creating them, several I can't wait to try again!
In fact this summer I have created an entire camp around the Paul Klee inspired puppets called, "Puppeteer". It will run August 22nd until the 25th and kids will create a shadow box theatre along with puppets out of plaster and felt. I'm quite excited about it after watching the kids enjoy creating puppets in this camp.
Registration for summer camps has started and with a maximum of 8 children in the camps, they fill up quickly. Further information is available for all the camps on the website or the Facebook page.
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