Louisiana artist Ida Kohlmeyer is known for her highly personal language of symbols and shapes in her abstract paintings and sculptures, often arranged like words on a page. She took inspiration from the mark-making and inventiveness found in Abstract Expressionist and Surrealist works, including the work of Spanish artist Joan Miró. Take a look at these artworks from NOMA’s collection: Miró’s Persons in the Presence of a Metamorphosis and Kohlmeyer’s Exhibit 3. Do you notice any connections between these two artists’ work? 

Tap into your imagination as you and a partner explore your relationship on paper in this activity! By creating your own unique symbols through drawing, you and your partner will share and document the unique parts of who you are: as individuals and as a duo. 

Materials: paper, drawing utensils, & a partner

Steps:

1. Draw two big overlapping shapes to make a Venn diagram. One shape is space for you, the other is space for your partner. 
2. Together, choose a starter below:

I believe… 

I love… 

I hope… 

1. Think about your answer… What do you believe, love, or hope? Now, turn your answer into a drawing. What shapes, lines, and symbols can you use to show it? 
2. In the middle, where both shapes overlap, talk to your partner to find things that you both believe, love or hope & draw your ideas together! Think:

We believe…

We love…

We hope… 

1. Share. Look at your completed Venn diagram together: can you “read” your partner’s symbols? Did you learn anything new about each other?