BCA Virtual Family Art Saturday: Animated Nature Characters

July 25, 2020

Animated Nature Characters This art activity is inspired by JoAnne Carson: A Sense of Wonder, currently exhibiting at BCA Center July 22- October 10, 2020.

Create animated nature characters inspired by JoAnne Carson’s colorful, energized and animated imagery. Using the garden as an art studio, artists will draw with a variety of nature and art materials to create characters in their imaginations!

Activity Age Range: The Whole Family!

Materials Needed: Collected materials from a garden or outdoors such as flowers, leaves, pebbles, fruits, vegetables and grasses. Drawing materials such as pencil, chalk, color pencils, markers, and crayons.

And…………………. your imagination!

STEP 1. CONNECT

Have you ever looked at a plant, tree, or flower growing in a garden, your backyard, or neighborhood and seen a character?

Using your imagination can be fun! Artist JoAnne Carson uses her imagination when she creates and observes her lush garden in Shoreham, VT. Branches on trees might start to look like arms and flower petals may become fancy hats! JoAnne Carson’s work is playful. She experiments with form, composition and color in her garden. In her studio, she transforms nature elements into vibrant animated characters through painting, drawing and sculpture.

Can you find a character in Carson’s painting titled Knotty Pine?

JoAnne Carson, Knotty Pine, 2016, Acrylic on canvas

Learn more about JoAnne Carson: A Sense of Wonder, at www.burlingtoncityarts.org.

STEP 2. CREATE 1.Today we will be using a garden or an outdoor space for our art studio. Head outside!

2.Take a walk around the space. Look closely at all of the different shapes, colors, sizes and textures growing.

3. Now let your imagination play……what kind of character can you imagine coming alive from the plants and flowers you observe?

4. Decide where you want to create this character. Will you work on the ground? On a rock? On a plant? On a deck or patio? A piece of paper? The sidewalk? You choose!

5. Start creating the character by arranging and collaging different nature elements together. If you are using paper or a sidewalk, you can add more details with chalk and drawing supplies.

6. Have fun and think playfully. Add details and accessories if you like. Does your character need a friend or pet? What will they look like? Does your character have a name?

7. These works are ephemeral or temporary. They will eventually blow away in the wind, get disturbed by critters or get washed away. Enjoy them in the moment. You can also photograph your work as a memory.

Step by step photo documentation of animated nature character creation.

Work on paper or a sidewalk and add details with drawings or……………………

Create directly in nature using grass, stones, wood or dirt as the canvas.

Happy Creating!

BCA CENTER 135 CHURCH ST, BURLINGTON, VT www.burlingtoncityarts.org