A new development for Folded Poetry: Group Sculptures!

Hello studio friends! With much gratitude and a happy heart i'm excited to share with you a delightful experience I had recently where I served as the artist resident at the ArtBreak festival for students and families in Shreveport, Louisiana! 

I stayed in Shreveport for one week where I led workshops primarily for students with disabilities. For my activity, we decorated and assembled cardboard Cool Qubes!

You may recognize this design as the same as my DIY Sculpture Kit (shown below) 

I had produced cardboard shapes previously for the Pop Box Gallery show in 2022 entitled “Prototype” where local artists were invited to design / deconstruct / reimagine a cardboard pentaprism which I created in partnership with a local makerspace.

I applied the same principles and lessons learned from the gallery show to this Cool Qubes design to prepare for the residency. 

The workshops were a hit!

First the kids decorated their Qubes…

we then helped them assemble their Qube into 3-D form…

more decorating ensued…

we then assisted in combining the Qubes to create group sculptures!

What resulted were dozens of unique sculptures and a room full of smiles!

Many of the adults even participated in the activity - though they seemed to become more attached to their Qubes, taking them home instead of participating in the group sculptures 🙂

On Friday of that week I taught a master class where I shared the story of how I began Folded Poetry and my experience with disability. 

My presentation included images and videos of Folded Poetry completed projects - I spoke about the design thinking behind each. I discussed how I've built a profession based in creativity, and encouraged the students to harness their uniqueness and channel it as a creative superpower.

Side note: For more on my story of how I became a full-time sculptural artist, click the button below!

As far as I could tell, only one kid (shown below) was disappointed with the class. When I inquired about this, the response was, “I thought this was going to be a poetry class." 

Understandable.

On Friday evening I transitioned over from running workshops for specific groups of kids, to running a booth at the ArtBreak festival with a continuous stream of Qube makers and families throughout the weekend.

I assigned myself the task of assembling the Qubes into the group sculptures. “I'm getting paid to do this??” Crossed my mind more than once during the process.

Some of the sculptures were hung from the ceiling above my booth…

Some were taken home…

but most of the Qubes were left on display in the “Qube Garden” at the festival.

The activity was super popular and it's really rewarding to find new and innovative uses for these Cool Qubes. The workshops really got my wheel spinning about collaborative sculptures.

This project would not have been possible without the wonderful folks shown below who helped execute this idea every step of the way. These Shreveport local artists were invaluable, and i'm so grateful for all their hard work helping me bring these Cool Qubes to life.

I'm grateful also to the Shreveport Regional Arts Council for providing all the materials and supplies for event, covering my stay at the adjoining hotel & rental vehicle, and providing me a generous stipend on top.

I did not apply for this opportunity, but rather was found on the internet and approached about participating in ArtBreak. What an incredible testament to the power of a good website.

The week was demanding, and it has taken me a while to recover, but ArtBreak was fantastic and super rewarding experience overall!

Thank you for your continued interest in my Folded Poetry brain child!

Did you enjoy this newsletter? You can support my small business by sharing my work with an art-loving friend!

So much gratitude to you,