Use everyday items (or people!) around your home to create organic shapes from cast shadows.
Materials
A sunny, quiet place outside/inside your home
Lamp or flashlight
Drawing utensils
Blank paper for drawing
Everyday objects of varying shapes
Instructions
01. PREPARE WORKSPACE
Find a sunny place at home where you can safely lay out your materials and comfortably work on your artwork. Identify your strongest source of light as you look down at your paper. If needed, use a flashlight or a lamp as your main light source.
02. DISCOVER SHADOWS
Place your everyday objects onto your paper with your light source on one side. Arrange shapes by width and height. Notice the size and shape of the cast shadows. Move the objects around to layer shadows and create organic shapes.
03. DRAW SHAPES
How do the shadows interact? What combination of objects creates the most interesting shapes for you? When you are happy with your composition, begin drawing the outline of your cast shadows, allowing your line drawing to be free-flowing. Remove objects and complete your artwork by adding to the line drawing or coloring in your organic shapes.
04. DOCUMENT
Documenting your creative process and artwork is an essential part of making art. Take a picture of your drawing. Be sure to include your objects in your picture!
Share your drawings with CAMH. And don’t forget to tag us at @camhouston or using the hashtags #MuseumFromHome or #ConnectWithCAMH.
About Virtual Drop-In Experiences
CAMH’s Virtual Drop-In Experiences feature instructions for pop-up activities you can do at home. Each hands-on activity provides creative opportunities to experience current exhibitions from a distance in a unique and meaningful way.
Led by our FAQ Team (Frequently Asked Questions), a group of artists and historians who assist with contextualizing CAMH’s dynamic exhibitions for diverse audiences. Virtual Drop-In Experiences are released on our website at 1PM every Saturday. All ages, always free.