Creative workshops from home

Enjoy some family fun time with these creative workshops proposed by our museum mediators!

Chouette, un hibou !

4-handed workshop | Ages 2 to 5

15-20 min.

Have your family join the Museum’s mediators and their special guest Chouchou to create a clay sculpture of Jean Paul Riopelle’s favourite animal.

Creative workshop | Owls! What a Hoot!

Salt dough
Rolling pin or round bottle
Butter knife
Various textured objects (screw, cap, thread, shell, branch, etc.)
Recycled cardboard (e.g. cookie box)

No-bake salt dough

Ingredients:

1 cup salt
2 cups flour
1 cup water
3 tbsp vegetable oil (or glycerin)
Food colouring to get the desired colour

Step 1

Add the flour and salt to a bowl.

Step 2

Add water and oil while stirring constantly to obtain a smooth, consistent dough.

Step 3

Divide up the dough into separate sections.

Step 4

Add a few drops of food colouring to each section to get different colours. Knead each section well.

Step 5

The dough can be stored in a dish or airtight bag.

Variation

Try the same recipe but add the dye to the water before adding it to the dry ingredients. This will give you a more uniform colour.

Nature in Mixed Media

Creative workshops | Nature in Mixed Media

Themed workshop | Ages 6 to 12

15-20 min

The MMFA’s mediators invite you to join them during March break to learn all about printing, stencilling and painting techniques so that you can create a mixed-media work in the style of Jean Paul Riopelle.

Paper
Styrofoam or cardboard
Scissors
Markers
Oil pastels
Liquid paint
Spray bottle
Pencil

String figure art

As an avid hunter and fisherman, artist Jean-Paul Riopelle went on a discovery of our country’s northern territories and the members of its communities, with whom he made friends. He took an interest in the Inuit practice of string games, a family pastime that involves creating figures with string wrapped around one’s finger and hands. Called ayrauseq, these figures can represent animals or everyday objects such as seals, whales, caribou or harpoons. These string games inspired Riopelle, who transposed the motifs into paintings like the one seen here called : Serge et Gaugin jouant à la ficelle. (Serge and Gaugin Playing String Games.)

Credit

Jean Paul Riopelle, Montreal 1923 – L’Isle-aux-Grues 2002, Serge et Gauguin jouant à la ficelle (triptych), 1971, acrylic on lithographs mounted on paper, 289 x 355 cm. Private collection © Estate of Jean Paul Riopelle / SOCAN (2021). Photo: Kent Pell

Are you familiar with string games? What shapes do you see in the string that the Inuit woman is holding in this sculpture by Noah Arpatuq Echalook?

And what games do you play with your family?

Credit

Noah Arpatuq Echalook (born in 1946), Woman Playing a String Game, 1987, dark green stone, ivory, hide, 26 x 39 x 24 cm. National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, purchased in 1991. © Fédération des coopératives du Nouveau-Québec. Photo NGC

Now it’s up to you to create images and have your family guess what the shape represents!

Here are the materials you’ll need: a sheet of paper folded in half, a piece of wet string or shoelace about 60 cm long, dry pastels or chalk, pencil crayons.

Tie both ends of the string together. Then rub the pastel or chalk over the entire piece of string.

Have fun creating shapes by wrapping the string around your fingers.

Place the string on one half of your sheet and then fold the other half over the string. Gently rub the top of the entire folded sheet.

Open the sheet to discover the shape imprinted on both halves.

Use this shape as inspiration to create a drawing; turn the sheet if necessary and finish your drawing with pastels and pencil crayons.

In Between

Draw inspiration from Manuel Mathieu's vibrant, colourful abstract works to create a two-part painting using a variety of materials.

The goal is to express yourself freely by using the materials of your choice in the quantities you want.

Creative workshop | In Between • Special activity with artist Manuel Mathieu

Brush
Ink or watercolour
Bowl of water
Towels
Paper
Wax crayons
Pastels
Felt-tip pens
Lead pencils
Colour pencils

Double Bubble Fun

Creative workshops | DOUBLE BUBBLE FUN

Four-handed workshops | Ages 2 to 5

15-20 min.

Join our Museum mediators and special guest Chouchou to create festive family decorations that celebrate what makes us unique and what brings us together.

Jean-Michel Othoniel, The Peony Knot, 2015, mirrored blown glass, stainless steel. MMFA, purchase, Ginette Trépanier Bequest, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts' Volunteer Association Fund, generously made possible by Galerie Perrotin © Jean-Michel Othoniel / SOCAN 2020

Paper
Water soluble markers
Paintbrush
A bowl of water
Pencil
Scissors
String, around 1 meter
Your imagination

Get inspired by Jean-Michel Othoniel’s The Peony Knot, whose glass beads have a unique colour and size but come together to form a chain, which forms a flower, which forms a work of art that is so lovely to look at.

Get sheets of paper, washable markers, brushes, and some water. Draw or trace a circle on a piece of paper. Think about what you'd like to draw in the circle: a family scene, a place you would like to visit, a person you would like to meet, or something abstract.

Create your drawing using washable markers. Start with the outline and add some colour inside the lines. You can also add a touch of colour to the background if you want.

Dip your brush into the water and then gently rub the colours to create a watercolour effect.

Create as many circle drawings as you want. Thread them together into a garland. Although each part of the garland is unique, together they create a strong connection. Happy crafting!

Jean-Michel Othoniel, The Peony Knot, 2015, mirrored blown glass, stainless steel, 300 x 300 x 200 cm. Purchase, Ginette Trépanier Bequest, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts' Volunteer Association Fund, generously made possible by Galerie Perrotin.

Let Your Creativity Bubble Up

Themed workshop | Ages 6 to 12

20-25 min.

Did you know that there’s no one like you? What makes you different? What are your likes and dislikes? What dreams do you have that belong just to you? The Museum’s mediators invite you to join them during the holidays to learn collage, abstract printing, and watercolour techniques to create decorations as unique as you are.

Creative workshop | LET YOUR CREATIVITY BUBBLE UP

Paper
Water soluble markers
Paintbrush
A bowl of water
Pencil
Scissors
String, around 1 meter
Your imagination

Printing engravings

Félix Vallotton, Mont-Blanc, 1892, gravure sur bois, tiré à 30 exemplaires. Collection particulière

The artists in Paul Signac’s circle during the Post-Impressionist era in Paris were searching for freedom and independence. They also wanted to make art accessible to all. To this end, some turned to printmaking and experimented with various techniques such as lithography, linocutting, woodcutting and etching. Have you ever tried any printing techniques? Is there a picture you would like to draw a single time and give to several people? The face of a loved one, a holiday memory, your favourite animal?

We invite you to experiment with an inexpensive printing technique that borrows from the principles of engraving. Instead of using metal, a burin and ink, we will use cardboard, a pin and dry pastels.

Here are the materials you will need: cardboard, dry pastels, charcoal or chalk (dark colours), several sheets of paper, an HB pencil, a large sewing needle, thumbtack or paperclip, tape, facial tissue.

Make your tool for etching the cardboard by taping a large sewing needle, thumbtack or paperclip to the end of a pencil.

Draw your picture on your sheet of paper. Then, using your tool, etch it into the cardboard.

Using the side of the dry pastel, charcoal or chalk, gently rub the surface of the cardboard making sure that the colour seeps into the grooves made by the pin. Darker colours will yield better results!

Delicately wipe the surface of your cardboard with tissue to remove the excess colour.

Place your cardboard on a sheet of paper with the image facing down. Rub and tap the entire back surface of the cardboard to transfer the image.

Lift the cardboard and uncover your creation. You can repeat the application of colour and printing steps as many times as you like. Don’t forget to include the title of your work at the bottom centre and your signature at the bottom right of the print.

Create a special amulet

In Ancient Egypt, death was seen as a voyage, a passage from one world to another. In order to prepare the deceased for this journey, Egyptians performed a variety of rituals, including mummification.

To ensure the mummified body was well protected, it was placed in coffins decorated with wishes and advice that were intended to accompany the deceased during their voyage. These coffins also featured divinities that the person would encounter upon their arrival in the afterlife.

Amulets – small objects that bring good fortune – were placed in between the mummies’ bandages. They ensured the person’s protection and rebirth in the next life. Among the most important amulets were those in the form of a scarab beetle inscribed with spell 30B of the Book of the Dead. The Egyptians believed that this incantation would prevent the hearth from revealing a person’s wicked deeds when judged in the Hall of Osiris.

The wedjat eye represents the eye of the god Horus, which he lost in a battle against his uncle Seth, who murdered his father, Osiris. Later restored by Thot, the eye symbolizes the victory of good over evil.

The djed-pillar symbolizes stability and endurance. This amulet, which originally might have represented a tree or a bouquet of reeds, came to be associated with Osiris, the god of death and, more specifically, his backbone.

The tit knot represents the knot on the belt of the goddess Isis. Whoever wears this amulet is placed under her protection. How about you? Do you have any lucky objects? Is there something in your environment that makes you think of strength or protection?

We propose that you create a special amulet just for you. You can take inspiration from the Egyptians or imagine a new shape that’s meaningful to you and imitates the forms you see in animals, plants or something else.

You will need some smooth stones that can be found in the garden or alleyway. Look for a shape that matches your amulet.

You will also need something to add colour. You can use markers (preferably permanent), pencil crayons, pastels or paint (acrylic or gouache). It’s up to you!

Be sure to wash your stones and let them dry. Then, draw your protective symbol with a pencil, and add colour with your chosen materials. You might need to go over your drawing several times to make the colours show. If you are using paint on your amulet, let it dry completely before adding details in pencil. Make a whole collection of protective amulets for every day and every occasion!

Modèle de barque funéraire, XII^e dynastie, vers 1985-1795 AEC, provenance inconnue, bois de figuier sycomore, EA 9525. © The Trustees of the British Museum

Tamut’s mummy, early 22nd Dynasty, about 900 BCE probably Thebes, Egypt, EA 22939. © The Trustees of the British Museum

Mummy of Tamut, Third Intermediate Period, early 22^nd Dynasty, about 900 B.C.E., EA 22939. © The Trustees of the British Museum

Heart scarab, New Kingdorn, about 1550-1 070 BCE or later, provenance unknow, basalt, British Museum, EA 7903, 2x4,5x3,38

Four Wedjat eye amulets, Third Intermediate Period or Late Period, about 1070-305 BC , provenance unknow Faience, serpentine, obsidian and jasper British Museum EA. 7183

Djed pillar amulet, 26th Dynasty, 664-525 BC or later, provenance unknow, faience. British Museum, EA 12235; 11,3x3,6x1,5 cm

Knot amulet, 19th-20th about 1250-1100 BC, provenance unknow, red jasper. British Museum, EA 20639. 6,5x2,5,0,6 cm

Paper art

This activity is a tribute to Claude Lafortune, who touched the hearts of an entire generation with his legendary creations.

Gather together a cardboard box, paper, scissors and glue, and create your own paper art together!

ATELIER DE CRÉATION : Le décor de papier | CREATIVE WORKSHOP: Paper art

Colours and Landscapes

This creative workshop for kids is inspired by our upcoming major exhibition, Paris in the Days of Post-Impressionism: Signac and the Indépendants.

Grab your scissors, glue, paint and brushes!

Colours and Landscapes

This creative workshop for kids is inspired by our upcoming major exhibition, Paris in the Days of Post-Impressionism: Signac and the Indépendants.

Grab your scissors, glue, paint and brushes!

Paul Signac, «The Town at Sunset, Saint-Tropez», 1892, oil on panel. Private collection.

Gather reusable packaging of different colours to use for your collage.

Cut out various shapes for your landscape (ground, sky, a lake, trees and mountains). Take a few minutes to play with your composition before gluing all the parts in place. Tip: Remember that objects that are farther away appear smaller. To create the illusion of depth, place the largest landscape elements in the foreground, medium-sized objects in the middle, and the smallest pieces in the background.

Glue all the pieces on the sheet of paper. Then, play with colour by adding touches of paint.

Experiment with the effects of complimentary colours in the colour wheel, or create new shades by mixing small amounts of primary colours side by side. Have fun being spontaneous!

Paul Signac, The Town at Sunset, Saint-Tropez, 1892, oil on panel. Private collection.

Still life

Kate Walker, museum mediator at the MMFA, shares a creative workshop for the whole family.

The first-ever museums were composed of treasures that had been gathered over the years by explorers, scientists and collectors. These objects, at times rare and peculiar but always intriguing, were exhibited in cabinets of curiosities.
In among these displays, it was not uncommon to find paintings called still lifes that immortalized a collection’s most handsome items – much like the Jacques Linard work that was today’s inspiration.
Create your own still life at home by gathering some of your everyday objects you want to draw! You will see these subjects in a new light and discover their many hidden secrets…

Jacques Linard (1597-1645), Still Life with Shells and Coral, 1640, oil on canvas. MMFA, gift of Mr. and Mrs. Michal Hornstein. Photo MMFA.