Each person will create a small 3D version of their fantasy best friend learning about the history of the Guatemalan worry doll as well as how armatures are used in sculpture. Students will explore what makes a good friend and the similarities and differences that make us all unique. We talk about how important it is to be able to share your feelings and feel safe with friends. Then we learn how armatures are used in sculpture and how to repurpose found materials to make amazing 3D characters. This residency can be as few as 3 or more than 5 sessions long and can easily be integrated into the desired curriculum or stand alone as a class for self care and creative exploration.
Process:
– We begin every session with a different grounding exercise, learning a number of self soothing tools throughout the residency.
– We discuss friendship and the importance of connection and friends. We dream about the best kind of friend we can imagine, emotional and physical characteristics. This phase can include writing and drawing, and definitely includes using our wild imaginations!
– We learn about worry dolls that originated in Guatemala
-We learn about armatures, where and why they are used, then we begin to explore using them ourselves. For younger artists we use paper and masking tape, for older artists we use wire.
-Depending on the needs of the residency we can finish our imaginary friends simply with markers or with fabric, string, found objects, or even a habitat/home box creation as well.

This program offered by: Beth Wilson