Barbara Gilhooly is an American artist (b. 1963) who is known for her large, three-dimensional cityscapes and sculptural artworks. According to the art blog Elusive Muse, she uses many layers of paint “to achieve rich, active surfaces.” She considers herself both a painter and a sculptor – she says she “patchworks” the 2D paintings into 3D sculptures. This project is a study in form or art in three dimensions. Shape is two-dimensional, having length and width, and described as being organic or geometric. Form has shape, but it also has depth.
This project will help you think in both two and three dimensions. Let’s create something in the style of Barbara Gilhooly, so you can, as she says, “Draw in 3D!”
Materials:
-Cardboard box or pieces in various sizes
-Oil pastels
-Markers
-Glue
-Scissors
Step 1: Cut Box
Cut up a cardboard box, making sure the sides are clean and you have various sizes. Younger kids may need help depending on the size & thickness of cardboard.
Step 2: Draw Buildings
Think about different types of buildings that you have seen: modern or older; houses, shops, skyscrapers or even your school. Use a black marker to draw features such as doors, windows and other architectural elements on your buildings, then use oil pastels (crayons are fine too) and markers to color them. Bright colors look great on cardboard.
Step 3: Cut Building Out
This step is optional. Cut the outline of the building making sure to leave a flat base.
Step 4: Create a Base
Cut out additional smaller rectangles and right-triangle pieces of cardboard to be used as the base. These will be used to make your buildings stand.
Step 5: Assemble Buildings
Option 1: Using the right-triangle pieces, make a fold in your triangle, then apply glue to the folded portion as shown below. Glue triangle piece to the back of your building making sure it is lined up with the bottom of your building. Once the glue is dry, it will stand.
Option 2: Cut a slit on the bottom of your building and attach another small rectangular cardboard piece so that it can stand independently. Make sure your slit is slightly taller than your piece of cardboard.
You did it!
You have created a Gilhooly-inspired city of your own imagination! If you have extra boxes around you can continue to add to the city. Younger kids can populate them with toy people, vehicles and animals!
Learn more about Barbara Gilhooly here.
Share your creations with us! Tag us on Instagram and Facebook, so we can see your creations come to life.
Created by Andrea Minobe
