The Rooms @ Home
Explore The Rooms @ Home portal to discover mindful ways to make creations from the comfort of your home. Watch a Coffee and Culture session to visit the depths of the ocean with the NL Shipwreck Association or connect with the voices of our culturally diverse community through Sharing Our Cultures. Check back often as more new and engaging content is added!
Make, Create & Discover
Frottage Art Activity
Frottage is a fun way to make art with the objects we have around us. Find firm textured items such as coins, cardboard, or a cheese-grater, then put them under a piece of paper. Rub a pencil lead or wax crayon repeatedly across the surface to reveal the details and textures of different objects. Materials: paper, crayons / pen / colouring pencils, textured objects (coins, cardboard, etc.)
Blind Contour Drawing
Blind contour drawing is a simple, silly and curious way to engage our eyes with the objects that surround us. It's a great art exercise for any age, that requires no set up, clean up, or preparation. Just look around for inspiration, lock your sights and draw what you see – but don't look at your drawing until you're finished! Materials: paper, marker/ pencil/ pen, crayons, colouring pencils (optional).
Basic Printmaking
Printmaking allows artists to make multiples, or many copies, of an image. There are many ways to make a print. Etching, woodblock, linocut, and screen printing are examples of different printmaking techniques. The Rooms has nearly 4000 original print works in its collections, including many etchings by David Blackwood, one of this province’s best-known printmakers. This video shows a basic printmaking technique that anyone can try using materials you may have already around your home. Materials: craft foam / styrofoam tray, paint / printing ink, paper, mixed materials (bubble wrap, cardboard, etc.)
Shadow Puppetry
As seen through our galleries at The Rooms, Newfoundland and Labrador has rich storytelling traditions. Turn those tales into entertainment with shadowpuppetry, an ancient way of sharing stories. Make creative paper shadow puppets, and build a quick and easy theatre to bring your stories to life. Materials: cardstock / cereal box, scissors, tape, brass fasteners /twist ties, skewer / stick / straw, lamp / flashlight, fabric (bed sheet, table cloth)
Collage
Making a collage can be a relaxing way to get creative using magazines, old mail, and any other paper products you might find in your home. This video demonstrates some tips to working with paper, scissors and glue, and shows how to take inspiration from the art and images we surround ourselves with by reimagining them as beautiful collage artworks.
Materials: paper, scissors, glue
Iceberg Watercolour Painting
Inspired by our province’s natural wonder, venture into the world of watercolour painting. Try a variety of techniques while exploring the medium to create an original artwork. Materials: watercolour paper, paint palette, one artist brush, tape, wax, salt, black sharpie marker (optional), water cup.
Coffee & Culture Series
Sharing Our Cultures – October 2020
Sharing Our Cultures was established in 1999 with a vision to connect culturally diverse school youth, foster belonging and acceptance among all school children, be relevant within the schools and province and contribute towards an inclusive and cohesive society. The program is designed to create spaces for the voices, cultures, histories, and experiences of all children and youth to be heard, seen, and valued. Founder and CEO, Lloydetta Quaicoe will discuss the 20+ years of the program and the future of Sharing Our Cultures in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Shipwreck Association of Newfoundland and Labrador - October 2020
Neil Burgess of the Shipwreck Preservation Society of Newfoundland and Labrador (SPSNL) discusses the work of this charity dedicated to exploring, documenting, protecting and promoting shipwrecks and nautical history in NL. The SPSNL works to encourage local wreck diving and educate scuba divers from across the province in the basics of maritime archaeology.
Artist Talk: Tanea Hynes – February 2021
Tanea Hynes is an interdisciplinary artist hailing from Labrador City, NL. She completed her Bachelor of Fine Arts at NSCAD University in 2019, where she studied photography and art history. She is a current Master of Fine Art candidate at Concordia University. Tanea was our Elbow Room artist-in-residence in 2020. Tanea’s exhibition Workhorse is on display in the Art Gallery until September 26, 2021.
Artist Talk: Malin Enström - November 2020
As forests burned, protestors marched and a global pandemic surged, St. John’s-based artist Malin Enström took her own temperature. She measured it three times a day for 130 days: 6 am, noon and 6 pm. In this artist talk, Malin discusses her process and inspiration behind the exhibition Inversion.
Activity Kits
Family Tree Activity Kit
Investigate your family history and discover the study of genealogy with our Family Tree Activity Kit. Make a family tree, play a Detective Qs game and create your very own time capsule! Ages 7+.
Kits are $10+ tax and can be purchased through The Rooms Gift Shop, curbside pick up available. Click here to purchase.
Sketching Activity Kit
Discover new ways to make mindful observations as you thoughtfully sketch your surroundings. Experiment with your sketching materials and explore some interesting tips to make your mark! The perfect activity for all ages, anywhere, anytime.
Kits are $10+ tax and can be purchased through The Rooms Gift Shop, curbside pick up available. Click here to purchase.
Spring Flowers Activity Kit
Create your very own Spring Flowers to brighten up your home. Learn about one of our province’s wildflowers, Lupins – then plant some in your own garden and watch as they grow this Spring! 7+ (young children may require adult supervision)
Kits are $10+ tax and can be purchased through The Rooms Gift Shop, curbside pick up available. Click here to purchase.
