Thornton Dial Sr. was a metalworker at the Pullman Standard Plant in Bessemer, Alabama, which made railroad cars. When the plant closed in 1981, he decided to make art full time. Today, his art can be found in museums all over the U.S.
Thornton Dial Sr. (American, 1928 – 2016), “Food Line,” 2008. Assemblage with various materials on plywood. Georgia Museum of Art, University of Georgia; Gift of Ron and June Shelp. GMOA 2011.611
Look closely at this sculpture. This is a kind of art called assemblage. It takes everyday objects and puts them together to make a sculpture. Can you tell what different materials Dial used?
You might be able to see pieces of painted carpet. Dial’s assemblages often include torn fabric, rope, metal and organic materials that he attached to plywood and painted. Now it is your turn to assemble objects and paint them!
For this activity you will need:
- cardboard
- toilet paper or paper towel tubes
- hole punch
- wooden skewer
- clay or playdough
- paint
- paintbrush
- scissors
How to make a stacked object sculpture:
- Cut cardboard into shapes of different sizes. Small and large triangles and squares work well. Cut paper tubes into pieces about 2 inches long. Use a hole punch to make several holes in each piece.
- Stick the wooden skewer, pointed side down, into a mound of clay on another piece of cardboard so it stands upright.
- Let your toddler decide which objects to stack and help them thread each piece on the stick.
- Paint the sculpture when it is stacked.
