ABOUT WEEKLY WE MAKE
Design a 3D model of your home, inside and out, inspired by the exhibition Spring on the Prairie: Kiyoshi Izumi and the work of Izumi Arnott and Sugiyama on view at the MacKenzie Art Gallery until 19 January 2025.
This workshop is led by one of our amazing Gallery Educators.
About Weekly We Make
It’s an art party! Weekly We Make at the MacKenzie Art Gallery, presented by Canada Life, is an opportunity for individuals and families to drop in and create artwork.
Learn about the artists and artworks in MacKenzie’s Permanent Collection and featured exhibitions with weekly in-person hands-on workshops that can be modified for all ages. Visit our studio to make art with Gallery Educators and guest artists, exploring new and beloved techniques and art materials.
There is no cost to attend these drop-in sessions. All materials are provided.
About the Architect who Inspired Us
Architectural model of the Regina Public Library Central Building. Courtesy of Regina Public Library.
Kiyoshi Izumi is a Japanese-Canadian architect who lived and worked in Regina, Saskatchewan. He designed the Saskatchewan Centre of the Arts (Conexus Arts Centre) and the Regina Public Library Central building with his partners Gordon Arnott and James Sugiyama. Izumi lived through World War II and its aftermath. This was a difficult and complicated time for Japanese people in Canada. Despite this, Izumi and his partners made significant contributions to the architectural heritage and cultural landscape of Saskatchewan.
Studio Activity
Design a 3D model of your home, inside and out.
Materials
- Small gift box
- Small piece of cardboard
- Drawing materials (permanent markers, pencils)
- Coloured paper and scrap material
- Glue stick or white glue
BEFORE YOU START, fold your box into shape. Cut off the top part of your box. This way, you can work inside of it without anything getting in the way.
Glue your box onto a piece of cardboard.
Step 1
Think about your home or any place that feels like home. Imagine yourself going around this place from the outside. Imagine yourself inside. What do you notice? What stands out to you? How does this place look, and how does it make you feel?
Step 2
Use paper, scrap material, and markers to design the inside of your box. Add windows and doors by cutting through the box, and add walls by glueing paper to the box.
Use colours, shapes, and textures to help represent the things we were thinking about in STEP 1.
REMEMBER, be creative! The box is an invitation to explore in three dimensions. Although the form is simple and stiff, feel free to break out of this structure and make something unique.
Explore your scraps! Using scrap material is a great way to reuse and to spark creativity.
Step 3
Look at your box, and imagine the relationship between the inside place you created and the outside place you’re about to create. Do these spaces feel the same? Why might they be different?
Will you use the same colours, shapes, and textures to represent the outside of your home? Or will you use different ones?
Think about these questions as you design the outside part of your box.
Things to Think About
- How do buildings make people feel?
- When have you noticed the design of a building?
- How do buildings represent the places where they are built?
