Looking CloselyUsing Felt and Yarn

YA LE U N IV E R S IT Y A R T GA LLE RY

USE THIS FUN KIT TO LEARN ABOUT HOW ARTISTS COMBINE LINES, SHAPES, AND COLORS TO CREATE ARTWORKS.

WE RECOMMEND THAT YOU EXPLORE THE GALLERY FIRST TO FIND AREAS THAT INTEREST YOU.

HELLO! EXPLORE

bTHEN YOU CAN USE YOUR KIT TO HELP YOU LOOK MORE CLOSELY AT THE ART AROUND YOU.

IF YOU ARE LOOKING AT A PAINTING OR A PHOTOGRAPH OF A PERSON, CALLED A PORTRAIT, TRY THIS:Take a minute to really look at the piece.

Look at the different shapes the artist has used to create the image of a person. Now find felt pieces in your kit that are similar shapes and use the yarn to make shapes.

Arrange these shapes on your felt board in the same way the artist has arranged them in the portrait.

Do you notice anything new about the composition of the piece you chose?

What new details do you see?

PORTRAIT

HERE'S WHAT PORTRAITS CAN LOOK LIKE.

IF YOU ARE LOOKING AT AN ABSTRACT PAINTING (ONE THAT DOES NOT LOOK REALISTIC), TRY THIS:Look closely at this painting from top to bottom, and from side to side.

What kinds of lines do you see? What colors do you notice? What shapes are formed?

Find a part of the painting where various lines, shapes, or colors overlap. How did the artist do this?

Try to make some similar compositions using the felt and yarn pieces in your kit. Experiment with different ways of combining line, shape, and color on your felt board. Make your own version of what you see!

ABSTRACT

HERE'S WHAT ABSTRACT PAINTINGS CAN LOOK LIKE.

IF YOU ARE LOOKING AT A SCULPTURE (A THREE-DIMENSIONAL OBJECT THAT HAS HEIGHT, WIDTH, AND DEPTH), TRY THIS:Look at the artwork from as many angles as possible.

Walk around it if you can, and think about its scale or size in relationship to you.

How would you describe the form or shape of this sculpture?

Try to re-create part of it using your felt pieces and yarn. See if you can build your own sculpture by stacking, balancing, or curving your felt onto your felt board.

SCULPTURE

HERE'S WHAT SCULPTURES CAN LOOK LIKE.

CREATE A DESIGN THAT IS INSPIRED BY MANY DIFFERENT ARTWORKS!

INVENTIONS IMAGESPortraitClockwise from top left: Kerry James Marshall, Untitled (detail), 2009. Acrylic on PVC. Yale University Art Gallery, Purchased with the Janet and Simeon Braguin Fund and a gift from Jacqueline L. Bradley, B.A. 1979, 2009.161.1. Courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York; William John Wilgus, Captain Cold, or Ut-ha-wah (detail), 1838. Oil on canvas. Yale University Art Gallery, Gift of de Lancey Kountze, B.A. 1899, 1939.39; The Beardsley Limner, Mrs. Hezekiah Beardsley (née Elizabeth Davis, 1748/49–1790) (detail), ca. 1788–90. Oil on canvas. Yale University Art Gallery, Gift of Gwendolen Jones Giddings, 1952.46.2; Jerome Liebling, Butterfly Boy, NYC (detail), 1949. Gelatin silver print. Yale University Art Gallery, Purchased with a gift from Jane and Gerald Katcher, LL.B. 1950, and the Janet and Simeon Braguin Fund, 2006.163.5. © Jerome Liebling Photography LLC

AbstractClockwise from top left: Wassily Kandinsky, The Waterfall (detail), 1909. Oil on pasteboard. Yale University Art Gallery, Gift of Collection Société Anonyme, 1941.529. © 2014 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/ADAGP, Paris; Richard Diebenkorn, Ocean Park No. 24 (detail), 1969. Oil on canvas. Yale University Art Gallery, The Twigg-Smith Collection, Gift of Laila and Thurston Twigg-Smith, B.E. 1942, 1991.70.1. © The Richard Diebenkorn Foundation; Kasimir Malevich, Tochil’schik Printsip Mel’kaniia (The Knife Grinder or Principle of Glittering) (detail), 1912–13. Oil on canvas. Yale University Art Gallery, Gift of Collection Société Anonyme, 1941.553; Paul Klee, Heitere Gebirgslandschaft (Joyful Mountain Landscape), 1929. Oil on board. Yale University Art Gallery, Katharine Ordway Collection, 1980.12.22

SculptureClockwise from top left: Tomb Guardian Creature (Zhenmushou) (detail), Chinese, Tang dynasty (618–907 C.E.), ca. 725–50 C.E. Red earthenware with white slip and pigment. Yale University Art Gallery, Purchased with a gift from Ruth and Bruce B. Dayton, B.A. 1940, 2000.57.3; Mask with a Superstructure Representing a Beautiful Mother (D’mba) (detail), Baga, Sitem subgroup; Bulungits; or Pukur, Guinea, late 19th–early 20th century. Wood and brass. Yale University Art Gallery, Charles B. Benenson, B.A. 1933, Collection, 2006.51.390; Portrait Statue of a Woman (detail), Roman, 1st century B.C.–early 1st century A.D. Marble. Yale University Art Gallery, Ruth Elizabeth White and Leonard C. Hanna, Jr., Class of 1913, Funds, 2007.207.1; Robert Morris, Untitled (Version 1 in 19 Parts) (detail), 1968/2002. Felt. Yale University Art Gallery, Janet and Simeon Braguin Fund, 2002.76.1a–r. © 2014 Robert Morris/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

lightbulbbWHAT WILL YOUR INVENTIONLOOK LIKE?

bYOU ARE WELCOME TO KEEP YOUR FELT AND YARN KIT AND REUSE IT AS OFTEN AS YOU LIKE.

A

RIF YOU HAVE A CAMERA, YOU CAN TAKE A PICTURE TO REMEMBER WHAT YOU’VE MADE.

REUSE THIS KIT