BCA Virtual Family Art Saturday: Blooming Sculptures

BLOOMING SCULPTURES Get creative and make art together!

Inspired by BCA Center exhibition JoAnne Carson: A Sense of Wonder, families will imagine and create “blooming sculptures” that evoke Carson’s colorful, whimsical imagery and the transformative cycles of nature.

Activity Age Range: The whole family!

Materials Needed: Modeling Clay, a found twig from nature, and a small piece of recycled cardboard.

STEP 1. CONNECT This activity connects with our BCA Center summer 2020 exhibition JoAnne Carson: A Sense of Wonder.

How can the cycles of nature be used as inspiration for art?

How does the artist abstract plant life through the use of colors, shapes, and patterns?

Artist JoAnne Carson uses the wonders of nature as inspiration for her art making. In her paintings, you can find reference to nature’s different seasons and the life cycles of trees, flowers, and plants. Many of Carson’s drawings and paintings include colorful, giant blooms and foliage that exist in a surreal and dream-like nature world.

Learn more about BCA Center summer exhibitions at burlingtoncityarts.org.

JoAnne Carson, The Volunteer, 2013, Acrylic on canvas, 65” x 48”

STEP 2. CREATE Build a blooming sculpture inspired by the wonders and cycles of nature.

Step 1 Gather Supplies • Twig • Cardboard Platform (3”X3” shown) • Modeling Clay

Step 2 Use a generous amount of clay and stick it on the cardboard platform to form a base for your sculpture. Clay will stick to the cardboard when it is pressed firmly. You do not need any adhesive.

Step 3 Insert the twig into the clay base, making sure it is sturdy. Add additional clay if needed.

Step 4 Let your imagination BLOOM! Use coiling, rolling, and hand building to make shapes and forms for foliage and blooms.

Keep your shapes simple and use small amounts of clay. Too much clay will weigh down the sculpture.

Step 5

Step 6

Add clay pieces onto the twig by pressing them into the wood.

Continue adding clay until you are happy with your blooming sculpture. *Notice the contrast between the natural twig material and the synthetic clay materials. How does the synthetic clay add to the feeling of the sculpture?

If you want to create a landscape around your blooming sculpture, press clay shapes onto the platform. You can even create animals or characters to live by your blooming sculpture.

*Alternative for beginning artists: Keep the stick flat while pressing clay into it and then fasten it to the platform.

If you are working with others, place your sculptures together and create a blooming garden or forest to admire. What season do you think your sculptures are blooming in?

What would the weather feel like? What do you think your sculpture would look like in a different season?