Butterflies at the YCBA!

This past weekend, participants in the July 19th Exploring Artism program enjoyed learning about and making butterflies inside of the Center’s galleries. After looking closely at butterfly specimens in the “Of Green Leaf, Bird, and Flower”: Artists’ Books and the Natural World” exhibition, participants drew their own butterflies from observation and looked to works by John Dilnot for inspiration.

After looking at works and drawing from butterfly specimens in the galleries, everyone returned to the docent room to create a large mural together. The mural began with a blank sheet of brown paper measuring 60 by 108 inches.

Cut strips of green paper became grass and clouds were added to the sky. Colorful foam pieces were used as flower petals and participants made a variety of blooms from them.

Finally, a rainbow of butterflies make their home in the mural. Each participant designed, colored, and glued their individual butterfly into the garden. Lastly, everyone enjoyed looking at the final artwork.

The completed mural will be on view in the Docent Room at the YCBA for the duration of the summer.