French artist Fernand Léger first started using animated flowers during the 1930s and continued this motif with The Walking Flower. Léger used nature in his art to break from the industrialized world in the first half of the 20th century.
In this easy Family Activity, we'll walk you through how to make a paper sculpture inspired by Léger's The Walking Flower, 1951.
Fernand Léger (French, 1881–1955). La Fleur qui marche (The Walking Flower), 1951. Ceramic, 26 1/2 x 20 1/2 x 15 inches (67.3 x 52.1 x 38.1 cm). Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York; Gift of Seymour H. Knox, Jr., 1969 (K1969:20). © Estate of Fernand Léger / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris / DACS, London
1. Sketch the figure of your walking flower on your paper. (Thin cardstock works best, but if you don’t have it, you can glue your paper to the side of a cereal box to make the paper stiffer.)
2. Cut around the total sketch. After you have cut your flower out, save a piece of cardstock or cardboard to use as the base of your sculpture.
3. Use your coloring materials: Color the petals! Color the center! Give your flower some character!
4. Add a slight bend to the legs and feet of your flower. This will give it the appearance of stepping.
5. Once you have added your slight bends, firmly glue your flower’s lower feet to the base you cut in step two. All done!
Optional: Share your creation on Twitter or Instagram with #AKBeyondWalls and #MuseumFromHome!
Motif: in art, a repeated pattern or design
Sketch: a rough drawing used in making a final picture
Sculpture: the art of making two-dimensional or three dimensional, sometimes abstract, forms
Two-dimensional: lack of depth, flat (e.g., a piece of paper)
Three-dimensional: a figure with length, width, and height (e.g., a cardboard box)