Charley Harper is Wild and We Are Too!

My favorite projects in the art studio are the ones that are inspired by artists or the ones that are inspired by the current special exhibit at the museum and I especially love when both are true. The current special exhibit at the Chicago Children’s Museum is “I am Wild: A Charley Harper Exhibit” and our most recent project “Wild Collage” was inspired by it.

In addition to all these wonderful interactive exhibits there are a nice selection of Charley Harper prints on display.

We asked guests to think about shapes, color, and texture when creating their own animal collages and encouraged them to think like Charley Harper and see the shapes an animal is made up of.

We offered punches and stencils to help with shape making and we quickly realized that most animal’s bodies are oval shaped and that our stencil packs did not include an oval one. After a little internet research we found that we could order some 3D printed ones from Etsy.

And they were immediately put to use!

I actually remember when I became aware of Charley Harper. Pinch Pottery in Northampton had some Charley Harper tiles and I loved the cardinal one so I knew I had to make one and hang him on our refrigerator with some of my other art studio creations.