A couple weeks ago his gallery show closed… but I just ran across these photos and thought I should share. Gabriel Mo was one of the Resident Artists in the Metals Department at Lillstreet Art Center. Unfortunately, the term of his Residency was great affected by the outbreak of the Coronavirus Pandemic. Coming to Lillstreet with such hope & promise, but then finding it all changed as the world changed so quickly for everyone.
At the end of his Lillstreet Residency, there was a small Gallery Showing of his work in the Lillstreet Annex Gallery on the second floor. I passed through the show many times as I was on my way to my studio. Alsways enamored by the architectural style, the crisp lines, the contrast of metals… and the fact that they’re all “kinetic” pieces that move, swing, swivel, open, close, etc. A simple touch in the right places made all the difference… and it was great to see the sketches with the pieces as well.
But for me… it was ALL ABOUT THE SHADOWS!!! Sure, his metalwork was amazing, but I was intrigued by the shadows!
And a huge THANKS to Pam Robinson for coordinating this show and creating a moment of beauty during the Corona pandemic. While everything was shut down, people sheltered-at-home, and Chicago opening back up so slowly… Pam found a way to work through the safety issues to create this socially-distant Gallery Opening to celebrate Gabriel’s work, and his time at Lillstreet. Surely NOT what he expected his Artist-in-Residence time to be like!
So our baby blocks finally came out of the kiln… and I got together last night with Molly & Jacob to drop them off!
Remember, we made these ceramic blocks last session pre-Covid during our Lillstreet Throwdown class. Newly pregnant at the time, but now they’re one month away from their due date! They loved their baby blocks… so ADORABLE… and I loved the Lickety Split frozen custard we went out for afterwards too!
Here’s a flashback mug for MUGSHOT MONDAY! Molly’s sister has had this mug for years… apparently loving it… and they just figured it out that it’s one of mine. Molly coordinates all of the Summer Camps at Lillstreet… and this was a little bit of “small worlds colliding” when this came together.
And then Molly bought a new mug for herself too… not to be one-upped by her sister!!!
We’re all enjoying the natural light coming through the skylights in the new & improved Glaze Room at Lillstreet Art Center. So much larger now so there’s plenty of room to keep your distance… and get some glazing done at the same time! Plus, now we have a sign-up for a glazing time-slot system to keep the traffic down, time to clean & sanitize… and to keep everyone safe & socially-distant!
Another groovy floral display going on at Lillstreet! This wonderful trumpet vine is growing up the side of the building right on the corner. I do love how the flower clusters seem to dangle & float away from the brick wall.
Crazy cool flowers on this bush in the side garden at Lillstreet. The flowers may be stringy & short-lived… but they were so very cool while they were around. I didn’t know what they were… but with a little help from my dear friend Google… apparently it’s a Bottlebrush Buckeye!
As part of my Sculpture Summer Camp, I like to teach the kids some art history along the way… this time focused on famous sculptors! I made a set of flash cards for some famous sculptures – many of which are in Chicago that the kids might have seen. I also tried to show them at least two pieces by each artist so they weren’t just memorizing one photo… but trying to get them to learn about their style, subject matter and time period. And just to keep them on their toes… there are a few duplicates along the way!
The trick to using flash cards is to make it a game… so at some point, they’re so excited to play a game that they don’t even realize they’re learning stuff at the same time! By the end of the week, most of the kids have memorized all of the following artists… first and last name!!!
Like this game on Friday where I turned it into the classic game of “MEMORY” where they had to match up the cards – finding two cards by the same artist. Keeping safe social distances with a LOT of hand sanitizer along the way!
HOW MANY OF THESE FAMOUS SCULPTORS CAN YOU NAME??? Not the sculpture name, but the actual artist… first & last name!
I must admit I had to Google a few of them myself. I mean… do you know who made the Venus de Milo??? … and his name is NOT Milo!!!
After finishing their terra cotta sculptures on Tuesday, we started our larger sculptures on Wednesday. We had a big brainstorming discussion about what they wanted to make. And then we discussed how we were going to make them and that they needed a good pose, posture & environment. We discussed the armature they were each going to need inside their sculptures to get them to stand up and hold their shapes!
So we started with some “individual consultations” and I helped each of them build their initial armature… as it required some power tools & construction materials. After I helped them build the armature, they started “fleshing it out” with newspaper & masking tape. Trying to give their sculptures some shape & bulk. So much fun to see their vision coming together… and their blind-faith that it will all work out in the end. They each had a plan… and I’m just there to help facilitate their vision!!!
Once they had filled it out with newspaper & tape, we started adding a layer of plaster gauze over the whole sculpture. Plaster gauze is pretty much like industrial-strength paper mache’!!! It’s actually the same material they make casts out of at the hospital. You take a sheet of plaster gauze, dip it in the water and then place it on the sculpture… rubbing it together to spread the plaster. Layer after layer, sheet after sheet… eventually they covered their sculptures. And you could see it all coming together even more!
After we finished the first layer of gauze, we did a bit of clean-up… again Rule #3… “whatever mess you make, you will be cleaning up.” And they did!!! Gotta get the drips & drops of water cleaned up before someone slips on it, and before the plaster dries on the floor!
After lunch, we finished up the plastering… and added a few more details to their pieces. Textures, patterns & details to bring their pieces to life! Always fun to see the creativity & energy at Summer Camp! These kids have unbridled enthusiasm… and I’m just there to foster it and encourage them to channel that towards their artwork!!!
When they finished all of their plaster details on Thursday, we put them in front of the blowing fans so they could dry completely overnight.
On Friday, we started the day by painting the sculptures with acrylic paint. They only get the primary color, black, white & brown. All of the other colors they need to mix to get what they want… a bit of color theory along the way!
When they finished painting their sculptures, we cleaned up our workspaces and started turning our classroom into their Art Gallery… or maybe ART GALLARY??? Two of the kids made a sign for us to post on the door to welcome our guests!
After the kids had finished painting their sculptures, and making their signs, we were ready for their “Gallery Opening”… which really just meant showing off all of their work for their parents as they came to pick up their kids! The kids were so proud of their achievements… and the parents were impressed by all they had made in such a short time!
Thanks to this group of great kids for making our first week of Summer Camp at Lillstreet a success!!! It felt so great to be back at camp… I LOVE SUMMER CAMP!!! And especially for making it feel like we’ve taken one big step towards a little bit of normalcy… masks included!!!
More Summer Camp to come… I have three more weeks scheduled!!!
So we finally started Summer Camp at Lillstreet Art Center. A lot of new rules & guidelines for all students… and for the kids coming to Summer Camp! A lot of cleaning, disinfecting & sanitizing throughout the day. And of course MASKS for everyone!!! So exciting to have the kids back… the energy, the fun, the creativity!!! But still kinda weird at the same time to not be able to see their cute little faces!!!
Since this was Sculpture Camp, I figured out two-day clay project would be inspired by Robert Indiana… stacked dimensional letters. Some of the kids had never heard of him… but they sure knew him and a LOT more famous sculptors by the end of the week!
Sculpture by Robert Indiana
The kids started their project by drawing out their letters on a piece of paper to use as a stencil on the clay. They needed to cut two of each letter… for the front & back of each piece. So we made plenty of slabs. Plenty of tracing letters & cutting them out on their little canvas-covered boards!
After cutting out all of their letters, we let them set-up for a bit on a large sheet of paper. Then they started assembling their letters. A lot of scoring & slipping as they added a slab strip around all edges of the letters to give them some depth. Once the sides were on, they needed to add the top layer to close off the box. The biggest trick was to score the correct side of the letter so it lined-up with the box… I think about half of them did it backwards the first time!!! HA!!! Easy to fix… it’s just clay!
We started Tuesday by finishing & refining their letters. After they were all cleaned up, we started stacking them and designing their final layouts. Keeping Robert Indiana as their inspiration, they each figured out different configurations… and then decided on their final stack. I helped them assemble their sculptures with some “strong” scoring & slipping!
Once they were all stacked, they start to paint their sculptures with color glazes. One of the benefits of working with terra cotta in Summer Camp is that we can do a single firing and get their projects back by Friday!
Always part of the process… and “Gary’s Summer Camp Rule #3”… Whatever mess you make, YOU will be cleaning up!!! And they do without complaint. It’s just an “understood” part of the process. You tell them to do it. They do it. Giddy-up!
On Friday, their sculptures came out of the kiln. They finally got to see their sculpture masterpieces!!! So adorable!!! Sure, there were a few minor issues where something didn’t stick together… “did I tell you to score & slip?”… but no huge errors! No explosions! No major breakage! I consider that a success… especially because THEY LOVED THEM!!!
Last week was our first week back at Summer Camp!!! Lillstreet Art Center is finally re-opened for classes & camps… and it was so fun & exciting to have “people” back in the building. The energy. The creativity. The smiling faces… or well, at least I assume they were smiling behind their masks?! Anyway… summer camp was AMAZING as always. I had a wonderful time with a wonderful group of kids!!!!
