For the second post in the Winter Break Activities blog series, our Education Coordinator, EJ, looked back at Jibade-Khalil Huffman’s exhibition, You Are Here on show at the Halsey Institute from May to July 2021.
Fill in the blank story activity:
Estimated time: 20 min
Click here to look through the You Are Here exhibition images. While you do this, pay attention to what you notice about each image. Collect a word bank using the following questions to help you as you go. At the end, use your word bank to fill in the blanks and create a story. You will need at least 8 adjectives, 4 nouns, 4 plural nouns, 2 verbs, and 2 numbers. The types of words the questions are supposed to help you collect are identified with each question.
For adjectives:
What colors do you see? Are there any patterns? When describing these images what words would you use? What does it look like? What texture is it?
For nouns and plural nouns:
As you look through the images, what do you recognize? What do they remind you of? What shapes do you see?
For verbs:
What do you think the people in these pictures are doing?
For numbers:
Looking at all the pictures, how many circles can you count? Choose an image. How many people do you see?
Fill in the blanks, then read your silly story!
A Wacky Winter
When I look out the window in winter the weather is very _______________ [adjective]. Sometimes it snows and sometimes _____________ [noun, plural] fall out of the sky. When it gets too _______________ [adjective] outside we go back into our ________________ [noun] and bundle up in ______________ [noun, plural]. We put on mittens to prepare for the ___________[adjective] weather and go back outside. After playing outside I get very hungry and ____________ [adjective]. In the winter we like to eat lots of ______________ [adjective] meals. Some of the ingredients we need to buy at the store are _____________ [adjective] ____________ [noun, plural], _______________[adjective] _____________ [noun], and _____________ [noun, plural]. We ______________ [verb] the ingredients in an bowl, and preheat the oven to ______________ [number] degrees. After the ingredients are mixed, we ___________ [verb] them into a ____________ [noun] and bake them in the oven for ___________ [number] minutes.
Here is EJ’s silly story:
A Wacky Winter
When I look out the window in winter the weather is very squiggly. Sometimes it snows and sometimes superheros fall out of the sky. When it gets too blurry outside we go back into our puzzle piece and bundle up in stripes. We put on mittens to prepare for the spikey weather and go back outside. After playing outside I get very hungry and bright. In the winter we like to eat lots of pink meals. Tonight we are cooking that meal for dinner. Some of the ingredients we need to buy at the store are colorful benches, electricbooks, and light. We glow the ingredients in a bowl, and preheat the oven to 15 degrees. After the ingredients are mixed, we smile them into a birdhouse and bake them in the oven for 21 minutes.
For a second activity, EJ created a collage inspired by Huffman’s work.
A collage is a work of art made by combining other pieces of existing art to create something new. Collages can be digital, like Huffman’s, or they can be material. Made out of things like photographs, magazine or newspaper clippings, and colored paper cut into shapes. How does collaging let you change an image?
Collage Activity:
Estimated time: 40 minutes to complete
Materials:
A photograph (make sure you ask an adult if it’s ok to use) or drawing of people you care about, markers or paint, magazine or newspaper clippings, construction paper, glue, string.
Let’s get started!
– Find, print out, or draw a picture of people that are important to you.
– Cut out a few shapes in different pieces of construction paper. Try various shapes and sizes like Huffman uses. Take turns laying the different sheets of construction paper over your picture like a window.
– Do you remember anything about these photographs? What is important to you about them? What changes when different parts of them are covered up? Which one lets you see the most important parts of your picture?
– To add to your photograph, add some line drawings or more collage clippings.
– For collage clippings, cut up some old magazines or newspapers. Find colors and patterns you like. You can also color or paint on construction paper and cut out shapes from this too.
– Add your clippings, drawings, and paintings to your picture to help tell your story.
Glue your favorite construction paper window over your collage picture. You’ve made your own Huffman-style collage!