Art can be found in everything, even ordinary objects. Artist David Huffman finds that abstraction is a great way to delve into the meaning and symbolism of everyday objects, like a basketball or a shoe. Find your own inspiration and create some abstract art -- it might have more meaning than you might think!

At first glance, Katena might look like an ordinary inflatable with an unusually complex and oversized structure. But when they walk inside, visitors soon realize this is an entirely different experience. They enter a world apart, a world of interconnecting tunnels and domes saturated with light and color, called a luminarium. This video will take your students on a virtual tour of one luminarium that was featured at the Cincinnati BLINK festival. They will learn how the design team of Architects of Air blends geometry, art, and architecture to create a pneumatic, or air-filled, structure in which form must follow function.

Chompers is a trio of abstract coyotes with levers to lift and lower their heads and open their mouths so that they can appear to be howling at the moon. They were built by the artists at Opera-Matic, a neighborhood art group from Chicago that specializes in community engagement. Opera-Matic was invited to bring Chompers to the BLINK festival in Cincinnati. The BLINK festival was a celebration of light and art with a focus on interactivity. The “coyotes” were a big hit with festival-goers, especially children. They are mounted on recycled ice cream bikes for easy mobility in parades.

Elisabeth Higgins O'Connor creates poignant, larger-than-life figures that are seemingly cobbled together with reused scrap materials including wood, textiles and newspaper.

How do you make artwork that is conceptual? Artist Robb Godshaw uses technical means to move things that can’t be moved, or make visible things that aren’t normally visible. Watch as Godshaw scavenges electronic waste during an artist residency at SF Recology.

David Huffman is a Bay Area artist who heavily uses basketballs and astronauts as symbols of African Americans' cultural trauma and historical homelessness. He uses these two specifically because they serve as metaphors for self-discovery in a place that has been previously hostile. Basketball is a sport that connects cultural divides, and the astronaut suit protects those who are venturing into dangerous places in order to see things they have never seen before.

Learn how metalsmith Glen Horr at Highland Forge uses metals, handmade tools, and creativity to create sculpture.

Learn how Carol and Jean-Pierre Hsu combine glass and metal to create jewelry and mobiles.

Students will learn about the work of illustrator Elizabeth Zunon. Zunon calls herself “a global artist" because she grew up in Ivory Coast, West Africa, and would spend summers in Albany, New York, with her American grandparents. She loved reading and drawing and decided to combine her two passions to tell stories for children. Today, Elizabeth is a successful children's book illustrator and author. In the related activity, students will work with drawing, painting, and collage to create an illustration of their own. The video and discussion will take one class session. The art activity may take several class sessions.

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For more studio tours and other arts content from WMHT, visit AHA! A House for Arts. AHA! A House for Arts features the stories of artists, makers, and creative institutions right here in our backyard and across the country. A celebration of all things creative, AHA! features everything from the traditional to the innovative.

Examine the skills and materials needed by Jan Heath in order to use woodcuts to create prints.

Learn how Jane Frenke uses fabric, a sewing machine, and her creativity to create works of art.

You may have never thought of pedaling your sofa down the street to visit your neighbors, but that was the idea behind DekoSofa, a kinetic, multimedia sculpture that traveled around BLINK, a festival of art and light held in Cincinnati. Festival-goers were invited to join one of the artists on the three-person mobile sofa, complete with coffee table and chandeliers. The entire rig was decorated with neon lights in the style of Japanese dekotora trucks (decorated trucks) and included a multimedia mural of a creature crawling out of the Chesapeake Bay.

Learn how Lynn Ferris uses watercolor materials and skills to create her works of art.

Learn to create mobiles in the style of artisans at the Hsu Studios.

Watch as portrait artist, Jeremy Sutton reveals his inspirations, from historical art masters to the passionate subjects of his portraits. Portraits were historically commissioned by either members of the Church or the absurdly wealthy, but Sutton chooses to focus his portraits on the complete opposite -- everyday scenes from everyday members of society, almost as an act of rebellion.

Learn about the art of Kenneth Ragsdale. After watching a short video, students will experiment with making folded paper structures that they will photograph, using lighting and camera angles to create different effects. Completing all activities will take 2-3 class periods.

More About This Resource
For more studio tours and other arts content from WMHT, visit AHA! A House For Arts. AHA! A House for Arts features the stories of artists, makers, and creative institutions right here in our backyard and across the country. A celebration of all things creative, AHA! features everything from the traditional to the innovative.

Use this demonstration video and the supporting written lesson plan to engage students in the printmaking process like artist Jan Heath.

Award-winning filmmaker Leya Hale explores the traditional dress-making culture of Lakota and Dakota communities. Tanner Peterson, a member of the Upper Sioux Community, is the videographer and production assistant. Interviews with Gaby Strong, Pejuta Haka Red Eagle, Gabrielle Tateyuskanskan, Leah Thomas, Marcy Fiddler and Lonna Stevens discuss the materials, hand craft, adornments and cultural heritage of traditional Dakota and Lakota women's dresses.

This program was made possible by the voters of Minnesota through legislative appropriation from The Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.

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Postcards is an award-winning series showcasing the arts, history, and cultural heritage of western Minnesota and beyond. Funding for Postcards comes from the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. To watch more Postcards, visit the show page or video portal.

Meet Bay Area artist Mike Shine, who discusses his carnival-inspired paintings, and his recent large-scale stencil murals. He makes art for people to enjoy, both superficially and in depth, and condemns much of modern art because of the context needed for interpretation. He wants his art to be able to be interpreted, regardless of how it is interpreted. He wants it to transcend cultural and language barriers. Check out how his art is made in this video.