Category: Activities

Light It Up Blue!!!

Look for blue lights on buildings around the globe to help shine a light on World Autism Awareness! More information can be found at Light It Up Blue

Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) turned its series of 100-foot-high pylons and 32-foot-high letters spelling out “LAX” blue!
LAX 4.2
The distinctive, architectural structures welcoming travelers to LAX were part of a construction and landscaping program designed to make the airport more welcoming and convenient for the nearly 62 million passengers who use the airport annually. The LAX Gateway pylons are the most well-known example of public art in Los Angeles and are visible to airline passengers from 3,000 feet high.

The Shapes & Colors of John McLean’s Black Watch

Creating McLean inspired artwork
Creating McLean inspired artwork

On Saturday, March 15, new families joined returning families for Exploring Artism. The day’s theme was inspired by the artwork of John McLean and his painting hanging in the Yale Center for British Art. More information and images of John McLean’s artwork can be found at the BBC’s Your Paintings – John McLean.

Students began by reviewing the names of shapes: rectangles, squares, triangles and trapezoids. To remember what makes a shape a trapezoid, everyone rocked out to The Trapezoid Song. We looked at two review sheets as a warm-up activity. You can find them here and here.

Activity in the gallery
Activity in the gallery

Sitting in front of McLean’s painting, Black Watch, we asked ourselves: What shapes do you see? What colors do you see? How do you think the artist made this? Then, everyone assembled their own “copy” with colored paper shapes, somewhat similar to a McLean-inspired Tangram. First, participants were asked to recreate the McLean painting. Then, participants were asked to create their own McLean-inspired composition.

After cleaning up in the galleries, everyone went back to the Docent Room to create a more permanent McLean-inspired artwork. Using vellum, tissue paper, sponge brushes, and glue, participants were able to create their own artwork using Black Watch as a guide. They were able to choose their own shapes and colors for the composition.

Matthew working on his artwork
Matthew working on his artwork
Working on the artwork
Working on the artwork

Everyone had the opportunity to share their finished composition with the rest of the group!

Elijah sharing his finished artwork
Elijah sharing his finished artwork

 

Animal Expressions

Portrait of Mr. Van Amburgh, As He Appeared with His Animals in the London Theatres. Sir Henry Landseer. 1846-1847.
Portrait of Mr. Van Amburgh, As He Appeared with His Animals in the London Theatres. Sir Henry Landseer. 1846-1847.

Last week during our Exploring Artism program, we took a look at the Portrait of Mr. Van Amburgh, As He Appeared with His Animals in the London Theatres and discussed animal expressions.

We began our session by going over our social story, and then introduced the painting through a warm-up worksheet. You can find the warm-up worksheet here. Participants were asked: Have you ever seen these animals before? Where did you see them? How do you express emotions? Can animals express emotions? What are the animals in this painting saying or feeling? What about the animals makes you think that? Participants and their families were then able to look at the warm-up sheet and fill in the speech bubbles with what each animal is saying. Participants were then able to share with the whole group what they thought each animal was saying. Next, we moved into the galleries to look at the painting and continue thinking about animal expressions.

Discussing the painting in the gallery
Discussing the painting in the gallery

Sitting on our seating dots in front of the painting, our group began to discuss what is happening in the painting. Some questions that we asked in the galleries were: How are these animals standing in the cage? Do they seem happy? Sad? What makes you think this? What kinds of sounds do you hear when you look at this painting? Can you try to imitate the way these animals are feeling? After we had discussed all of these things, participants were then asked to act out the painting.

Acting out the painting
Acting out the painting

Using different animal fabrics, animal masks, and an iPad with animal sounds, each participant was given a role in the interactive activity. Once everyone was in costume, participants were asked to recreate the painting by standing or crouching like the animal they were portraying. One of our participants was not feeling up to acting out the scene, so he was given the iPad and allowed to create the sounds of the scene. Zoo Sounds Free is the free app that we used to create the sounds; you can find it here.

Having finished acting out the scene, participants and volunteers headed back down to the Docent Room to create dioramas of the scene using cardboard and Model Magic. We used cardboard boxes to make our dioramas, but shoes boxes also work well. Prepared beforehand, the Education Department created the “cage” using cardboard and pipe cleaners. First, participants were asked to decorate the background using markers, colored paper, and pre-cut foam pieces. Then, each participant was able to make animals using the Model Magic and markers. The Education Department had pre-cut several pictures of the animals from the painting to stick into the scene if participants were not inclined to make an animal using the clay. Each participant was given a small cutout of Mr. Van Amburgh to place in their dioramas as well. Lastly, volunteers and participants worked together to place the pipe cleaner cage onto the diorama.

Beginning work on the dioramas
Beginning work on the dioramas
Alex working on his diorama
Alex working on his diorama

Each participant was then able to share their artwork with the rest of the group.

Aiden presenting his finished artwork
Aiden presenting his finished artwork

 

 

High Seas and High Teas TOMORROW!

Francis Swaine. An English Sloop Becalmed near the Shore. Mid-18th Century.
Francis Swaine. An English Sloop Becalmed near the Shore. Mid-18th Century.
Charles Philips. Tea Party at Lord Harrington's House, St. James's. 1730.
Charles Philips. Tea Party at Lord Harrington’s House, St. James’s. 1730.

Join the Yale Center for British Art and the Education Department tomorrow from 10:30am-noon at our annual High Seas and High Tea! Come dressed as your favorite princess, prince, pirate, pirate princess, or creature from the deep blue sea. We will provide dainty sweets, tales of gales, and make-your-own treats. Free; suitable for the young at heart. No registration required.

Bears

During our Exploring Artism program on Saturday, participants were invited to take a look at the temporary exhibition of work by Nicola Hicks. We focused on a sculpture of a black bear called Black. Her large scale sculptures incorporate straw and plaster, making for a great tactile experience for our Artism participants.

We began our program with a bear icebreaker quiz and an opportunity to do some painting. The painting was part of our post-gallery project (which we will address later). Here is the popular bear icebreaker, and here is the accompanying PowerPoint with the quiz answers. We also went over our Social Story, covering museum rules and directions for the program.

 

Alex Reading the Social Story
Alex Reading the Social Story

Next, everyone was invited to let out a large bear growl or roar before we headed up into the gallery to view Nicola Hicks’s Black.

 

Talking About Black
Talking About Black

Sitting in front of the sculpture, participants were asked to look at and describe the artwork. How is the bear standing? Can you stand up like the bear? (Everyone attempted to imitate the bear’s stance). How do you think the bear is feeling? Have you ever seen a real bear? Where? Next, we sang a song about meeting a bear. You can see the full song here. We sang just a few stanzas to remain on time. After our song was finished, participants were asked how they thought the artist, Nicola Hicks, created this bear. What materials did the artist use? Why? How did she make it? Nicola Hicks actually used straw and plaster to create her sculptures. Since we cannot bring straw or clay into the galleries, participants were invited to create their own “Tear Bear” using brown construction paper and felt.Tearing the brown construction paper created an almost fur-like appearance to the bears while also providing a multi-sensory experience through the sounds and movements of tearing the paper.

Participants Making Tear Bears
Participants Making Tear Bears

When everyone was finished with their tear bears,they placed their creations in front of Black and admired the uniqueness of each bear.

 

Looking at the Tear Bears
Looking at the Tear Bears

Having finished in the galleries, participants headed back to our Docent Room to work on creating bear masks out of the paper plates that we were painting during the warm-up time. Using the paper plates with holes cut out for eyes, brown paint, pieces of dark brown and light brown felt, yarn, puff balls, and Popsicle sticks, and brown shredded paper we were able to create our own bear masks to wear. Here is the step by step explanation on how to make the bear mask.

Madeline using her instruction sheet to make a bear mask
Madeline using her instruction sheet to make a bear mask

 

Matty working on his bear mask
Matty working on his bear mask

All participants had the opportunity to share their finished creation at the end of the session.

Alex showing off his bear mask
Alex showing off his bear mask

 

Sensory Bottles

My Crazy Blessed Life!
My Crazy Blessed Life!

The Education Department at the Yale Center for British Art has a “sensory box” full of stimulating objects for visitors on the spectrum to have access to when they are visiting the museum. This sensory box often helps participants in our Exploring Artism program to relax when dealing with certain situations. We have recently discovered an easy-to-make Sensory Bottle that creates a glittering landscape for a child to focus on when their environment is getting to be too much to handle. Here’s how you can make one. 

First, you will need: 

-An empty water bottle with the labels removed

-clear gel glue (Aleene’s Clear Gel Tacky Glue works well)

-Ultra Fine Glitter (in your child’s favorite color)

-super glue

Once you have all of your items, fill the water bottle 3/4 full of hot water; the hot water is necessary to help melt the glue. Then add in an entire tube of glitter and an entire small bottle of clear gel glue. You can play around with how much glue you put in your sensory bottle; the more glue there is, the longer it takes the glitter to settle. The more water there is, the faster it will settle. Mix the glue, glitter and water together until you feel your Sensory Bottle is complete. Finally, superglue the cap to the bottle so that no curious children will make a mess.

This Sensory Bottle idea comes from My Crazy Blessed Life! Blog; you can view the entire post with more great photos and ideas here.

Clay Snowflakes!

Winter Landscape. George Morland. 1790.
Winter Landscape. George Morland. 1790.

Winter is just around the corner, and what better way to prepare for the chilly weather than by creating your own snowflakes

 

Education.com
Education.com

To make these sparkly snowflakes you will need:

-White modeling clay (Crayola Model Magic Clay works well)

-glitter

-clay modeling tools (spoon, forks, plastic tools, anything that will create great texture)

Start this activity by playing with the clay and imagining what your snowflakes will look like (keeping in mind that no two snowflakes are alike!). Then, begin mixing your glitter into the clay; its important that you keep kneading the clay so that the glitter is spread evenly throughout. Finally, using your tools and your imagination, begin constructing your snowflakes. Once your clay snowflakes are dry, try to come up with some ways to display your snowflakes. Will you hang them on your wall? Or what about turning them into Christmas ornaments? Maybe a snowflake necklace?

Take a look at some of these paintings by British artists. How do you think the snow inspired them? Can you create your own drawing/painting inspired by the snow?

St. Donat's Castle, Glamorganshire. John Glover. Undated.
St. Donat’s Castle, Glamorganshire. John Glover. Undated.
A Winter Landscape. George Smith. 1752.
A Winter Landscape. George Smith. 1752.

This activity comes from Education.com; see the full lesson plan here.

Tactile Artwork

The Education Department is hard at work creating “tactile books” for children on the spectrum to enjoy when they visit the museum. Here is a small “Thanksgiving” style example of how we create our tactile artwork. 

I started with a simple coloring page downloaded from the Internet. This is the one I used. Next, I picked out the tactile materials that I would be using: colored felt and glossy design paper. There are numerous other materials that can be used such as glitter, yarn, beads, puff paint, modeling clay, foam, pipe cleaners, etc. Placing varying textures next to each other within the composition helps the child delineate the differences within the work and create a more stimulating experience. For example, in the Tactile Turkey Artwork, the glossy design paper contrasts nicely with the thick felt. 

Once the materials  are picked out, trace the outline of the coloring page using tracing paper, and then cut the individual pieces that you will replace with tactile materials. Using these cutouts as a pattern, trace and cut the shape out of the tactile material. DSC01513DSC01515DSC01514Once your artwork is arranged, glue the pieces down using Tacky Glue. You might choose to color in any spaces that were too small to make tactile. DSC01517

I wasn’t able to complete my Tactile Turkey, but here is a look at the somewhat finished product. DSC01516

Many children on the spectrum, and even those not on the spectrum, may find it difficult to trace, cut, and glue little pieces. Having your child pick out the materials and make decisions on where each material will go will help them to feel involved in the process while leaving the fine cutting and tracing to an adult. Leave white spaces within the composition so that your child will be able to finish the piece using markers or crayons. 

Experiment with different compositions and materials with your own Tactile Artwork. Let us know how it goes! 

Buildings

Linda Talking about the paintingLast Saturday we held our monthly Exploring Artism program at the Yale Center for British Art. During our time together, we discussed buildings, architecture, and different methods of construction.

We began our session by going over our Social Story and the museum rules that we must follow. As a warm up, participants were asked to look at this handout and draw a building using paper and markers. Then we took a look at some famous buildings. Here is the PowerPoint that we looked at.

Next, we went into the galleries to take a look at Warwick Castle by Canaletto.

Canaletto. Warwick Castle. 1748-1749.
Canaletto. Warwick Castle. 1748-1749.

When looking at the painting of the castle, participants were asked: What building parts do you see? What building materials do you see? Is it strong? What can you tell us about the castle?

Telling the Story of the Three Little PigsSitting in front of the painting, Linda told the story of the three little pigs. Using pipe cleaners as straw, Popsicle sticks as wood, and Legos as bricks, Linda built a “house” with each material as she told the story. Each participant was handed one pipe cleaner and one Popsicle stick to hold while Linda built the structures. We also created pig and wolf masks for each of the participants to hold while the story was being told. Check out the pig masks here and the wolf mask here. (We printed off the masks on a thick card stock and then glued a Popsicle stick to the bottom of each as a handle).

Coloring an outline of Warwick CastleNext, participants received an outline of Warwick Castle and Art Stix; they were able to create their own Warwick Castle sitting in front of the painting. Here is the outline that we passed out.

Once participants were finished with their 2-D depiction of Warwick Castle, we moved out of the galleries to create a larger 3-D architectural structure. Using cardboard scraps, bubble wrap, Styrofoam scraps, Fast Hold Tacky Glue, and masking tape, participants constructed a building of their own design. Each participant had the opportunity to present their building to the rest of the group at the end of our session.

Creating Buildings

Alex with his building
Alex with his building

The dates for our spring Exploring Artism Programs are January 18, February 15, March 15, and May 17. Be sure to pre-register (at no cost) for our Exploring Artism program. Email the YCBA Education Department or call 203.432.2858 and leave a message. We look forward to seeing you and your family there!