October 05, 2012

Gallery a Buzz with Madame Beespeaker

Last Saturday, we kicked off our first ArtStarts on Saturdays of the season! And what a way to get things started!

We changed things up a bit this time, and instead of a performing artist, this time we hosted a visual arts workshop in the ArtStarts Gallery.

We were happy to see many of our regular visitors in the Gallery, as well as lots of new faces.

Lori Weidenhammer, AKA Madame Beespeaker, presented an amazing workshop on "Secret Seed Sculptures".

She covered the tables with a gorgeous array of seeds, pods, leaves and other wonders.

Kids transformed seeds, dried plants and clay into magic seed pod sculptures. In the Spring, these works of art will grow into marvelous flowers and herbs!

The sculptures came in many shapes and sizes as some of them got very creative.

Madame Beespeaker also explored the shapes, colours and textures of seeds while telling stories about helpful insects in the garden and what they can teach us about living in harmony with nature.

Kids and parents alike gathered together as Madame Beespeaker shared stories about bees and their role in pollination. The kids then learned about the different seeds that Madame Beespeaker had brought and had the opportunity to identify them.

A cozy reading nook also allowed room to further explore the worlds of plants and insects.

Everyone really enjoyed the workshop and the Gallery was a buzz with energy.

When the workshop was over, no one wanted to leave... But, of course, in the end, everyone made their way home to plant their creations in their gardens or in a plant pot. Now we just have to wait till Spring to see what grows up next...

See more photos from the Secret Seed Sculptures workshop in our Facebook album!

In the meantime though, be sure to join us again in a few weeks, on Saturday October 27th, for ArtStarts on Saturdays with Stories on Wheels!

ArtStarts thanks Boeing for their generous support of the ArtStarts on Saturday series.