Last night my son and I participated in the Summers Cool class Once Upon a Garden, taught by Walker Art Lab Coordinator Ilene Krug Mojsilov.
Ilene had the kids start thinking about curves right away by passing out pipe cleaners and having us bend them into different kinds of curves, we also used our fingers to trace the lines around different buildings and shapes- some curvy and some straight and geometric.
The 3, 4, and 5 year old kids were treated to a story about skyscrapers, Into the Sky by Ryan Ann Hunter, while ogling all of the various lines and shapes in the Irene Hixon Whitney Bridge, designed by St. Paul-based artist Siah Armajani. They also gaped in awe as they looked up at the overwhelming curves of Ellsworth Kelly’s Double Curve.
All of this looking and learning came to fruition when we headed back into the Walker on Wheels for a serious bout of building. Using really cool papers, small boxes, pipe cleaners, hot glue, foam bases, small pieces of wood and cardboard, the kids were charged with making a building with a door, a curve, a roof, and a purpose- some of my favorites- chicken factories, chocolate factories, a princess house, and a family’s house with a little house in the back for the pet dolphin- of course!