#PublicArtfromAtoZ

Berlin Wall Fragment

For younger children

It is hard right now when you can’t spend time with your friends. Not too long ago people living in the city of Berlin, Germany were also separated, but by a wall. There was a West Berlin and an East Berlin and the two sides of the city could not communicate with each other. People spray painted pictures and messages on the wall to express themselves.  The wall eventually came down and we have a piece of it right here in Reston!  What kinds of messages would you leave right now to tell your friends about things that you are thinking and feeling?  Grab a stone outside while on a walk and paint it with a picture that represents how you feel or start a daily journal.

Cadmiosaur by John Parker

For all ages

Parker’s creature is composed of straight lines and many angles much like the folds you make in origami. Try your hand at making this origami dinosaur or search for other origami tutorials on youtube to learn how to make a 3-dimensional creature similar to Cadmiosaur!

Or create an imaginary creature of your own with your whole family! Grab some paper, pencils, markers, crayons (and even paints and brushes) and have each person add their part to what will become a completely unique creature. Before you begin you could look at some pictures of dinosaurs, insects, and other animals and study their appearance for inspiration. When you are finished give your new species a name!

Decorative Icons (Lakeside Pharmacy Icons) by Ivan Chermayeff and Tom Geismer for Whittlesey & Conklin

For all ages

The Decorative Icons were part of a series of eye-catching signage created by renowned graphic designers Ivan Chermayeff and Tom Geismer for the first storefronts at Lake Anne Village Center. Did you know they also designed the now-famous logos for Mobil Oil, the Smithsonian, and PBS among many others?

A logo is an important visual tool for establishing a brand or identity. Can you think of some logos you see every day (the Starbucks mermaid, McDonald’s golden arches, Reston Association’s green tree)? Design a logo to represent yourself or your family, your school, or a favorite restaurant or company. Imagine if McDonald’s or the Olympic committee hired you to create a new image to promote their brand.

Here is a fun website for kids to learn about more about design and its history.

Emerge by Valerie Theberge

For all ages

Valerie Theberge created the organic, natural forms of Emerge using thousands of small pieces of multi-colored glass and mirrors. The pieces used to make a mosaic are called tesserae.

Mosaics can be made with all kinds of materials. Get inspired to create a mosaic based on nature using paper or cardboard as your base. Glue small pieces from magazines, scrap paper, newspapers, buttons, dry pasta & beans, bottle caps, etc. next to each other to create a colorful design. Consider making an outline first with a single color and then filling it in. Or use the internet to look up edible mosaics!

Flux by Valerie Theberge

For all ages

This colorful mosaic water feature by Valerie Theberge is inspired by the diversity and adaptability of the tiny microorganisms that live all around us. 

Scientific exploration provides a rich source of artistic inspiration. Use the internet to discover different types of microorganisms and like Flux use them to create a watercolor.  Trace a circle onto your paper using a plate and pretend it is a petri dish by filling it with the shapes of fungus, bacteria, and protozoa as if you were looking at them under a microscope.

Harmony Ridge by Robert Lobe

For all ages

Robert Lobe finds beauty in rock formations and fallen tree limbs on his nature walks. In sculptures like Harmony Ridge, he pounded aluminum sheets around their forms to create a permanent record of their shape and texture. 

Look for fallen branches and rocks with interesting shapes.  At home, press aluminum foil over the objects to capture their texture and form.  The objects can then be removed and reused to make multiple foil molds. Like Lobe, explore different arrangements. You could attach them with tape or straight pins and paint them too to make a variety of sculptures.

Iris by Daniel Goldstein

For younger children

Iris, by Daniel Goldstein, is a soaring combination of curving forms that suggest the flower of the title through simplified, abstract shapes.

Think like an abstract artist and create a fanciful flower design using cut-out paper shapes or bent pipe cleaners. What type of flower inspires you? What sorts of basic shapes do you see in it? Or safely get out in nature to find flowers and leaves to use as natural stamps by dipping them in paint and onto paper creating an abstract bouquet and then draw the vase to hold it!

Memorial Sun Dial by Wayne Hughes

For all ages

Have you ever seen the sundial at the Walker Nature Center? It is the perfect spot for a device that harnesses the position of the sun to tell time.

Try making an easy sundial at home. One using found sticks, stones, and a wristwatch is a great way for kids and their adults to explore this ancient technology! For details search “How to Make a Sundial” on the website, wikiHow.com.

Midtown Community Mural by Dana Ann Scheurer

For all ages

Reston artist Dana Scheuer captures familiar sites around Reston in her Midtown Mural.

Relax with a coloring page of this artwork (put the link to the website page) to find your inner Zen. Or create a cityscape of your own inspired by the places you love by creating an outline in black of different types of buildings and filling them in with color!

Mosaic Birdbath by Shahin Talishkhan, Valerie Theberge, Terraset Elementary School students

For all ages

The Mosaic Birdbath is covered in a swirling design of abstract flowers (made by Terraset Elementary School students!) surrounded by leaves that envelop the entire form and enhance its swelling shape. 

Transform any glass jar into a work of art with colorful tissue paper, pictures from magazines, glitter, etc. Paint specific areas as you attach materials with equal parts Elmer’s All-Glue & water mixed together (or mod podge) to create a colorful container like the Mosaic Birdbath. Or search the internet for some easy “decoupage” tutorials.

Mutual Understanding/Mutual Respect by m.l. duffy

For all ages

Artists create small-scale models (called maquettes) to develop a design concept. m.l. duffy created this model to present to the committee that selected his work Mutual Understanding/Mutual Respect for the Hunter Mill District County Governmental Center.

Imagine you were asked to submit a “design concept” for a new public artwork. Is there a particular place you would design it for? Think of ways to use materials you have at home to create a model.  We would love to see what you come up with!

North Shore Drive Underpass by Gonzalo Fonseca

For all ages

Entering the North Shore Drive Underpass is like exploring a secret civilization that artist Gonzalo Fonseca filled with both familiar and mysterious forms to spur the imagination.

Turn a box on its side to create your own imaginary world with paint, markers, collage elements, and 3-dimensional objects.  Imagine who lived in this space.  What did they leave behind?  What do these objects tell us about their world?

Outdoor Wall Mural by Mike Pilato and Hunters Woods Elementary School for the Arts and Sciences 6th grade students

For all ages

Students at Hunters Woods Elementary School have participated in artist-led workshops to produce many wonderful public artworks throughout the school grounds including this colorful mural.

Set-up an art workshop at home. Cover a table to provide a large creative surface that can get messy and lay out a variety of materials and let the creative juices flow while making art together!

Plaza Fountain by James Rossant

For all ages

For architect James Rossant, building sandcastles with his friend and fellow artist, Gonzalo Fonseca, inspired the organic forms of the Plaza Fountain.

Let the forms of the fountain inspire miniature structures made out of salt dough. Easy instructions can be found on the internet.  Once you bake your creations you can paint them or leave them in their natural state like the raw concrete of the Plaza Fountain.

Pylon by Gonzalo Fonseca

For all ages

Pylon is full of different textures including its rough outer surface molded from raw concrete. Gonzalo Fonseca also reveals smooth 3-D shapes inside mysterious niches as well as a spiky starburst made from one of the metal rods that reinforce the concrete sculpture.

Explore texture by making a simple rubbing. Find surfaces on a walk or at home to capture with a piece of paper and the flat side of a crayon or soft pencil. It is also fun to explore texture by drawing with crayons or pastels on a flattened out, crumpled paper bag!

Reston Rondo by Mary Ann Mears

For all ages

The playful, curving forms of Reston Rondo imply movement. Artist Mary Ann Mears chose a musical reference for her title that like the repeated arching elements in her sculpture have a recurring theme.

Let the music be your guide in a freehand drawing that responds to sound. Play your favorite music and let the rhythm guide you. Interpret what you hear with your marks on the paper. When you are finished notice if there are repetitions in your drawing. What did you feel while you were drawing it?

September 11th Memorial by Kathy Walden Kaplan

For all ages

The September 11^th Memorial relief sculpture explores the healing power of nature to help us to find hope in our surroundings and remember those we have lost.

Now is a great time to talk to our friends and relatives and share our stories. Tell some stories at home or through a video chat. As you listen, take notes. Find images of nature in magazines and use these to make a collage. Overlay the images with the story to create a visual memory-scape.

The Force of Nature by Lorenzo Quinn

For all ages

Force of Nature is a dramatic symbol of the classic struggle between humans and the planet we inhabit. Artist Lorenzo Quinn created this ode to Mother Nature in response to worldwide natural disasters.

Artists often draw our attention to the power of nature and its dual role as a force for good and of destruction. On a walk, study nature through a photographic lens or through quick pencil sketches to capture evidence of trees affected by storms and or any place that highlights nature’s dramatic moments!

Thoreau’s Ensemble by Ben Volta

For all ages

Thoreau’s Ensemble includes over 750 individual drawings made in community workshops led by artist, Ben Volta. The project was inspired by Reston’s 55 miles of paths and a quote from naturalist, Henry David Thoreau.

Create your own family path drawing. Orient pieces of paper horizontally. Make a dot on either edge at the same place on each sheet so your drawings will connect. Start with pencil at one end and create a path with whatever type of line inspires you and that connects to the other side of the paper. Go over lines in black and add colorful designs to see where they lead.

Untitled by David Holland

For all ages

Artist David Holland carved this abstract sculpture using an age-old method, known as the subtractive process, where material is removed to reveal the finished form.         

Stone carving requires a lot of technical skill and physical effort, but a soft bar of soap, a plastic knife, a paper clip, and a pencil is all you need to get the hang of it.  A great instructional video can be found on Youtube at #metkids – how to make a soap carving.  Make a soap sculpture and share it with us.

Untold Stories by Zachary Oxman

For younger children

Zach Oxman captures the welcoming spirit of Robert E. Simon, Jr. in Untold Stories with the relaxed, open pose and a title that suggests a chance conversation.

What story would you tell Mr. Simon right now? Create a picture book that you can share with your family. Staple some sheets of paper together and illustrate a cover for your story. Fill the pages with pictures to bring your words to life on the pages. Have fun sharing it.  We would love to see it too!

Viewer for the Age of Reason by Greg Shelnutt

For all ages

Artist Greg Shelnutt likes to tell stories with his sculptures.  What kind of story is he sharing with Viewer for the Age of Reason?  Perhaps the artist is asking us to look through his fanciful frame to help us see the world from a different perspective.

Try making a kaleidoscope for your own magical viewing experience.  Many simple tutorials using common household items can be found on YouTube.  Create a work of art by decorating the outside of the kaleidoscope with fun designs.

Weathervanes by RTKL, Inc. of Baltimore

For all ages

Set at the entrance to Reston Town Center the Weathervanes were designed as a welcoming element to the commercial district.  Invented simultaneously in ancient Greece and China to gauge the wind’s direction weathervanes have been around for over 2,000 years.

Search YouTube for “weathervane school projects” that use common household items like cardboard, a pencil, and a straw for a homemade weathervane and do some wind tests of your own. Top your version with your own personal symbol!