Caz library(Cazenovia, NY – Jan. 2015) Pat Hill and Jenna Wright are calling children ages 8 to 14 to the Cazenovia Public Library on Friday Feb. 6 from 1:30 to 3 p.m. for Matisse, The Astonishing World Of Cut-Out Art, the fourth installment of “Art For Kids.”

Join in this unique and wonderful program, inspired by the current exhibition, “Henri Matisse: The Cut-Outs: A Modern Master’s Final Years,” on display through Feb. 10 at The Museum Of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York.

Participants will examine the exuberant creations of the artist’s later years and will attempt to “paint with scissors,” creating our own mural, inspired by the bold colors and exaggerated forms of the Matisse cut-outs.

Considered one of the most influential artists of the 20th century, Henri Matisse was born Dec. 31, 1869 in the textile town of Le Cateau-Cambrésis, France.  He lived in a weaver’s cottage above his family’s seed shop and worked as a legal clerk for a time.  He eventually went on to study law in Paris and acquired a position at a law office, arranging to take morning drawing classes before work.

At the age of 21, Matisse suffered a serious attack of appendicitis. It was during his recovery that he began to paint, using art supplies gifted to him by his mother.

Matisse later recalled, “From the moment I held the box of colors in my hands, I knew this was my life. I threw myself into it like a beast that plunges towards the thing it loves.”

A draftsmen, sculptor, illustrator, painter, and cut-out master, Matisse forged an artistic career that spanned six decades. His style developed through several phases, yet an underlying theme reigned throughout that reflected a single goal: to discover “the essential character of things” and to produce an art “of balance, purity, and serenity.”

His unique cut-out pieces emerged in the final stages of his life, when disease had rendered him an invalid, confined to his bed.  He died on Nov. 3, 1954.

After studying several examples of Matisse’s cut-outs, participants will have the opportunity to use the mediums of cloth and paper to create their own cut-outs, which will be added to a large-scale mural to be displayed at the library. In addition, there will be ample opportunity to create a personal piece of art to take home.

Attendees at any of the 2014-2015 “Art for Kids” programs will be entered to win an art kit that was generously donated by a dear friend of the Cazenovia Public Library.

To ensure program quality, class size is limited.  Stop by or call the library at 655- 9322 to reserve a spot.

For more information on “Art For Kids” or other events at the Cazenovia Public Library, call 655-9322 or visit www.cazenoviapubliclibrary.org.

By martha

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