This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Community Corner

Museum Guests Create Their Own Works of Art

The Getty's Family Art Lab inspires creativity with the help of the gallery collections.

Ten-year-old Jesse van Groenstijn concentrates as he carefully brushes paint across his miniature sculpture of a killer whale Sunday outside the Getty Center’s Family Room Patio.

“I was going to make a cat, but then I thought, I always make cats, I should make something completely different, so I decided to make a killer whale,” said Jesse, who is vacationing in Southern California with his family from The Netherlands. “I really liked making it.”

People tend to remember things better when they do a hands-on activity, so with that concept in mind the Getty offers Family Art Lab programs from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.

Find out what's happening in Brentwoodwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Sunday, the families were working on a sculpture project inspired by works on display at the Getty.

“First we take the families into the gallery to look at two ceramic pieces, and while the families are there they work collaboratively to write, draw and develop ideas,” said John Ildefonso, who was supervising Sunday’s project. “Then we come back out to the work area and each family member creates their own sculpture based on the ideas and concepts they came up with.”

Find out what's happening in Brentwoodwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The projects created at the lab are designed to complement exhibits on display at the museum.

“That’s one of the most important components. If you get something from the gallery and bring it out here and make a lesson out of it, people will remember that better,” he said.

Jesse’s mom, Birgit van Groenestijn, said the projects gave her kids more of an appreciation of art.

“Now they will really take the time to look at a work of art and hear how it was made and they will understand more how much work it is,” van Groenestijn said.

The projects allow families to work side by side, while working independently on their own artwork.

“We don’t have parents hovering over their kids, because—look at the parents—they’re concentrating on working on their own creation,” Ildefonso said. “That’s exactly what we strive for.”

Nick Deguzman and his family are on vacation from Yuba City in Northern California and decided to participate in the Family Art Lab so they could use their imaginations and all create their own work of art.

“I made a butterfly, my daughter made a worm, my wife is trying to make a pig and I think my son is making a panda,” Deguzman said. “It’s a nice family activity to do.”

For information about Family Art Labs or other Getty events and activities, call 310-440-7300 or visit www.getty.edu.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

More from Brentwood