Fairfield University Art Museum Family Day - Art of Cuba

FAMILY ACTIVITY GUIDE

ART OF CUBA

Art of Cuba These simple arts & crafts projects were inspired by the paintings, sculptures, and prints on view in our exhibition Archives of Consciousness: Six Cuban Artists!

Want to learn more? Visit fairfield.edu/museum/cuba to read the exhibition catalogue and see pictures of all the artworks in the show!

Share your projects with us on social media (@FairfieldUAM on Instagram, Facebook, & Twitter)

Cover: Choco, Head with Pineapple, 2017, collagraph on paper. Collection of Terri and Steven Certilman

Where’s Cuba?

All of the artworks in our exhibition were created by artists living in the island nation of Cuba, which is located in the Caribbean.

Cubans face a lot of challenges in their daily lives, and this is true for artists, too. Art supplies are not as easy to get as they are in the United States, which has led many Cuban artists to get very creative in the materials they use.

Here’s one example: this artist, Abel Barroso, made this piece out of pencil shavings!

But there’s something else interesting about this - look closely at the black spots on this lounge chair, and look at the map above.

Can you find Cuba on Barosso’s Lounge Chair?

What other Caribbean nations can you spot?

Abel Barosso, Lounge Chair, 2015, poster board, pencil shavings, wood, mixed media. Collection of Terri and Steven Certilman

Self-Portrait Silhouette Collage What makes YOU who you are? The Cuban artists in our show use different kinds of imagery to communicate thoughts and ideas that represent their heritage and experiences. In this activity, children use collage materials to create a silhouette portrait that illustrates who they are and what is important in their lives. The images and words children choose to represent who they are will be used to fill the positive space of a silhouette of their profiles. Children can also create a background to help communicate how the physical world around them influences who they are on the inside.

Supplies: • colored or white paper • pencil • scissors • color pencils/markers/ paint • magazine clippings or other found collage materials • glue 1. Trace your silhouette! We taped a piece of paper to a wall in a dark room and sat our model on a stool in front of the paper. We propped a cell phone up against a stack of books with the flashlight on and positioned it in front of the model casting a shadow on to the paper. Our subject sat very still while we quickly traced the shadow with a pencil.

2. Cut and lay out materials to fill the positive space of the silhouette. Once you have arranged your pieces the way you want them, glue them to the paper. We used colored pencils and oil pastels to fill in white spaces.

3. Cut the completed silhouette out of the white paper and glue it to a piece of colored paper to make the colors in the collage pop!

4. (Optional) We thought the collage was complete at this point, but an artist knows when a piece is done and our fifth grade model/artist was not satisfied! She explained that this collage represents how she sees herself on the inside, but there are also things on the outside that make her who she is. She wanted to create a background to finish the story.

Make Your Own Collagraph Prints A collagraph print is created from a collection of textured materials that have been collaged onto a rigid surface, like this one:

Choco, Head with Pineapple, 2017, collagraph on paper. Collection of Terri and Steven Certilman

Choco is a master printmaker! He creates printing plates by gluing a variety of materials including rattan, cardboard, fabric and sand on to wood or cardboard. These plates are then inked and pressed.

Want to give it a try? The following steps will guide you in making your own fun and easy collagraph prints.

Supplies: You don’t need to go out and purchase anything special to make your collagraph prints! You most likely already have materials you can use. We had a scavenger hunt around our house to find our materials.

• A variety of items with different textures • Tempera paint • Elmer’s glue or glue sticks • Brushes and/or sponge brushes • A rigid surface, such as cardboard (we used the flaps from a shipping box) for each person’s collagraph • Paper to make your print

1. Sketch and plan designs onto the cardboard collagraph plates.

2. Cut out and glue textured items onto collagraph plates. Use a variety of textures to fill the space. The surface should remain relatively even.

3. Select a paint to work with based on what you have available.

We used tempera paint because it is readily available, water-based and easy to clean up.

4. Apply the paint to the collagraph plates using paint brushes or sponge brushes.

You want to work quickly to keep the paint from totally drying! But you didn’t work quickly enough, no worries - you can spray the collagraph plate with a spray bottle filled with water or dab it with a wet paint brush to re-wet the paint. A quick spray or dab is fine, it doesn’t need to be soaked.

5. Place a piece of paper over the plate and use your hands to gently rub and press the paper. Remove the paper to reveal the print! You can make more prints to make a series. Just add more paint for more prints.

The great thing about these collagraphs is there are no right or wrong outcomes!

There can be a theme or no theme. It can be about creating a textured print or a representational picture.

Our prints were based on the idea of “a walk in our neighborhood”:

This print (the collagraph plate is in the upper left corner) was made by a 5th grader. Her idea for the print was a night-time walk with the bright light of the moon illuminating the night sky enough to “cast shadows even at night.”

Making a Paper-Towel Roll Sculpture Our Cuban show had lots of beautiful and colorful sculptures!

Some were made of wood, others of metal - not really materials most of us have at home. You’ve probably made sculptures with clay or PlayDoh before, but in the spirit of Cuban artists who get creative with materials they have around them, today we’re going to make sculpture using a material you might not have thought of: paper towel rolls!

Eduardo “Choco” Rojas, The Duck, 2019, collagraphs on wood.

Collection of Terri and Steven Certilman

Supplies: • Paper towel roll • Extra cardboard • Paint and brushes • Scissors • Hot glue (you can substitute for another sturdy glue) • Marker (optional)

1. Take the excess cardboard and cut out a 3.5 x 3.5 inch base. This will be glued to the bottom of your sculpture and act as a stand.

2. Grab your paper roll and bend, fold, scrunch to create the shape for your sculpture!

Feel free to hot glue parts down.

3. When you’re happy with the shape of your paper towel roll, glue the bottom of the paper towel to the center of the cardboard square.

4. Wait 5 minutes for the glue to dry.

5. Before you start painting, you can use a marker to outline your sections where you want to put your paint.

6. Now it’s time to paint: Cuban art is filled with bright colors and patterns, so we chose to go bold!

7. When the paint has dried, go over and add patterns. You can use the bottom of the brush to get even circles. The shape and colors are totally up to you!

Sweet Cuban Treats After a hard day’s art-making, reward yourself with some Cuban-style desserts!

Homemade Dulce de Leche, from epicurious.com:

Pastelitos de Dulce de Leche, from thespruceeats.com:

Projects made and photographed by Museum Educator Kate Wellen and Museum Assistant Emily McKeon