Explore a Work of Art: Girl (resource)

Use the following strategies to explore Bob Trotman’s Girl

1. Create a character based on Bob Trotman’s Girl. Write a story documenting the day when she came to be in her upside-down position. What events occurred earlier in the day? What will happen next?
2. Bob Trotman’s Girl is made of wood from white pine, poplar and basswood trees. Find out where these trees usually grow. Are any of these trees found in North Carolina? If so, identify on a map the areas where these trees are found. Find an example of a white pine, poplar, basswood or a common tree that grows in your area. Make a rubbing of the bark and collect leaf samples. Identify industrial uses of the wood in North Carolina’s economy.
3. Consider how traditional artistic media such as painting and sculpture have looked in the past. Bob Trotman’s Girl is an example of a work of art that defies the viewer’s expectation of how an artist uses materials. Create your own work of art that uses a traditional medium in a new way. Participate in a class critique of the works to determine the success of your experiment.