Take-Home Art Kits
500 take-home art kits were created in partnership by the Arts Council of Johnson County, the Johnson County Culture Division, The Johnson County Museum, and the Johnson County Mental Health Center as an extension of the Resilience, Reflection, Rebuilding: Artists Respond to COVID-19 Exhibition on display at the Johnson County Arts and Heritage Center. 500 total art kits were made based on five different pieces of artwork from the exhibition equaling out to 100 kits made per artwork. The Johnson County Mental Health Center wrote questions relating to each piece of artwork that families can discuss while they make their creations. The questions have to do with current events, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, and how changes since March may have been difficult for people. The art supplies in each kit go along with an art prompt that gives a specific idea of what to make with the supplies. Each art prompt promotes creativity and the ability to cope with things through making art.
Art Kit Partners:
Johnson County Mental Health Center
Dinner And A Show by Zac and Adam Bendrick
This was a collaboration by Zac and his brother Adam. Zac loves seeing how people solve the problem of creating a picture, so they split the painting up into two sides and worked their way to the middle. Their idea was to create an image that evoked happiness and a good time out on the town, since it seemed perfect with the mass shutdown of the restaurants.
This painting was one of Adam’s first canvases that he has painted on. His intent was to imitate Zac’s unique line and color style while also putting his own, more ‘simplistic’ spin on it. This was not only a fun project for him to work on, but it also gave him a new perspective on how difficult the artistic process can be.
Smitha wants to celebrate life through her artwork whether it is nature or giving a subject a meaning which we see in our day to day life. Her paintings are about the pleasure of seeing, of being cognizant of the world around her and finding alchemy between the paint her her subject. In her work, the subject matter determines the materials and the forms. Her techniques are greatly influenced by the subjects she chooses. This artwork is dedicated to the frontline workers and to each individual who with their talent maybe as simple as drawing an uplifting message on the sidewalk to keep us going.
Justin began this painting based on this idea of collecting images from Google Street view of all of the buildings he’s lived in to this point. While furloughed and staying at home and after having to cancel upcoming travel plans because of the pandemic, he had a small panic thinking, “When can we travel again? What will travel look like? Will I have to live vicariously through my computer screen and virtually visit places I want to see for the unforeseeable future?”
“Schools closed, businesses closed, what must we do now? We let the sun hit our face, we progress, we invest in home and loved ones. We run through the grass and let our feet feel the earth. Frightened ones, enlightened ones, confusion on your face. We live each day sunshine to rain, what will the next day display? Will we wake up from this and choose to be happy during this time? Stay positive, be alert, don’t let this bring you down. You have each other and you have the strength to reflect on the good times that were created. To love to the deepest depths of your soul will take you to a place that will feel safe and secure. To be resilient, to know there will be a day that comes that the world will be strong again and devoid of the virus.” -Emily Sipp
“‘Reborn’ was created in response to COVID-19 due to what this pandemic has taught me; nothing is lost forever, things just evolve. Like my experiences prior to the pandemic, I had to be transformed. Life without loved ones is very difficult, but it’s the experience with loss that has rebuilt me into what I am today. ‘Reborn’ and its use of clay portrays this transformation of self. These pieces use clay that was hand dug by myself from the mountains of New Mexico, refined, processed and made into what’s seen on display; a work of art. Like humans, when life beats us down with the unexpected, this work of art was built from the ground up into what you see today.