Online Paper Plant Making Workshop with artist Justin Favela
Prior to the virtual opening of the UAM spring exhibition Sorry for the Mess, the University Art Museum will host host on their website a virtual plant making workshop with artist Justin Favela where he will teach community members and children how to create piñata-style paper sculptures for a desert garden that will be integrated into the show.
The UAM still have a few pre-made art kits for community members interested in partaking in this interactive event. Kits can be picked up at the UAM, email artmuseum@nmsu.edu to request a pickup time. These materials can also be purchased or found. Here is a list of the materials your will need to take part in the workshop from home: Card stock (2-4 sheets, preferably shades of green), brown tissue paper, scissors, cardboard (for plant pots, recycled plastic cups, bottles, or fruit containers will also work), glue (sticks or bottles) and stapler. Extra materials/alternative materials: pipe cleaners, hot glue, crayons and markers (To draw on the leaves), paint. The University Art Museum parking lot located just outside Devasthali Hall on the east side. Please call 575-646-2545 for directions or for any questions.
The UAM will accept sculptures dropped off at the museum during open hours from December 3rd, 2020 – January 6th, 2021; sculptures will be included in Sorry for the Mess, January 21- April 3, 2021. Community members can pick up their “artist plants” to take home after the exhibition. Please make sure to write you name on the base of you plant if you would like it back. Enjoy the video above, we can’t wait to see what you make!
Workshop PDF to follow along from home is available for download by clicking here. This workshop is geared towards all ages.
Photo: Mikayla Whitmore
Justin Favela, born in 1986 is a Las Vegas native and alumni of UNLV. Favela works primarily in large scale installation and sculpture that playfully lifts up impactful childhood objects and amplifies them for an audience who might find similar value in them. Favela has exhibited his work both internationally and across the United States. His installations have been commissioned by museums including the Denver Art Museum in Colorado and Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Arkansas. He is the recipient of the 2018 Alan Turing LGTBIQ Award for International Artist. Favela hosts two culture-oriented podcasts, “Latinos Who Lunch” and “The Art People Podcast.”
Sorry for the Mess, an exhibition featuring work by artists Jay Lynn Gomez and Justin Favela, will run from January 21 through April 3, 2021. Through a dreamlike and youthful interpretation of abstracted memories, Favela and Gomez use familiar symbols and characters from television series such as Sesame Street and Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, using common materials such piñata paper, cardboard, crayons, rubber, and papier-mâché. Through research and engagement with laborers and their families in Las Vegas and Southern California, the artists create masterful “set” like installations with mixed media replicas of family members and day laborers cleaning, gardening, taking part in construction and grounds keeping.
