We've put together a stellar new March Break Kit! It’s full of art activities inspired by futurist and architect Buckminster Fuller and the artists in Museum London’s new exhibition From Remote Stars: Buckminster Fuller, London, and Speculative Futures. 

Your Kit will include a project-a-day for five days with full instructions and supplies along with a surprise bonus activity, all of which can be done from the comfort of your home.  Explore a variety of art supplies and techniques like pigment painting, printmaking, pastel mapping, optical illusions, model architecture, and simple LED circuitry art. Tutorials will become available online the week of March Break to give instruction and inspiration for two of the multi-step projects. These will be recorded so you can participate on your own time. Activities are geared towards children aged 6 to 12 years. 

Kit pick-up will be March 10 to 12, from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm at the Museum’s front desk. One Kit per child.
*Families will be notified of pick-up time changes if Museum hours alter due to public health guideline updates. 

Each Kit includes 

  • A project-a-day for five days listed below
  • Written instructions for each activity with inspiration, supply tips and project guidance
  • Full art supplies (home basics needed: scissors, table covers, and water)
  • Video tutorials for the two multi-step projects indicated
  • A surprise bonus activity!

THE PLACES YOU WILL GO

Build a 3D futuristic home for your oversized dream map in oil pastels. Buckminster Fuller’s most recognized accomplishment is his geodesic dome design (like the white dome at Ontario Place in Toronto). Build a mini-dome with kitchen supplies, then create your own unconventional building.  Add these to your personalized dream map of thoughts and observations on oversized sheets using oil pastel techniques and found images inspired by Remote Stars artist Jason McLean’s drawing The Maple Moose Forever, 2019.

BACK TO THE FUTURE

Experiment with brush-less acrylic painting in neon on foil sheets. Fuller envisioned a better future through his designs. What future do you see for your house, your car, or communicating with friends? Watch Remote Stars artist Skawennati’s futuristic animation of the Iroquois creation story She Falls For Ages to inspire your colours and design. Learn easy brush-less techniques with cotton swabs to make a whole new kind of painting.

 

TWO SIDES OF A STORY: 

Look at the world from different angles through optical illusion printmaking and stamp creation. Learn how to make an agamograph: a two-sided print that changes as you move it. Explore how stamp-making allows us to reproduce images over and over with choices in colour, line, and space. Get inspired by Remote Star’s artist Greg Curnoe in his text art Yellow and Blue Printing, 1968 and design a simple stamp to create letters and develop words that capture a feeling or thought.  Create two images of words then merge them together into an agamograph.  This activity will have a video tutorial to help you along.

THE SKY’S THE LIMIT

Enjoy free painting with watercolour techniques where mistakes are encouraged!  Learn how to use pigment powder to create a brightly coloured sky. Layer your painting with collaged silhouettes, and create your own rainbow palettes to tell stories inspired by Remote Stars artist Erin Elder’s Sustaining Hope works. This project is jam packed with art techniques and ideas; follow the video tutorial to keep you going.

       

STAR LIGHT, STAR BRIGHT

Build your own LED circuitry light constellation. When you look at the night sky do you connect the stars to see animals or people?  Inspired by Remote Star’s artist Amanda White’s Movement Compositions create your own constellations as unique as you.  Your art kit box will be transformed into a light box for your constellation to shine using LED lights and copper tape.  Learn simple methods of designing a circuit to illuminate your star picture.