Colorado School for the Deaf and the Blind (CSDB) - Hanging Sculpture

In this Vision of the Artist’s Soul workshop at Colorado School for the Deaf and the Blind, we had a wonderful time constructing unique hanging mobiles! This workshop took a more open studio approach, providing students with wooden dowels, clay, bells, and string. As a warm up exercise, we started by playing an icebreaker where each person had 2 minutes to make something out of clay. Then, we passed the pieces around and students had to guess who made what and why the person created that piece of art. This was a great way to witness how materials provide an infinite amount of possibilities for how they can be used. Additionally, I enjoyed getting to learn more about how people think and seeing how they express themselves. After this group bonding, I then allowed them to use the materials however they wanted, while providing guidance, ideas, and support for constructing the mobiles. In addition to being an artistic exercise, this workshop proved to be an engineering challenge as well. Students had to figure out weight distribution in order to keep their mobile from collapsing, and they had to find unique ways of putting all of the materials together. For example, I was impressed by the way some utilized the clay to stick materials together and looped the string to add structural support while creating an aesthetic design. I also loved how each art piece had a different function; some were practical or symbolic, and others were purely decorative. In this project, the personality of each student really shone through, and for this reason many teens mentioned that this was one of their favorite activities. The experimental format of this workshop proved to be a huge success, and I’m excited to do more open ended projects like this in the future.

Please find attached a few photos of the hanging sculptures that students created:

Three hanging sculptures with beads and twine

On the left is a clay-wrapped dowel with bells at either end. In the middle is a loop of string with brown beads. In the center is a circular piece of clay with beads and bells embedded. Twine is weaved through the beads from all angles to securely hang it from the dower. Finally, on the right is a clay flower that hangs down and wraps around the dowel at the stem with beads as leaves.

Student holding two abstract floral sculptures

In both sculptures, the student has created a circular, abstract white flower at the center of the dowel. Hanging from that is pieces of string with unique bead designs and bells.

Close up of circular sculpture with net

In this image, beads form a concentric circle inside the white clay base. Bells decorate the outer edge with radial symmetry, and string is woven between them to form a net.

Circular sculpture with net: top view

This shows the same circular sculpture placed alongside two diagonal dowels that meet at the top so that the assembly forms an “A” shape.

Dowel with bowl-like design : top view

In the center of the dowel is a curvy clay pattern shaped like a bowl. Beads and bells are asymmetrically placed inside.

Student working on circular mobile assembly

This student has made three white spheres that are golf ball size. They have two dowels, and are working on stringing beads and bells together to attack the spheres to the dowel.

Clay rose: close up view

This white rose has 3 detailed rows of petals and bells decorating the sides. It has a long, curvy stem with tiny, round leaves. String is wrapped around the rose for a vine-like effect.

Rose wrapped around dowel: 2 top views

The image on the left illustrates two parallel dowels and the rose wrapping around the rightmost dowel at a ninety-degree angle. The image on the right shows an intricate view of all the petals from the top.

Rose wrapping around dowel: side view

Student working on vertical hanging mobile

On the left is an image of a string hanging in the middle of a dowel. The top contains a series of linear beads and bells. An abstract clay design is suspended at the bottom. The image on the right shows the student working on the final creation by stringing beads together.

For those interested in creating hanging sculptures themselves, here is a transcript of instructions:

Materials used in the Open Studio:
Wooden dowels
Air Dry Clay
Bells and Beads
String

Tags:
#tactilceart, #Artfortheblind, #touchart, #visuallyimpaired, #blindartist,, #accessibleart, #artforall, #sensoryart, #BlindandVI, #accessibility, #inclusion, #artmuseums, #artforeveryone, #accessiblemuseum
Art for the visually impaired, Art for the Blind