Words of Comfort

Inspired by Robert Indiana’s 4-Star Love
Best for ages 6 and up

 Robert Indiana used words as a central theme in his artwork to express the power of language. For this activity, we will choose a single word as the main focus of our artwork to inspire comfort and hope.

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Robert Indiana (United States, 1928 - 2018), 4-Star Love, 1961, oil on canvas, 12 x 11 1/8 inches. Gift of Todd R. Brassner in memory of Doug Rosen, 1999.7

Materials Needed:

• Paper (any size)

• Pencil

• Markers, colored pencils, or paint

Prepare:

First, come up with a list of words that offer a sense of comfort for you during these uncertain times. You could think about what you think we need right now. Some example of words could be: empathy, family, friends, compassion, positivity, or nature.

On a sheet of paper, write down a list of 5-10 words that come to mind. Which word do you connect with the most and why?

Instructions:

Once you have your list of words, choose the one that you would like to use for your drawing. Using your pencil, outline or draw the letters of your word on your paper so that it is the focal point of your artwork. You can use Robert Indiana’s 4-Star Love as inspiration for how you would like your word to appear on the page. You may want to play around with how the letters are organized on the paper. You may also add other simple geometric shapes to your drawing as well, such as stars, hearts, or other shapes. Think about what shapes connect best with your word.

Use a pencil so that you can experiment with the composition of your letters and shapes. 

When you are done creating the base of your drawing with the pencil, you can choose to add color using markers, colored pencils, or paint. Think about what colors you use and how those colors add to the overall feeling of your artwork. 

For an added challenge, only use only two colors, as Robert Indiana used in 4-Star Love!