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This activity is adaptable for beginners to experts, ideally ages 8 and up. Please note that this project involves using scissors to cut cardboard and/or paper. Great for individuals, groups, and families to work on together at home.

Inspired by Shepard Fairey’s artwork like Afrocetric (Power and Equality) (2007), create your own stencils with everyday materials found at home. Fairey sometimes uses stencils in his work, particularly in his street art. Once a stencil of an image is made, you can easily reproduce that image many times. By cutting, overlapping, and positioning stencils in new ways, we can create exciting artwork. Experiment with different shapes and patterns. Be creative and share what you make with the world!

You will need:

Scissors, markers, tape, a metal ruler, and the cut-out front and back of a cardboard cereal box.

  • Drawing tools
  • Scissors
  • Cardboard (ex: old cereal boxes, folders, boxes, thick paper, etc.)
  • Coloring tools
  • Paper to draw on

Optional:

  • Tape
  • Ruler
  • Objects to trace

 

Steps:

1. Draw or trace your shapes and designs on your cardboard. The bigger they are the easier they will be to cut. Think about shapes and designs and how they can be used to communicate ideas.

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2. Carefully cut out your stencils. You can use both pieces as stencils. Try cutting your stencils in one cut. Move your cardboard as you cut along your shape until you are back where you made the first cut. You can place some tape along your initial cut to keep it intact as you trace.

Hearts and flower shape cut-outs.

3. Trace your stencils on paper. You can tape down your stencils to keep them from moving while you trace. Try overlapping different shapes and designs.

A hand tracing hearts and flower shapes overlapping other shapes on a piece of paper.

4. Add color. Out-line and fill in the shapes and designs you traced.

A stencil illustration of a dark-skinned girl with colorful hearts in her hair.

Pro Tip!

You can save and reuse your stencils for future projects!
 

This activity was developed by Flolynda Jean, Studio Programs Education Assistant.

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This activity invites kids and their grownups to unite over the meditative and ancient art of weaving. Reflect and create together while weaving your family narrative of life during quarantine.

This activity is appropriate for children ages 5 and up with the help of an adult.

You will need:

  • 1 piece of thick cardboard, at least 8.5” x 11”
  • Ruler
  • Paper and writing utensil
  • Scissors
  • Tape
  • Long consecutive piece of yarn, string, twine, or thin rope
  • Found objects to weave with: yarn; cut strips of cardboard, fabric, or paper bags; sticks, flowers, feathers, bendy straws, etc.
  • Optional: Thin stick, pencil, or dowel to hang weaving from
     

1. Writing Reflection Exercise:

  • Using paper and a writing utensil, reflect on you and your family’s personal experiences during quarantine. This text can later be cut or ripped and used directly in your weaving.
  • What are you sharing during quarantine that you didn’t have to share before?
  • What are you and your family doing during quarantine to feel happy or relaxed?
     

2. Make a loom:

Mark 5 equidistant lines from the center of the top and bottom edges of your cardboard. Cut into each line to create equal-sized notches. Now you have a loom to create many weavings with!

A piece of brown cardboard, with the top and bottom edges marked, and being cut on the middle-bottom edge.

3. String your loom:

Tape the end of a long piece of string to one side of the cardboard. Stretch and pull the string into the top, left notch. Stretch down the backside of the cardboard and pull into the bottom left notch. Repeat until the string is pulled snugly into each notch. Tape down end, leaving a 4” tail of string, then cut. Congrats, you’ve strung, or ‘warped’ your loom!

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4. Weave!

Weave materials horizontally over and under the vertical strings. Alternate the over/under pattern on the next line. Try to maintain consistent tension while weaving, without pulling too hard. To incorporate your personal story into your weaving, written reflections could be cut or ripped into strips and woven in.

Learn the basics of weaving in these videos:

   

5. Remove Weaving from Loom:

On the back of the loom, cut the vertical strings across the center. Tie the end of the first string to the second, then second to third, and continue across the top. Repeat by tying your strings across the bottom. Trim ends. Tuck the ends of your weaving into the back. If you’d like, incorporate a stick or dowel and hanging string at the top.

Woven-Wonders_Step-5.png

Pro Tip!

You can use your loom to make many more weavings! Add more notches to create a wider weaving. To create different size weavings, change the size of your loom.

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This activity was developed for children 3+ to create together with their caregivers and is easily adaptable for a variety of ages and interests.

Artist Carolina Caycedo uses found objects to make artwork about rivers and the relationships that humans have with water. Caycedo thinks about the story of every objects and considers questions like, where does water come from? How do people use water now and throughout history? How are water and the environment cared for and how are they taken advantage of? Experiment with using water and found objects from around your own neighborhood to make your own frozen sculpture. As you create your frozen sculptures, look up where your tap water is sourced, find out what bodies of water you live near, and think about how you use water in and around your home everyday.

You will need:

  • Assorted containers of different sizes
  • Found objects from nature
  • Tap water
  • Space in a freezer

Additional Optional Materials:

  • Food coloring
  • Baking sheet or large shallow bin
  • Washable paint and brushes
  • Sketching supplies
     

An assortment of containers, baking pan for muffins, found objects such as leaves, flowers, rocks, and other things from nature.

1. Go for a walk around your neighborhood and collect objects that you find from nature. Talk about why you chose them. Notice their textures and colors. Where did they come from? Why are they important?

2. Distribute your found objects among your containers. What stories do these arrangements tell about where you live?

Found objects from nature such as pine cones, flowers, leaves, sticks placed in various containers.

3. Fill your containers with water leaving space at the top for the water to expand as it freezes. Keep in mind that some objects will float to the top while others will sink to the bottom. If you have food coloring, add a drop to each container. Think about where you got your water. Would you consider it part of your community? Why or why not?

Two side-by-side images of a pine cone submerged in a glass bowl filled with water.

4. Place your containers in the freezer until the water freezes and becomes solid ice. What conditions are required to turn water into ice? How long did this take? Where can you find ice in nature?

5. Remove your frozen sculptures from their containers. Wiggle them free by running the container under warm water or wrapping it in a warm towel. Then flip it over and tap on the bottom. To contain the ice as it melts, consider placing your sculptures on a rimmed baking sheet, a large shallow bin, or directly on the ground outside.

Various objects from nature, frozen in bowl-shaped ice, next to each other and stacked on top of one another.

6. Build, play, create! Once emerged, notice how your found objects have changed.

  • Stack your frozen sculptures on top of each other or organize in unique patterns.
  • Top your ice with paint. Apply with paint brushes, kitchen spoons, or your hand s. Watch the colors move and mix as the ice melts.
  • Check on your sculptures throughout the day. Document how it changes over time with sketches or photographs. What happens when you add hot water to parts of your frozen sculpture? 

This activity was created by Alice Matthews, Visitor Assistant.

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This project is designed for kids and adults, ages 6 +

Explore your identity and create a collage that is as unique as you! Cut and collect images from magazines that represent your identity and use an image transfer technique to create a collage with see-through images.

This activity was facilitated as a virtual workshop during the June 2020 virtual Play Date: Creating for Care.

You will need:

Art materials including clear packing tape, scissors, glossy magazine, white sheet of paper, and a black plastic bowl.

  • Old magazines: Glossy magazine images work best (paper printouts or newspapers will not work with this technique).  
  • Clear packing tape
  • Scissors
  • A bowl of water or spray bottle filled with water
  • (Optional) A piece of paper or other surface to be your background for your collage
  • (Optional) glue stick or tape 
  • (Optional) Extra 2D collage materials 
  • (Optional) Coloring/drawing tools
  • An art making space that can get a little wet (have a towel handy!)

Steps:

1. Cut and collect images from magazines that represent you. Think about your culture, heritage, family, friends, community, personality, hobbies – All the things that make up who you are. Find and cut out images from magazines that represent these things.

A pair of scissors with magazine cut-outs of photographs of oranges, an autumn park, a gourmet dish, an outdoor deck, and illustrations of a sparrow and leaves.

2. Cover your image side with packing tape. Make sure your tape is sticking to the side with the image.

A photograph of an autumn park from a magazine cut-out is covered with clear tape on both sides.

3. Once your image is covered, soak it in the bowl of water or spray the paper side with water. Repeat with all your images.

Newspaper and magazine cut-outs soaked in a bowl of water.

4. Peel/rub the paper off of your images. Play around with the soak times. The longer you leave your images in the water, the easier it will be to peel the paper off. Soaking for a shorter period of time will leave more of the paper on your image.
 

A series of four images showing step-by-step a hand peeling off the magazine-cut out paper from the tape to reveal the transferred image.

5. Once you have all your image transfers and they’ve dried, use them to create a collage.  The transparency of the images let you play around with layering. You can collage just with your image transfers, on top of another piece of paper, or even on your window. You can also pair them with photographs, other magazine images, or drawings.
 

Various images and illustrations on clear tape, still slightly wet, after having been soaked in a bowl of water.

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Join us as we use our creative powers to fight for racial justice! Below we’ve collected a few ideas inspired by contemporary artists and activists on how you can use art to spread messages of resistance, unity, and hope.

Step 1:

Choose your message. How will you support and affirm that Black Lives Matter? How can you support racial justice in your community? How will you stand for love, compassion, and equity? Craft a message that will inspire and move others to action.

Step 2:

Decide how you will express it.

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Chalk it.

Boston-based social justice organization Wee the People recently partnered with MassArt’s Center for Art and Community Partnerships and the Philly Children’s Movement to host Wee Chalk the Walk: A Family Day of Action for Black Lives. They invited kids and grownups to use chalk and create bold, beautiful messages on sidewalks to share with all who would walk by.

Head outside and chalk your message. What do you want to say to help make the world a better place for all?

 

ICA KIDS_Wee The People

From Wee The People’s Wee Chalk the Walk: A Family Day of Action for Black Lives event on May 31, 2020.

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Wear it.

Nick Cave’s Soundsuit (2009) is a sculptural garment meant to be worn and activated with sound and movement. Responding to the ways Black people are often judged by the color of their skin, Cave created Soundsuits to act like protective armour. Incredibly detailed and decorated, they show us how wearing your art can be a powerful action.

Wear your message for all to see. Recycle old fabrics and clothes to create a patch. Draw or write your message with fabric markers. Create a stencil to help apply your message.

*Kids! Be sure to get permission from an adult before using any clothes for art making!*
 

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Zine it.

We recently highlighted a zine making activity inspired by Ellen Gallagher’s Deluxe (2004-05). Using paper, text, and images, zines are essentially small paper pamphlets that are easy to copy and share.

Turn your message into a zine by collaging different 2D materials and text. Share your zine to spread your message.
 

A series of 60 framed prints featuring collaged elements from popular Black culture magazines and hung in a tight grid of five rows.

Ellen Gallagher, DeLuxe, 2004-2005. Photogravure, etching, aquatint, and drypoints with lithography, screenprint, embossing, tattoo-machine engraving, laser cutting, and chine collé; and additions of Plasticine, paper collage, enamel, varnish, gouache, pencil, oil, polymer, watercolor, pomade, velvet, glitter, crystals, foil paper, gold leaf, toy eyeballs, and imitation ice cubes, Sixty parts, each: 13 ½ × 10 ½ in. (34.3 × 26.7 cm), Overall: 84 × 176 in. (213.4 × 447 cm). Gift of Barbara Lee, The Barbara Lee Collection of Art by Women. Courtesy Hauser & Wirth and Gagosian. © Ellen Gallagher and Two Palms Press

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Display it.


Kerry James Marshall’s work shows just how powerful words can be. Create a sign using paper and drawing tools that shows off your message. Will you decorate your sign? Will it be colorful? How will you make your sign stand out?

Display your sign in your window to help spread encouragement and hope in your neighborhood!
 

An installation of five ceramic plates displayed on five shelves and printed with the sayings

Kerry James Marshall, Untitled, 1998. Ceramic, Five parts, each (diameter): 12 ¼ inches (31.1 cm). Gift of The Dale A. Roberts Collection. Courtesy the artist and David Zwirner, New York/London/Hong Kong. Photo by Charles Mayer Photography. © Kerry James Marshall

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Write it.

Write a poem that expresses your message. Write from your experiences. Write about the change you want to see in the world. Write about how you will help bring that change.

Looking for inspiration? Check out this recent poem by Boston Youth Poet Laureate Alondra Bobadilla inspired by her quarantine experience. Inspiration can be found even while staying at home. 

 

 

 

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Talk about it.

Find creative ways to think and talk about race with your family and friends through art. We especially like Nina Chanel Abney’s Art Wall installation. Abney often creates large, colorful murals that explore race and identity. Her artwork has been described as “easy to swallow, hard to digest.” Look at her work together. Share what you see. What feels familiar? What stories feel new? What can you learn from this artist and their art?

*Whether you’re looking at art, watching TV, or reading a book, make sure that the information you are consuming and sharing is accurate and helps to create a productive conversation.*
 

ABNEY_Charles Mayer_02.jpg

Nina Chanel Abney, installation view (detail), the Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston, 2019. Courtesy of Nina Chanel Abney Studio. Photo by Charles Mayer Photography. © Nina Chanel Abney

Step 3:

Continue creating for justice! The fight for justice doesn’t stop here. Make and share your art. Talk to your friends and family. There are many ways to support the cause.

Thank you for joining our first-ever virtual Play Date!

During these trying times, we’re thinking about self-care, flexibility and taking care of each other. In partnership with the Boston Children’s Museum, we’re offering a selection of self-guided activities to explore on your own time, on- and off-the-screen as you engage and create together. All activities are designed for adults and children to participate in together. Explore, play, make, and learn together!

If you participated in a live workshop or a self-guided activity, we’d love to hear from you! Your feedback is deeply appreciated. Take survey

Your support helps keeps programs like this – both virtual and in-person – free and accessible in this time of uncertainty. If you are able, please consider becoming a member or making a one-time gift to support the ICA.

 

Explore!

A sculpture of a large, wooden cabinet with open glass doors displaying a variety of found objects including bottles and buoys.

Mark Dion, New Bedford Cabinet, 2001. Wooden and glass cabinet and dig finds, 104 × 74 × 19 inches (264.2 × 188 × 48.3 cm). General Acquisition Fund. Courtesy the artist and Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York. © Mark Dion

Art-Inspired Scavanger Hunt

How many things can you find in our scavenger hunt? Inspired by artworks from the ICA’s collection, we invite you to look around your space, out your window, or during a socially-distanced neighborhood walk with your family. Your adventure awaits

 

A Closer Look

The average museum visitor spends less than twenty seconds looking at any given work of art. For this activity, Tour Programs Manager Amy Briggs Kemeza (and Lucy!) asks you to take a pause and spend some time looking at Sanya Kantarovsky’s Violet — from home! Follow along and answer the prompts in the video, reflect on what you see, and get inspired to make your own work of art.
 

Relax

Family Fun Yoga

Boston-based yoga teacher Marlene Boyette invited participants for a live family-friendly yoga session on Zoom. Stretch your body and your mind with these easy fun poses and meditative flow. Great for children and adults to try out together!
 

Play!

Line Walk Challenge

Staying inside can lead to a lot of pent-up energy — especially for kids! Boston Children’s Museum Health and Wellness Educator Saki Iwamoto is demonstrating the Line Walk Challenge (At Home!) to help you and your kids get some exercise indoors while having fun. Try it at your house!

 

The Gottabees (from Home!)

Watch this live replay from Boston-based theater group and play experts The Gottabees, as they lead an interactive movement-based activities. Shake it up and get ready to laugh! Great for children and adults to try out together.
 

Make!

Making the Cut

Flolynda Jean, Education Assistant at the ICA and freelance illustrator, shows you one way to bring your stories to life through fun, quirky, and colorful character cut-outs! Follow these simple steps — and as an added bonus — you can turn them into shadow puppets! Do you have a story to tell? Who are the characters? Let your imagination come alive and share them with friends and families!

 

Collage with Curiosity

Faith Johnson, Arts Program Manager and Gallery Curator at the Boston Children’s Museum, walks us through how to create curiously-collaged works of art.  Whether it’s photographs, paper scraps or magazine cut-outs, all you need to do is cut with scissors and stick with glue! Come back to this video any time for simple instructions to start collaging!

 

Learn!

Cozy up

Do you have a cozy space in your house where you can go to relax and have some quiet time? In this video, we’ll hear from Saki Iwamoto of Boston Children’s Museum, on how to construct a cozy space (whether you’re a kid or an adult — we can all benefit!), and we’ll even get to see the unique cozy spaces of several kids like you.

 

Family sitting on floor while reading book.

Your everyday parenting skills are what your child needs most

“Think of what made you and your child smile today.”

With school closures and summer camps unlikely to happen this year, parents are managing how to best support children’s mental health during this difficult time. Saki Iwamoto offers useful and invaluable insights. Read more

 

ICA Kids and Family programs are supported, in part, by Vivien and Alan Hassenfeld, the Hassenfeld Family Foundation, the Willow Tree Fund, Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and Raymond T. & Ann T. Mancini Family Foundation.

Alexion logo

 

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This activity is recommended for ages 8+. Please note that the project involves scissors to cut materials. Great for individuals, and virtual collaboration.

Make your own 8-page mini-zine! Essentially miniature magazines, zines often display images and texts and are typically self-published by an individual or small group. Zines are really easy and inexpensive to make and are popularly photocopied to be shared within a community. Investigate artist Ellen Gallagher’s method of altering advertisements and popular cultural texts to create your own visual statement.

You will need:

  • Letter sized (8.5” x11”) paper
  • Drawing materials
  • Scissors
  • Glue
  • Mixed 2D materials (Coupon books, magazines, newspapers, books, yearbooks, etc.)

Steps:

1. Fold your paper in half, then half again, and then half again. When you open your paper, you should have eight equal sections.

2. With the paper completely open, fold it in half with short ends touching. Using scissors, cut halfway across the middle from the fold. When you reopen your paper, there will be a slit in the middle of the sheet.

Two images: on the left is a blank piece of white paper folded into eight equal sections; on the right is the same paper with a slit in the middle of the sheet.

3. Fold the paper lengthwise (long ends touching), hold the paper at either end, and fold the sheet into itself to form an 8-page booklet.

Three images stacked, each showing hands folding paper in various ways.

4. Using newspapers, magazines, or other similar materials, explore cutting out images, textures, and text. Subtract from images by cutting away elements. Play with the composition by reassembling pieces on a background; overlap or leave space between cutouts. Glue them into place. Add layers to the collage by drawing and painting over images, adorning with stickers, or writing poetry!

Scraps of cut-out newspapers and a pair of scissors on a surface.

5. Share, collaborate, teach— The mini-zine can be unfolded and photocopied. Zines can be donated to community centers, libraries, and independent bookstores. Zines are notable for being used in community organization and political movements because they can be easily shared. Who will you share your zine with?

Three images stacked showing different angles of a miniature magazine made from collaged newspaper cut-out.

This activity was created by Kelly Chen, Visitor Assistant.

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This activity was designed for ages 8 and older but can be adapted for beginners to experts and for younger kids with adult assistance. Please note that this project involves using scissors to cut paper.

Many artists use everyday materials found around them to create art that conveys different things about the personal and the profound. Sara VanDerBeek’s Continuum Blue is a photograph of a collage, an artwork made by combining different materials (often through cutting and pasting), and shows that it is a great way to create something visually and spatially intriguing. In Continuum Blue, it looks as though you’re looking through a kaleidoscope! We invite you to create your own kaleidoscopic collage and discover how color, texture, pattern, and paper size can create a dazzling effect.

You will need:

  • Printed template (download)
  • 2D Collage materials – this can be anything you want
  • Paper for backing, color is your choice (this is what your finished product will be glued to!)
  • Scissors
  • Glue stick, glue, clear tape or rubber cement
  • Pencil and ruler (optional)

Steps:

1. Print and cut out the template of your choosing, cutting out each section into smaller triangle sections. One side of each triangle will have numbers and arrows and the other side will be blank. (The numbers help to keep track of your triangles and the arrows will help you assemble your triangles at the end.)

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2. Collect your 2D collage materials.

Keep in mind that you will need pieces that are long enough to cover the width of each triangle section. Some examples of things that you can use are newspapers, old photos, magazines, and flyers — Experiment with a range of 2D materials! Perhaps choose a theme for your piece and collect materials based on a color or idea that unites everything.

TIP: If you do not have collaging materials available, you can create your own by drawing on plain or colorful paper and cutting that up to use as collage material.

Art Lab_[KCollage]_Step[2].jpeg

3. Cut your collage materials into long strips so that they will fit across the width of your triangle sections. Your strips can be narrow or wide but if you want to make them all equal for a more uniform look, a ruler may be useful.

4. Glue your collage strips onto the blank sides of your triangle sections. (The side with the number and arrow should be on the back.) Glue your first strip along the edge of the longest side of the triangle and work your way to the opposite corner. Don’t worry if the strips hang over the edge (we will trim later). You can create a uniform design by repeating the same pattern of collage strips on each of your triangles, or experiment by creating a new pattern for each.

5. Once you have covered each of your triangle sections with your collage strips, carefully cut along the edge of each triangle to trim off any overhang.

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6. Connect your triangles and assemble them with the arrows pointing toward the center. You can either tape them together or glue them onto a background of your choosing.

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This activity was developed by Hallie Selinger, Visitor Experience Manager.

A simple activity for all ages! Color this card and place it in your window to bring hope to your neighborhood.