While brush painting continues to be our main activity in the Boone Children’s Gallery, we now offer an expanded menu of art-making activities during the week. Check this out!
Mondays: Layers!
Gallery facilitator Fernando Garcia designed a project that plays with the idea of illusion. Create mixed media masterpieces combining layers of foam shapes in vibrant colors with markers and clear transparency sheets. We are always amazed at how visitors push the limits of these materials!
Challenge: Collaborate by starting a layered work and then swapping with another person at the table. How did your artistic vision change with their additions?
Tuesdays: Material Play
When we commissioned contemporary artist Zheng Chongbin to create Material Play, installed in the Boone Children’s Gallery, he left behind his unused materials—basically the scraps! Last year, Chongbin collaborated with families to compose his installation by deconstructing and reconstructing their paintings. Gallery facilitator Monica Juarez wanted visitors to be inspired by Material Play on a smaller scale. She designed this collage activity for families to play with composition and artistic choice using Chongbin’s scraps.
Challenge: Make it a mixed media collage by adding paint and color! What new shapes did you create?
Thursdays: Dots, Dots, Dots!
Use the thick dot markers to create big dots of color and thin markers to create freckle-sized spots. Hole punches can be used to produce confetti-like circles and holes on your paper. In your art work, place your small or large dots close together, far apart, or overlapping to create endless effects. If you have toddlers, you’ll see Thursday will become their favorite day.
Challenge: What new colors can you create by overlapping the dots? What new effects can you make by only using the red and blue colors?
Fridays: Texture
On Fridays we bring out the foam brushes! They can absorb a lot of paint and are great for creating texture. Slather the paint on the brush and move it across the page. Smear a different color on top and play with the pressure of the brush. Try a nearly dry brush for another effect. These simple techniques can transform your blank sheet into a layered, textural work.
Challenge: Experiment with dabbing, smushing, and smearing! How many different kinds of lines can you make?
Join us during the week to experiment, explore, and learn from these tools and other visitors in the gallery! The Boone Children’s Gallery is a drop-in art making space for everyone—kids, teens, families, and adults. Open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday: 11 am to 5 pm; Saturday and Sunday: 10 am to 5 pm; closed Wednesdays.