November 2006

Out & About:
The Very Hungry Caterpillar Comes to Tacoma

by Karen Irwin

All things bright and beautiful, all creatures great and small, have all been brought to life by author and illustrator Eric Carle. Even if you don't know him by name, you will probably recognize his bold and beautiful illustrations. Eric Carle is the creator of more than 70 children's books printed in 30 languages worldwide, including the 1969 classic The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

The Tacoma Art Museum and the Children's Museum of Tacoma are both featuring this award-winning artist and are inviting visitors of all ages to come to explore this amazing original art. The “Art of Eric Carle” runs through Jan. 7, 2007 at the Tacoma Art Museum, and the complementary “Becka’s Studio: Creating Eric Carle’s Critters” continues through May 13, 2007 at the Children’s Museum of Tacoma.

“Eric Carle has captivated readers with picture books filled with vibrantly colored collage illustrations and innovative designs for almost four decades." says Paula McArdle, curator of education for Tacoma Art Museum. "His signature collage illustrations use bold colors, rich textures, and playful forms that are readily recognizable to viewers both young and old."

"Parents appreciate Carle's stories as much as their children do," McArdle says, and she hopes that the Carle exhibit will create a gateway to art for new visitors. "The installation is very child friendly. We hung the pictures lower to accommodate our smallest patrons," McArdle adds with a smile.

Visitors will have the opportunity to see nearly 40 original illustrations, enjoy a reading area with custom-made, child-sized furniture, and view a video of Carle creating his art from start to finish.

According to McArdle, the simplicity of Carle's style can be deceptive. She says Carle's books take months, sometimes years, to complete. The process begins with the paper. When painting the paper, he uses only the brightest colors. He then creates textures with a variety of objects, including carpet and other found objects. He files these pieces of papers according to color, and then chooses carefully when he is ready to make his collages.

Beauty and technical precision characterize all of Carle’s illustrations, but as complex as his collage process is, Eric Carle has said one of the best compliments he can receive as an artist is hearing a child say. "I can do that."

Create Your Own Masterpiece

Children get a chance to see how well they can “do that” at the Children’s Museum of Tacoma. Because Eric Carle's work is so inspirational, and the process so rich with creativity, museum staff wanted to give kids a place to try it first hand. They thought of Eric Carle as they discussed how to improve their hands-on art area, called “Becka’s Studio.”

Local artist Sarah Koik re-designed the studio so that children can experiment with basic art concepts, such as color mixing, shape and pattern recognition, texture and composition. She created stations for children at different developmental levels.

"Some may only be able to use big motor skills and paint with broad strokes," says Koik, "while others will be able to cut out and collage." Two-and 3-year-olds are just grasping the idea of cutting with scissors, while children age 6 and older can usually cut desired shapes and lines. Inspired by Carle's collage technique, children can tear, cut and organize painted paper to create real or imagined critters. They can then choose to put their illustrations in a small book and use words to tell a story. Sentence starters are provided to spark imagination.

Even little ones will be able to experiment with color mixing by suspending colorful, translucent creatures on an over-sized, wall-mounted light board. Creatures can be overlapped and layered in many ways to create new colors and shapes or even different animals.

Koik says one of the best reasons to come to a museum is to get ideas. Her fondest childhood memories are of times her parents took her to a centralized place with art supplies and let her create. Most of the time she walked away saying to herself, " I didn't know I could do that." She says it is why she is so passionate about giving children access to art and why she thinks even the earliest scribbles are so important.

Koik will lead a studio project in "Becka's Studio" from 2 to 4 p.m. every Tuesday through Dec. 5 (free with museum admission). She wants parents to know something special happens when children join in the communal activity of making art, and she encourages adults to participate as well.

Karen Irwin is a University Place writer, mother of four and art-lover.

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Northwest Parent Media
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