What is a quilt? Where do we find quilts? We are going to learn about the quilters of Gee’s Bend today. Gee’s Bend is a very small, poor town in Alabama. The women in Gee’s Bend are known for their beautiful, colorful quilts that look like paintings you would see in a museum. The quilts were made to keep their families warm. Because the women didn’t have a lot of money to buy new fabric or materials, they used things they had—old clothes, towels, rags—nothing was wasted.

Having open conversations about race, privilege, injustice with children are crucial in order for children to develop empathy, compassion, and a sense of justice at an early age as kids grow into adults who want to help make the world a better place. And for parents, guardians, and educators, we have to make the first step.

The museum is opening this Wednesday and now that you are able to visit, we wanted to share some ways to explore the museum. If you can’t get to the museum, no worries. Hop online and visit our website—We have artwork that you can look at right from your sofa. Want something more? Check out some of these books while looking at the artwork—What is similar? What is different?

There is something really special about receiving a letter or a card in the mailbox.  And especially during this time of social distancing, we aren’t seeing folks we like as much. Whether it is a grandparent or your favorite yoga instructor, follow along and make a pop up card to send. This can also be adapted to create a pop-up book by simply gluing multiple ‘cards’ together. Let’s get started!

Let’s make an adventure book together! The book we are making today is really easy and you probably have all the supplies. But before we jump into the making—What is a book? What do books do? Those are both pretty easy questions, but let’s break it down and think about it through.

LOOK / MAKE / THINK: Screen Time, Clay Time —let’s explore how artists use clay to make things for us to use. We will look at Newcomb Pottery to learn about materials and inspiration. After, let’s figure out how to make a virtual pot and then challenge yourself to make that pot in real life out of clay or play dough!

Right now we all have a lot on our minds, so let’s take some of the stress of thinking out in art-making…let’s play A Chance of Art! This is a great project with limited supplies to entertain kids and could also teach probabilities, but could also be a fun activity for an adult zoom happy hour to make some quarantine art in solidarity.