Art you can touch Art you can touch (August 12, 2005)

Palo Alto Art Center woos kids with tactile links to exhibits

by Rebecca Wallace

A small bowl fashioned from leaves on display at the Palo Alto Art Center seems too fragile to be real. It's so delicate that it brings to mind cobwebs and jellyfish.

To be sure these are leaves, you can feel them for yourself. As part of the center's four summer exhibitions, visitors can carry a special "Art Explorer" backpack through the gallery. Inside are pads of drawing paper, pencils and various objects relating to the exhibits, such as the rubber tree leaves used by artist Kay Sekimachi in the "Leaf" exhibit bowl.

This is the first time the center has used the backpacks, which were envisioned for children but have also caught the fancy of adults and college students. The hope was to give children simple information to draw them into the exhibits, and to provide a tactile link to what they see, curator Signe Mayfield said.

Also in the packs are metal stencils created by studio program assistant Lynn Stewart. They go with Lukas Felzmann's "Cluster" exhibit, which features dramatic photos of bird migrations. The stencil has bird cut-outs to help kids draw their own flocks.

There are also fruity-smelling pods made of banana tree fiber. Similar pods are dotted throughout artist Yuriko Yamaguchi's works of webbed wire in the "Web/Metamorphosis" exhibit.

The summer exhibits also include paintings and mixed media works by Robert McCauley, many of them incorporating scenes from the Pacific Northwest.

Children often take the backpacks outside to draw in gardens, where they can also contribute to an art project called "Nets" by Mari Andrews. On the net-like sculpture, art center visitors have already placed leaves, pine cones, flowers and bark.

"It'll be interesting to see what it looks like at the end of the summer," Mayfield said.

What: "Art Explorer" backpacks and other interactive activities for children, as well as free adult docent-led tours, at the Palo Alto Art Center's four summer exhibitions.

Where: Palo Alto Art Center, 1313 Newell Road.

When: Through Sept. 4. Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays and 1 to 5 p.m. on Sundays, with additional 7 to 9 p.m. hours on Thursdays.

Cost: Gallery admission is free, with a suggested donation of $1.

Info: Call (650) 329-2605.

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