AGA-- Let's Explore Art, At Home

The Art Gallery of Alberta website has a Let's Explore Art section! It looks like it suggests 'at home' activity ideas based upon the current AGA exhibits. (Thank you to my friend who pointed this out to me). It would probably be beneficial to bookmark the site to investigate every now and then and check for new ideas. Oh, and, of course, go and visit the exhibits themselves, get inspired!

If this helps, the AGA has free admission on the last Thursday of every month from 6-9pm.

More Info:
Tours For Tots Wednesdays 11-noon, each week a different theme
All Day Sundays Second Sunday of every month, themed family art activities, 1-4pm


These are some of their ideas:

Create your own Textile Landscape

Use recycled fabric to create your own layered landscape!

What you need: old fabric and material, glue, scissors, stiff paper
What you do:

1. Collect fabric from old towels, drapes, clothes or visit a second hand store for re-used fabric pieces
2. Decide what type of landscape you would like to make: seaside, forest, ocean, field, prairie, mountains
3. Cut different shapes using the fabric and begin to layer and experiment. Try to use lots of overlapping to show things that are up close and far away
4. When you are ready, glue your fabric to the stiff paper to complete your project!

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Create your own Cel Animation

Work like a Warner Brothers artist to create your own background and cel to bring a story to life!

What you need: pencil crayons, paper, transparency paper, sharpie markers, your imagination
What you do:

1. Create a story. Think of a setting, characters and an action for your story.
2. Draw and colour a background that shows your story setting.
3. Draw your characters using sharpie marker on the transparency paper. This is called a ‘cel’ (short for celluloid).
4. Place the ‘cel’ on the background and then you have the beginning of your animation! Create multiple characters or new poses to animate your story.

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Create your own Escher-inspired Drawing

Use a spoon to create a stretched-out drawing just like M.C. Escher!

What you need: large metal spoon, paper, drawing tools
What you do:

1. Find a large metal spoon and turn it over so the curved side is facing up
2. Look carefully in the spoon to see how the shape changes your reflection
3. Draw what you see on your paper. Make sure to look at what parts are stretched and what parts are squished together!

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Create your own Imaginary Architectural Sculpture

Use recycled objects to create your own architectural sculpture.

What you need: Recycled objects, glue, scissors, paper.
What you do:

1. Collect recycled objects in your home such as plastic bottles, disposable dishware, juice containers, and cardboard boxes
2. Think about what type of building you want to make and sketch your idea. Will your building be symmetrical? Asymmetrical? Look at images by M.C. Escher for inspiration.
3. Use the recycled objects and start building your design. Your idea may change as you start to build.
4. Add folded strips of paper to your building to show stairs like M.C. Escher’s!