Wednesday, Jun. 29, 2011

Create your own art at First Friday

From a distance, artist Naoko Ito's work looks like gossamer gray clouds floating across the walls of the Contemporary Art Museum downtown.

Move closer, and it's an intricate line drawing.

Reach out to touch it, and the texture surprises your fingers - the moss-like tendrils climbing the walls are actually yards of delicate metal wire.

This Friday, visitors will have a chance to try their hand at Ito's alchemy - the museum is providing rolls of bendable wire and crochet hooks for a more hands-on art experience.

"That's what's been missing from First Friday," CAM Curator of Education Nicole Welch said. "People walk around and see all this great art and get inspired - that's the best time to create something, when that spark of inspiration happens."

The Contemporary Art Museum opened on West Martin Street in downtown Raleigh at the end of April. It offers free admission every First Friday, plus a free art activity that encourages interactivity, something rare in the tradtional museum-going experience.

Welch brainstorms a new project connecting gallerygoers to the exhibits every First Friday.

In June, guests fused colored plastic bags together into self-designed tote bags.

May saw participants create everything from funny hats to fairy wings from no more than five dry-cleaner's hangers apiece.

There's something magic about firing up your creativity and working with your hands, Welch said. She's seen groups enter with sour faces and leave all smiles.

"Art has the power to transform people's moods very quickly," Welch said. "It's art therapy on a miniature scale."

That kind of hands-on engagement also removes the stuffy aura from the idea of a museum trip.

It's attracted hundreds of participants each First Friday.

"Part of our existence here is to remind people about the importance of art and creativity and how it can enhance our lives," gallery and exhibitions manager Kate Shafer said. "It breaks down the barriers to a museum when you can come here and be allowed to touch something or make something."

New York City-based Ito used a crochet hook to create "Felicity," the sprawling wire artwork that inspired this First Friday's project.

She was inspired by vines and moss and their dependence on other forms to grow upright. It took her six months.

"It was like a meditation," Ito said.

Her best advice to those following in her footsteps is to play with the wire. Have fun.

"I hope someone feels inspired, starts thinking about nature," Ito said.

"I don't give the answer. What they feel is the answer."