Costuming adds a bit of frivolity to the art adventure.
Robin and I had four little girls in tow, (my granddaughters and their cousin), as we headed for a Family Day Block Party on Saturday in downtown St. Louis. The programs for kids age 3-12 was featured at the Pulitzer, the Sheldon, and Contemporary Art Museum. At such events, I wind up doing things I’d never do otherwise, which is always great fun. Though when offered a free cup of Ted Drewes frozen custard at 10:30 in the morning, I was able to resist. It seemed like an improper time, though the kids had no problem with it.
Getting caught up in the art projects was easy for both kids and adults.
Button Making for a Good Cause
I’ve designed many a button for various political campaigns and causes. I even have a collection of old political buttons, so there was a bit of deja vu for me in this activity. We each drew our design on a circle of paper, that was transformed into a pin-backed button we could wear. I was pleased to see that Addie took on an environmental cause with a slogan that read “Save the Turtles.” Harper turned to humor with: “This is my human costume, I’m really a Pug.” (A sweet tribute to their pet pug, Butter.)
As I made my design I was thinking . . . Hmm . . .these button-making devises would be great for a political campaign office to promote the message of the day. In that spirit, I chose to promote blog site awareness. My button read: “Blog GoodFoodSTL.com.”
Addie puts the finishing touches on her “Save the Turtles” design.
The button making machine.
This interactive art work made for a lively photo. The open shutter caused me to think of the TV commercial, where a herd of bulls is chasing a man along the streets of Pamplona and he crashes into a shutter that’s being opened. Had it been a colorfully painted shutter, it might have saved him a bump on the head. 🙂
Navigating the Serra
We made our way along the circular path within the Serra sculpture amid its intriguing play of lights and shadows. Along the interior path, you can see slices of sky above and write your name in the sandy floor covering. (I wish I could get the same zen-like feeling when I’m wandering those switch-back lines at airport baggage screening.)
Entrance to the Serra sculpture at the Pulitzer. The circular steel structure is affectionately referred to as “Joe.”
Coco at the center of the Serra sculpture.
On to the Sheldon
At the Sheldon, the kids made “musical instruments.” A drum could be fashioned using a plastic cup with a few beads inside and covered with a scrap of elastic cut from a small balloon. (See middle top of photo below.) “Harmonicas” came from tongue depressors separated by paper and small sticks to form a blowing instrument.
Music, performers, face painting and more filled the day, but our group of happy wanderers was getting hungry—you can only subsist on frozen custard for so long. Creativity takes energy, soooo . . .
. . . we ended our art ramble with a nicely designed (and tasty) pizza at Zzz Pizza.
