BeyelerCreate

Our Home activity Programme for you

#BeyelerCreate

Bringing art mediation direct to your home: Our website BeyelerCreate presents a range of digital offers, including workshops and ideas for drawing and colouring, that are inspired by our current exhibitions. There are useful tips and suggestions to help you with the challenges and unleash your own creativity. Appealing to young and old alike, BeyelerCreate is a perfect tool for home-schooling or banishing lockdown boredom.

Join in and share your creations under the hashtag #BeyelerCreate

Workshop

An organic play of forms

The Work

Inspired by Hans Arp's biomorphic sculptures, new forms emerge from drawings that can then be modeled intuitively in clay.

Materials

You will need: clay/ modelling clay (if not available: Fimo/plasticine), a cup of water, modelling wood (if not available: wooden cooking spoon/spatula/dough scraper), covering foil for the table, a work shirt, paper and pencil.

Step 1

Take a hand-sized piece of moulding clay in your hand. Initially, knead, roll, press and shape the material freely. Does the warmth of your hands change the mouldability?

Step 2

Try to sketch very simple, organic shapes with the pencil, using only lines. Let yourself be inspired by Arp's works.

Step 3

Next, make two or three pieces from your piece of clay. You can now join the individual shapes together. The joint is smoothed into each other so that it holds well when dry. If the material is cracked, wet your fingers with water and brush over the dry spots. The shape can be created according to your sketch or completely freely.

Step 4

Keep experimenting with the material. The surface can be worked on well by scratching and roughening. If you feel like it, you can press in different objects, for example a walnut – what will your imprint look like? Have fun with the meditative, experimental exploration tour!

Colourful Mobile

Put some colour in your home - make a colored mobile with help from us and inspiration from Matisse.

The Work

"Acanthes" is a famous work by Henri Matisse, one of the so-called papiers découpés, made by cutting figures and shapes out of colored paper and then mounting them on board. The artist described the process as "drawing with scissors." The brightly colored leaves in "Acanthes" look as if blown onto the canvas by the wind.

Materials

You will need: colored paper, a needle and thread, scissors, and a chopstick

Step 1

Cut a variety of leaf shapes from the colored paper.

Step 2

Make a hole in each leaf with the needle and insert a thread through the hole.

Step 3

Attach the ends of the threads to the chopstick. Tie a further thread to each end of the chopstick, hang up the mobile, and you're done!

OPEN STUDIO "RODIN/ARP"

Automatic Sculpture

Hans Arp, Automatic Sculpture

The Open Studio Workshop takes its inspiration from the title of Hans Arp’s "Automatic Sculpture," made by the artist as a tribute to Auguste Rodin’s sculpture "Crouching Woman". Instead of copying Rodin's crouching figure, Arp developed an abstract, organic form of his own. In the following instructions, we show how you too can create a form that emerges spontaneously, guided by the unconscious.

The instructions call for drawing tools and paper. However, you may wish to use other materials: send us an email at kunstvermittlung@fondationbeyeler.ch and we'll mail a small pack of materials free of charge to your home address.

The instructions cover both versions, with and without the materials pack.

1) Paper and pen

2) Version with the pack of materials including modeling clay and QR codes

You will need...

… paper, drawing tools, headphones. Version with the materials pack: blindfold, modeling clay, plastic sheet, sandpaper, QR codes for the audio files, and the text of Rainer Maria Rilke's poem "The Dreamer"

Step 1

Click on the button to listen to a poem by Rainer Maria Rilke. He was a friend of Rodin's and worked for a time as his assistant. The two artists cooperated and inspired each other. Is there another person nearby? Perhaps he or she could read the poem aloud to you while you carry out steps 2 and 3. If you'd rather listen to music than a poem, we have chosen a suitable work: "Clair de lune" (nicht "Claire de Lune") by Claude Debussy.

Step 1, Materials Pack

Version with the materials pack: QR code 1 provides a link to the audio file of a poem by Rainer Maria Rilke. QR code 2 will take you to Claude Debussy's composition "Clair de lune.“

Step 2

Find a place where you feel comfortable. Choose either the music or the poem, put on your headphones and pick up your colored crayons or pens and sheet of white paper.

Step 2, Materials Pack

Version with materials pack: Spread the plastic sheet over the work surface and take out the modeling clay. Have a jar of water ready in case you want to wet the clay.

Step 3

Close your eyes and try to focus on the sound of the poem or the music, shutting out other thoughts. Keep your eyes closed and move the drawing tool around on the paper. Let the movements flow freely and try not to lift the crayon or pen off the paper until the drawing is finished.

Step 3, Materials pack

Version with materials pack: Allow your fingers to move freely and try to shape the modeling clay intuitively with your eyes shut.

Step 4

Open your eyes again. What do you see? Are you surprised by your drawing? Perhaps you think some more ideas might occur to you. If so, you can carry on drawing.

Step 4, Materials pack

Version with materials pack: Take a look at your sculpture. Are you happy with it as it is? If so, you can let the material dry until it sets. Or does something seem to be missing? In that case, you can continue modeling or listen to the other audio file and create a new figure. When your figures are dry you can sand them down for a smooth finish, or use the sandpaper to continue working on the shapes.

Step 5

In a further step you can listen to the other audio file, again with your eyes closed, and draw a second picture in another colour over the first.

Step 5, Materials pack

Version with materials pack: If you like, you can add some colour to your figure with felt-tip pens or markers.

Finished?

When your automatic drawing or sculpture is completed, share it with others by sending an image to kunstvermittlung@fondationbeyeler.ch and posting it on Instagram under #BeyelerCreate#OpenStudio. We are eager to see how you have put our suggestions into creative practice.

Shadow play

Auguste Rodin, Der Schatten, kleine Fassung vor 1886 , Bronze (Alexis Rudier), 97 x 53 x 32 cm Stiftung im Obersteg, Depositum im Kunstmuseum Basel 2004, Foto: Kunstmuseum Basel, Martin P. Bühler

Auguste Rodin, The Shadow

Two of the works in "Rodin/Arp" are concerned with shadows and shade. Rodin takes up the theme in his male figure The Shade, which contrasts with Arp's abstract, organic Shadow Figure. Both artists address the challenge of translating things that are intangible - light and shade - into three-dimensional terms.

Taking the opposite approach, we are going to create three-dimensional objects as a basis for shadow images that recreate works by Rodin and Arp. Make your own shadow picture according to our instructions.

Tip: Are you Interested in working with more than the upcycling materials you happen to find at home? Write to us, giving your name and address, at kunstvermittlung@fondationbeyeler.ch and we’ll send you a pack of materials as soon as possible.

What you will need...

… to make your own shadow play. First, look around your home for objects and shapes that you find interesting. Remember that we will only using the outlines of these objects. Here are the items we have chosen: an apple, newspaper, scissors, yarn, a roll of adhesive tape, scraps of paper, wire and a cutter. You will also need a light source. Take a desk lamp or a flashlight and look for a blank wall with space for a shadow play.

Step 1

Choose a ready-made shape from the collection available for downloading. The shapes include the silhouettes of some sculptures in the "Rodin/Arp" exhibition.

Step 2

Think about the formal elements and edges of your silhouette. Which of the ready-made shapes match the objects you have chosen? If you're unsure about this, take your lamp or torch and project the shadow of your object onto the wall. Can you see similar curves and edges?

Step 3

Does your set of objects now look more or less like your shadow figure? If so, you can start combining the objects, using string, adhesive tape or wire to connect them. Gradually fit the parts together, checking your shadow now and again as you work.

Step 4

Finally, choose your background and place your object between the light source and the wall. By varying the distance between the light, the wall and the object, you can make the edges of your shadow sharper or fuzzier.

Step 5

Finished? Mail your shadow image to for inclusion in the photo gallery on BeyelerCreate. Share your work via #BeyelerCreate #OpenStudio and visit our Instagram channel Young Beyeler. We look forward to seeing your creative solutions and to welcoming you again live in the Studio! Best wishes from the Open Studio Team.

Sketch it!

Nice to have you with us at SKETCH IT! for the exhibition "Rodin/Arp". Today we are looking at "randomness": Both artists explored its possibilities in their artworks. The sculptor Louise Bourgeoise experimented with the interplay between drawing and modelling and the random effects that result. Have fun trying out the activities and getting creative!

Drawing at random

About the artwork

Rodin and Arp both worked with the creative principle of chance. They combined different forms and fragments, breaking them down and putting the parts back together in new ways. These Sketch it! instructions show you how to experiment with elements arranged at random. Have fun with our drawing game!

Materials

First, assemble your collection of materials, including pencils, crayons, felt-tip pens and markers in a wide range of colors, and various kinds of paper and drawing surfaces. If you don't have access to a printer, you'll need some white blank postcards or A5/A6 sheets of notepaper.

Step 1

We have prepared various templates for you that you can print as "playing cards". Feel free to add your own ideas. Each category has a different symbol, so you can distinguish the cards.

Step 2

Cut the cards apart and arrange them in three piles according to the categories. Tip: each category is marked by a logo in the upper left corner: Drawing utensil, type of drawing, background

Step 3

Now you have three piles face down in front of you. Draw one card from the pile "Drawing utensil" and one from the pile "Drawing type". Use white paper as a background and draw a sketch using the two guidelines. Do not think too long about what you are drawing. Let the sketch develop intuitively, freely and abstractly.

Step 4

Draw two new cards and draw another sketch.

Step 5

Now you've mastered the random principle like a pro! For your next challenge, draw one card from each of the three piles. Again, create a drawing with the given conditions. You can repeat the card drawing game as long as you like - it will never get boring! Send us your sketches at kunstvermittlung@fondationbeyeler.ch and share your drawings under #BeyelerCreate. We are looking forward to your versatile creations!

FROM SCULPTURE TO DRAWING AND BACK

The Work

These instructions take their inspiration from the sculptor Louise Bourgeois, who also made many drawings and prints. Her Three Graces (2002), from the collection of the Fondation Beyeler, is a delicate drawing that hints at the outlines of three figures. Many connections are apparent between Bourgeois's drawing and her work as a sculptor. Sometimes an idea conceived in the one medium seems to be continued and expanded in the other: in 1947, for example, Bourgeois made a sculpture that was also titled Three Graces, predating the drawing shown here by fifty-five years.

What you need...

A lump of clay, A5 or A6 format drawing paper, whatever drawing tools you prefer (pencils, fine-liners, charcoal, etc.), modeling tools, plastic sheet for the work surface.

Step 1

First take the piece of clay in your hands and try, as Louise Bourgeois called it, "to follow your instincts". Knead the clay and let spontaneous shapes emerge.

Step 2

After the first modelling phase, record the progress in a drawing. Let the drawing develop freely and continue to evolve from the modelled form.

Step 3

Continue modelling until you find another exciting shape and then stop to draw. Maybe the drawing will inspire you to create new shapes...

Step 4

Repeat this procedure several times – you'll be surprised what emerges in the transformations between sculpture and drawing.

VIDEOS For young and old

Weitere Videos

Henri Rousseau’s "Le lion ayant faim" for children

What happens when a small squirrel meets a hungry lion in the museum? Well obviously, it starts wondering about art! A commentated viewing with actress Regina Leitner and her inquisitive squirrel in front of Henri Rousseau’s celebrated masterpiece «Le lion ayant faim». A nutty enjoyment for all children aged 5 to 10 and an appetiser for the holiday season.

Other episodes: Edward Hopper and Alexander Calder

[in German]

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