Stuff to Do While Practicing PHYSICAL Distancing
Week 8
Our Big News Right Now
We're getting excited about our first-ever ONLINE EXHIBITION, which will open June 1. (See In the Gallery below.)

The exhibit - Maggie Fickett: In Plein Air - will feature a lifetime of artwork created over the artist's 30+ year career, from her early days in the ad business to her many years of working in the streets, neighborhoods, and parks of Greensboro and other locales. If you'd like a sneak peek before the show officially opens online June 1, send us an email at gallery@greensboroart.org and let us know!

As always, thanks for reading and staying in touch!
In the CVA Gallery Online: Maggie Fickett - In Plein Air
Works Pictured: (left) Jefferson Pilot Building and (right) F.W. Woolworth Building

About the Artist:
Maggie Fickett (1931-2020) tirelessly documented Greensboro in watercolor paintings and pen-and-ink drawings from the 1980s through the early 2000s. Many area residents recall seeing Maggie set up on a sidewalk or in a park, painting or teaching others how to paint in plein air. Current CVA members who have been active since the Greensboro Artists' League and Center for Creative Arts days will remember her work from exhibitions and classes there in the 80s and 90s.

At the CVA, we are honored to have the opportunity to exhibit this retrospective of Maggie Fickett's work. In our first-ever online exhibit, we're marrying the visual aspects of a live gallery show with the educational components afforded by the artist's work. We'll be offering virtual programming periodically during the exhibit, and all work displayed will be for sale. The exhibit was originally intended to help raise funds for Maggie's expenses in a Memory Care facility near her family in Maine; however, on her recent passing, the family has decided to use funds raised to (among other things) a plein air painting class in Greensboro in her honor.

For some informative articles about Maggie Fickett, check out Maria Johnson's O.Henry Magazine pieces HERE and HERE .
This Week's Museum Tour:
The Rijksmuseum (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
Johannes Vermeer, Woman Reading a Letter, oil on canvas (c.1663); Anonymous, Kunstkast, beschilderd met mythologische voorstellingen , wood (c.1650); Dorothea Lange, Migrant Mother, gelatin silver print (1936).
George Hendrik Breitner , Girl in a White Kimono , oil on canvas (1894)

The Rijksmuseum website has a ton of videos, special features, and resources (we like the online restoration project and the behind the scenes tours!). We explored there for quite some time, then headed over to the Google virtual tour for more.

From the Google Arts & Culture tour page , which offers a walk-through tour of the museum (and some special online exhibits):

"The Rijksmuseum is the museum of the Netherlands. Its world-famous masterworks from the Dutch Golden Age include the Milkmaid by Vermeer and Rembrandt's Night Watch. The Rijksmuseum itself is also a masterpiece. The collection is presented in a stunning building with amazing interior design. In 80 galleries 8,000 objects tell the story of 800 years of Dutch art and history, from the Middle Ages to Mondrian. Every year, over 2.5 million visitors travel through the ages and experience a feeling of beauty and sense of time."
This Week's Art Activities for Kids
Al phabet Butterfly (Grades K-2)

This is an easy, fun art activity! The alphabet, color, symmetry, and more.
  • Depending on your child's skill level, either create a butterfly outline for them, or encourage them to draw their own. Make sure it's big enough to take up most of the page of an 8 1/2 x 11" sheet of paper or bigger.
  • Have your child write the letters of the alphabet inside the butterfly's wings.
  • Then, color or paint inside the various shapes made by the letters. Voila! A colorful, beautiful butterfly!

Supplies needed:
  • paper
  • pencil or pen
  • watercolor, colored pencil, crayons, or other coloring tools

Fun idea: Try doing this outside on the sidewalk or driveway in chalk on a sunny day! Your neighbors will enjoy your child's creation!

Drawing 3-D Letters (grades 3-5)

This is a cool activity that will help with thinking in three dimensions, giving students an awesome tool for decorating posters, notebooks, and science projects alike. The instructions given in this post are clear and include lots of visuals, including practice sheets and step-by-step guidance for every letter.

Supplies needed:
  • paper
  • black permanent marker
  • crayons, colored pencils, or marker
  • templates and instructions found HERE
We miss our kiddos! Hope you're enjoying some extra time for making art.

Ms. Alexis, Ms. Sydney, and Ms. Olivia
Today's Art Activity for Teens and Adults:
This article on Artists Network by an artist named Lee Hammond provides nice step-by-step instructions on how to draw the elements of a portrait. It takes a traditional approach to creating proportion and structure of each facial shape, beginning with lightly drawn grids and advancing through detailed shading. At the end of the tutorial article you'll find more resources for learning and growing in your drawing practice.

Let us know if you try this out - we'd love to see what you create.

(And if you're into drawing, check out our virtual class called "Drawing the Hard Stuff" which focuses on hands, feet, mouth, people, and more! Check it out HERE !)










Random Art Inspiration:


F i nding Perspective

worn denim jeans, hand made felt, hand dyed fabrics which have been monoprinted, and painted silk
( 2016)
“ “If people knew how hard I worked to get my mastery, it wouldn't seem so wonderful at all .”

― Michelangelo (1475-1564)

Thanks for reading. Hope this "Stuff to Do" is helpful and inspiring - please share images of any artwork you or your children make. Email them to info@greensboroart.org or post on our social media. It will help US stay sane :)

Stay healthy, stay home, keep your cool, and try to focus on the positive. Check for new newsletters about once a week, and check out our FB and Instagram feeds regularly...

love,
THE CVA