OUT OF THIS WORLD: WORKS BY STEVE TOBIN

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1 OUT OF THIS WORLD: WORKS BY STEVE TOBIN Family Activity Guide

2 Start your exploration outside the museum on Pine Street. Photo credit by Mary Naydan 2014 ABC Art Find this sculpture. Look closely. What is it made out of? Can you find the letters that spell your name? Write it below: Bonus Challenge: Find all the letters in the alphabet! Color BINGO Steve Tobin uses all the colors of the rainbow in his artwork. Put an X through the box when you find the color in one of his sculptures. When you get four X s horizontally, vertically, or diagonally, you win! Can you fill the entire board? Pink Purple Gold Brown Orange Blue Red Black Emerald Teal Gray

3 Romeo & Juliet Find this sculpture on the lawn between the museum and the library. Unlike most of Steve Tobin s other Roots, this one has a title. This sculpture is named after two characters from William Shakespeare s most famous play, Romeo and Juliet. Romeo and Juliet were very much in love, but their feuding families never wanted them to be together. Photo credit by Mary Naydan 2014 Talk about what Steve Tobin shows you in these Roots that reminds you of: Love and Hate Unity and Separation Friendship and Conflict Joy and Sadness Parents and Children What Do You See? Choose your favorite Steelroots sculpture on Pine Street or in the Pfundt Sculpture Garden. What do you see when you look at it? A dinosaur skeleton? Two tango dancers? Draw or write about it in the box below.

4 Steelroots: 3D Calligraphy Steve Tobin s fluid lines are inspired by Japanese calligraphy, the art of drawing Japanese characters with a bamboo brush and black ink. You can see the influence in Tobin s Sumi Ink Drawings, like this one here. For some of Tobin s sculptures, the sun even casts shadows on the ground in the shape of actual Japanese characters! Circle the Japanese character below that you think inspired all of the Steelroots sculptures. The answer is at the bottom of this page. A. B. C. mankind life power Use the side of your pencil to draw your favorite Steelroots sculpture in the style of Japanese calligraphy. Answer: A. mankind. The character (and the Steelroots sculptures) look like two legs joined to a body.

5 Forest Floors: Make Your Own Scavenger Hunt Just like landscape painters, Steve Tobin is inspired by the beauty of the natural world around him. Go into the Pfundt Sculpture Garden and write down some of the objects that you find in his Forest Floors works on the lines below. Then, venture inside the museum to the Lenfest Exhibition of Pennsylvania Impressionism. Put a check mark ( ) in the box next to the objects that you can also find in the paintings in the landscape gallery.

6 Explosions of Creativity Find your favorite exploding pot in the gallery exhibit! Why do you like it? Steve Tobin is an artist with a love of science. He experimented for years with exploding clay pots. How does he make them? Guess the order of the steps below by numbering them 1-7. Check your answer at the bottom of this page. A. Place a firework inside the clay block and watch it explode! B. Let the piece dry for several months to a year. C. Load the piece into an oven (called a kiln) and fire it for 2 weeks at 2400 degrees. D. Texture the entire outside surface of the clay with lines. E. Pour clear glass in the bottom of the clay piece. When the liquid glass is heated, it mixes with the metals from the firework to make the glowing reds, blues, and greens you see! F. Form a rectangular block of wet clay. G. Open the kiln at 900 degrees to crackle the glass. Answer: A. 3; B. 4; C. 6; D. 2; E. 5; F. 1; G. 7

7 Lantern House Scavenger Hunt Steve Tobin created a whole house made only from old glass slides. Can you find the following items in the slides? Place a check mark ( ) in the box next to the objects you can find. Statue Painting Portrait Cartoon Coin X- ray Big building Small building New building Old building Beach City Country Desert Bird Forest animal Insect Farm animal Sea creature Desert animal Flower Plant Fruit Vegetable Moving person Sitting person Running person Old person Young person Colorful slide Black and white slide Tree

8 Try This at Home! You can be an artist just like Steve Tobin! Try these fun and easy activities at home to make your own masterpieces. Make Your Own Steelroots Directions: Use any of these materials to build your own Steelroots- inspired sculpture: ê Pipe cleaners ê Newspaper ê Drinking straws ê Paper towel and toilet paper rolls ê Toothpicks and mini marshmallows Paper Maché Bowl Supplies: Newspaper strips Small bowl Elmer s Glue Water Food coloring (optional) Balloon Photo credit by Kenneth Ek Directions: 1. Mix Elmer s Glue and water in a bowl. (Optional: Put a few drops of food coloring into the glue and water to make a colorful bowl.) 2. Blow up the balloon. 3. Make paper maché by dipping newspaper into the bowl. 4. Attach the newspaper strips around half of the balloon so that it forms the shape of a bowl. 5. After the newspaper strips are dry, pop the balloon. 6. Optional: To make your bowl look more like Steve Tobin s exploded clay pots, rip the edges of the newspaper. Earth Art Supplies: ê Your backyard! ê Cardboard (optional) ê Elmer s Glue (optional) Directions: 1. Collect twigs, leaves, grass, acorns, pinecones, stones, and flowers from your backyard. 2. Arrange your items in fun shapes and patterns. 3. Leave your sculpture outside to interact with the wind and rain, or glue it down on a piece of cardboard and bring it inside! MichenerArtMuseum.org Out of This World: Works by Steve Tobin is generously supported by Visit Bucks County and an anonymous friend of the Museum. Find out more at learn.michenerartmuseum.org The Outdoor Sculpture program is sponsored by Fulton Bank. Colorful Creations: Tie- dye Supplies: Tape Spray bottle Vinegar Water Coffee filter Food coloring Baking soda Directions: 1. Tape the coffee filter down on some newspaper. 2. Scoop out some baking soda onto the coffee filter, and then add a few drops of food coloring on top. 3. In a spray bottle, mix ¾ vinegar and ¼ water solution. Spray the coffee filter and baking soda. 4. Watch the coffee filter fizz and bubble! After the fizzing has stopped, let the coffee filter dry. Cover photo Steve Tobin 2014 Activity Guide created by Amber Fitch and Mary Naydan 2014