Making Art Together

Paper and Glue Rubbing Plates

February 11th, 2021

One of our favorite tools to use in the Art Studio are rubbing plates. We’ve made several posts about making them with natural materials, manufactured materials, and materials from around your home. But to use them in the Art Studio during the pandemic, we had to think of a new way to create rubbing plates. We needed to make rubbing plates that could be single-use and fit the safety protocols for the Art Studio- something that all educators are balancing during the pandemic. To make them more sustainable, we determined that the plates had to be durable yet paper-based, and something that folks could take home. In thinking back on a previous toddler program, we realized that we had a solution, using only liquid glue, and sturdy paper! READ MORE

Cardboard Sculptures

April 10th, 2020

This week in our At Home Art Studios, we were inspired to create three-dimensional sculptures out of cardboard. Cardboard is one of our favorite materials in the Art Studio, it is strong, flexible, and can be folded and cut as needed. In this post, we will share some of our favorite ways to work with cardboard to create settings for storytelling and spaces for play. Many of the techniques we use with cardboard will also work for creating paper sculptures, so use whatever material you have available and join in! READ MORE

At Home Art Studio

March 20th, 2020

As an Education team at The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, we are all about bringing people together around picture books to create shared experiences. Art Studio is a hands-on, material-focused, all-ages space, where we have lots of materials within easy reach, and we can share artmaking techniques with family groups and individuals. With our staff currently working from home, we want to figure out how we can create an Art Studio space within our homes and maintain the creative community that we experience every day at The Carle. READ MORE

Very Hungry Caterpillar Day Collaboration

April 29th, 2019

Recently, students from Holyoke Community College’s Curriculum in Early Childhood class worked with The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art to design a studio project to celebrate Very Hungry Caterpillar Day. Students planned the event, prepared materials, and facilitated art making in the Art Studio. One of those students, Kiara M. Nazario-Cartagena, wrote a reflection on the collaboration, and following is her description of the project: READ MORE

Experiments in Papermaking

October 18th, 2018

Here in the Art Studio, we have started hosting more art classes for adults. In these classes our aim is to introduce materials and techniques in a fun and comfortable setting. One evening this fall, we brought out recycled papers, vats of water, screens and deckles and turned the Art Studio into a dedicated papermaking space. READ MORE