May 5, 2020 Activities & Education This week’s #CBfromHome art activity is inspired by the museum’s mother spider, Maman (1999) by Louise Bourgeois (1911-2010). Learn more about the sculpture below, enjoy some close-looking prompts, and try out some indoor and outdoor activities at home with the kiddos! Look Closer at Maman by Louise Bourgeois: “The spider is a repairer. If you bash into the web of a spider, she doesn’t get mad. She weaves and repairs it.” -Louise Bourgeois Louise Bourgeois, Maman, 1999, Bronze, stainless steel, and marble. This spider is named Maman, which means “Mom” in French. Louise Bourgeois thought of spiders as protective. What do you think about when you see a spider? How do they make you feel? Take a moment to examine this sculpture. Look up and down, and side to side. What do you notice about this artwork? Maman was also inspired by Louise Bourgeois’s mother. Personally, she viewed spiders as creative weavers like her own mother. How do you think spiders are like weavers? Think of someone you love; is there a characteristic of an animal that reminds you of them? Why? What books, movies, or stories about spiders do you know? Activity: Make Your Own Spider Web Materials: Paper Plate Scissors Tape String or yarn Paper Coloring materials Instructions Step 1: Cut 8-12 short slits around the edges of a paper plate. *To make your artwork sustainable/recycle friendly, use a paper plate! Step 2: Tape a piece of yarn or string to the back of the plate. Step 3: Wrap the string around the plate as many times as you’d like. As you do this, a web will start to form! Wrap around the slots, but also wrap around the non-cut edge of the plate as well. This will make your web pop and become 3D. Step 4: If you have other colored yarn or string, add that to your web as well. Repeat step 2 if you decided to use another color. Step 5: Design your spider! Draw out a spider on a piece of paper. Color it, cut it out, and adhere it to your web using tape. Additional Activities: Examine spiders out in nature. Watch them weave their webs or capture their prey. Be careful not to touch or disturb them though! Take a pencil and paper with you and draw the pattern of their webs. Draw animal characteristics. Maman was inspired by Louise Bourgeois’s mother. She viewed spiders as creative weavers like her own mother. Think of someone you love; is there a characteristic of an animal that reminds you of them? Using paper, a pencil, or your favorite art utensil, draw a picture or write a poem about that person using this attribute. Have fun! Written by Dani Smith, art instructor, Crystal Bridges. Special thanks to our sponsors: Youth and Family programming is supported in part by AMP Sign & Banner, Arthur J. Gallagher Risk Management Services, Juan, Marcy and Joaquin Camacho, The Coca-Cola Company, iHeart Media, JTH Productions, Northwest Arkansas Naturals, Pinnacle Car Services, Procter & Gamble, Gordon and Carole Segal, The Simmons Family Fund, and ViacomCBS Consumer Products. Education and Learning is supported in part by Willard and Pat Walker Charitable Foundation, Walton Family Foundation, The Northern Trust Company, Pamela and Wayne Garrison, Doug and Shelley McMillon, Jack and Melba Shewmaker Family, Neff and Scarlett Basore, Galen and Debi Havner, Lance and Sharon Beshore, Cardinal Four Foundation, Colgate-Palmolive Company, Harry Cornell, Cox Communications, Dorothy Hurt, J.M. Smucker Company, Kimberly-Clark, Nice-Pak Products, Inc., The Russell Berrie Foundation, Stephen and Claudia Strange, Felix and Margaret Wright.
