Art Activities

DIRECTIONS

We have several art activities that can be completed with children of almost all ages. Plus, we will offer up Optional Art Activities for classes or programs with additional time.

Art Activities (Approximately 40-60 minutes)

Getting Started

Discuss Maya Freelon and complete the Tissue Quilt Activity. Include the Discussions and Questions below.

Introducing Maya Freelon!

Maya Freelon is an award winning international artist from North Carolina who is teaching us how to make community tissue paper quilts! Below is her Artist Statement. Please watch the short Video below that demonstrates the importance of community and then look over her website to see how many different ways she uses tissue paper to create masterpieces.

Discussion

Explain how the AIDS quilt was one way for families and friends could participate with a community to commemorate their loved ones. With our Wilmington Community Empathy Quilt, we are all joining together with groups to create a huge tissue paper quilt to show how even those of us from different groups and diverse backgrounds can come together to make a beautiful masterpiece. Plus, our tissue paper quilt lives on past this project. A portion will be given to each group to keep as well a portion to Maya to be included in her future projects! We are so excited to be a part of Maya's ongoing tissue quilts.

Tissue Paper Quilt Directions

The end result was multicolored tissues made into individual quilts, that were joined with partner quilts, combined into group quilts which were put together into a community quilt. See Photos.

Material List

• Spectra bleeding tissue paper (assorted colors, cut in half, 9”x12”)

• Elmer's Glue sticks (1 for each participant)

This project is about community building and working together. Although sometimes we are physically distant, our collective goal is the same: Individually we can seem like an insignificant scrap of tissue paper. But when we join our forces together, there is strength, power and unity.

Joining our quilts back together demonstrates our collective creation is better with everyone’s individual creativity. When Maya puts the finishing touches on the quilt, she will add them to her larger growing installation, which wouldn’t be the same without you!

When we view all the quilting styles together, it’s easy to see our similarities, our individuality and garner inspiration and power from our joint effort.

See the video below about a tissue quilt created at the Smithsonian,

Questions/Discussion

What did you feel when creating your art?

What do you want people to feel when they look at your art?

What can you tell about the other person by looking at their art?

How do you feel adding on to another person’s art?

What do you hope the original artist feels about your contribution?

How do you feel about contributing to a community quilt?

Accommodations

Students who cannot glue using glue sticks may required teacher assistance or may need to work with partners.