The pandemic has provided for more “home time” than ever before… which has lended new emerging artists (+ kids!) to “think outside of the box” as they have been “inside a box” (house) for way too long. See below to use household items in drawings & papier-mâché:)
An example is the “Ode to Helen Rosner’s Roast Chicken” by Agnes Barton, 39 from Corvallis, Oregon. She has been crafting with the things around her house during the pandemic. Barton-Sabo used “flour, water, masking tape, two issues of the New Yorker and acrylic paint” to share the joys of Helen Rosner’s viral video of “drying chicken skin with a hair dryer.” She wants her artwork during this time to evoke emotions of laughter by her ridiculous imagery (Cavna, 2020).
Another young man, Kristián Mensa in 2016 (before the pandemic), also reimagined “every day objects” to talented pieces of artwork! “To create these whimsical compositions, Mensa pairs…items with minimalist drawings that incorporate the 3D elements among bold lines.” He takes half of an orange (peeled) to use for the back of a turtle or a row of paintbrushes and draws a man mowing over them (Barnes, 2016).
Thankfully, we have outlandish artwork like these due to the work of the impressionists in the 19th century who wanted to go against the “rigid and carefully finished images of the Académies des Beaux-Arts (historical subjects, realistic themes and portraits)” and instead pushed for color, emotion, personality, and imagination in landscape and still life. It also opened the way, for a new modern medium, photography– which at first impressionists thought it “devalued their art skill” until they curved their perception and “sought to express nature and modern city life” in their own pieces (Lumen Learning, N/A)
Here is a painting from Dina D’ Argo, 56, from Springfield, Tennessee, whom used acrylic paints to paint “In the Void.” The painting shares the emotion of “stepping into the unknown.” As humans, we can’t see what is up ahead and so we move with uncertainty into the future. “The veil symbolizes not only the unwillingness to accept reality, but also our cultural preoccupation with covering or uncovering one’s face, and what it represents or says about who we are as a society…” The floating finally reminds the viewer that we must accept the chaos and go with the flow of life (Cavna, 2020).
How creative have your kids been during quarantine? Share with us! Email your images of artwork: claire@clairescreativeadventures.com with the subject line reading, “Quarentine Artwork” or tag your artwork on your social media accounts: Instagram: @clairescreative OR Facebook: @clairescreativeadventures and send us a quick instant message saying that you sent your artwork.
Works Cited
Barnes, Sara (2016). Teenage Artist Playfully Adds Everyday Objects to Complete Clever Illustrations. Website retrieved from https://mymodernmet.com/kristian-mensa-real-object-illustrations/?fbclid=IwAR1efUkHEHqKjhQb40u4MV81atm4KcyaZCArfqOJsDbTxX_A_CZsYy4cGPw
Cavna, Michael (2020). The best art created by Washington Post readers during the Pandemic. Website retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2020/07/06/art-pandemic-readers/?arc404=true
Lumen Learning (Unknown). Impressionism. Website retrieved from