Santa Paula Art Museum — ‘Earth’ (Day) Without ‘Art’ Is Just ‘Eh’

Art projects and resources to inspire you and your family

Flower Petal Paint

Is there anything more inspiring than Mother Nature?! Earth Day is Wednesday, April 22, so we’ve curated a whole list of art projects that celebrate and incorporate the natural beauty of our planet. Embrace nature and art by making your own watercolor paints using flower petals. (Just remind younger artists not to put flower petal paint in their mouths!)

Free online kids’ art lessons:

Earth Day Virtual Art Class: Avocado Tie Dye

Wednesday, April 22, 2020, at 10:00 a.m.

The Human Nature Center in Ventura will lead a free Earth Day virtual art class via Zoom for friends of the Santa Paula Art Museum on Wednesday, April 22, starting at 10:00 a.m. Learn to use natural materials such as composted avocado skins to make an all-natural fabric dye. Be sure to preregister via Zoom and prepare your materials in advance including avocados and soy milk. If you prefer not to participate in the dyeing process, you’re still welcome to watch the class, learn more about nature and natural dyes, and ask questions about the process!

Virtual Mini-Course: Mandala-Making

The Museum’s first virtual mini-course for adults, Mandala-Making, is now available! We partnered with artist and art therapist Lynne Okun to craft an online lesson that you can enjoy at home. Use mandala-making to calm and center yourself, induce a “flow” state, and liberate your creativity.

Free online adult art resources:

#MuseumFromHome and #CommunityCreativityChallenge

Biodiversity #22 (left side of diptych) by Hiroko Yoshimoto, 2013, oil on panel. Collection of the Santa Paula Art Museum.

Ventura artist Hiroko Yoshimoto has been working on her Biodiversity series since 2012. Her diptych entitled Biodiversity #22 belongs to the Santa Paula Art Museum’s permanent collection. The series reflects Yoshimoto’s ardent wish that life’s diversity would continue to flourish in the face of accelerated destructive forces created by human hands. As Hiroko describes it, “The seemingly infinite and wondrous diversity of life forms, like the microbes in a drop of water, inspires unique colors, shapes, and lines that come alive on my canvas.”

With Earth Day and National Poetry Month both being observed in April, we challenge you to write a haiku inspired by Biodiversity #22! The haiku is a form of poetry and a statement on humanity’s relationship with nature. Learn more about biodiversity, Yoshimoto’s art, and how to write a haiku using the link below.

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