Today, I want all you kids to get in the bus with your curiosity hats on. We’re going to Maude Kerns Art Center to get curious about Bricolage.
!["Twiggy" by Marjorie Taylor, Papier mache, wood, chicken wire, recycled vintage needlepoint](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/62980d3/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3024x4032+0+0/resize/880x1173!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Ff6%2Ff6%2F0ca2200b434082b3a4c3ca0e6ce3%2Ftwiggy.jpg)
Bricolage, French for "made from odds and ends," is a whole movement encouraging us to reduce, reuse, recycle, and reimagine! Get ready for a wonderland of creativity – imagine towering dresses fashioned entirely from casino playing cards, or a menagerie of giraffes crafted from unexpected materials, all by Marjorie Taylor.
![Marjorie Taylor • Wig by Hadley Halpern • Lady Luck • Recycled casino cards, paper](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/b41ed99/2147483647/strip/true/crop/4284x5712+0+0/resize/880x1173!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F19%2Fbb%2Ffc59539e4e0e80b27f73aa59ac20%2Ftaylor-lady-luck-jpj.jpg)
Spark your curiosity! Is that a hulking robot knight guarding the entrance? Artist Michael Whitenack's "Knight Owl" might surprise you with the familiar objects he's used to create this imposing figure. Take a closer look – are those air conditioner parts we see glinting in the metallic sheen?
![•"Knight Owl," Michael Whitenack. Metal, found objects, wood](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/77acd65/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1346x2334+0+0/resize/880x1526!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F81%2F09%2Fa13172354774bacda9fe8d9018b7%2Fmichael-whitenack-knight-owl-metal-found-objects-wood-jpg.png)
Mavis Leahy's quilts are more than just beautiful fabric. Spend some time with "Star Crossed.” Use your curiosity to look at what’s in the middle. It is a tiny black baby doll lashed with gold threads to a pearly white shell. This is the right time to get out your “I wonder what that means?” curiosity lens.
![Detail of "Star-Crossed," Mavis Leahy. Mid-1800s quilt, Victorian pearl button, tablecloth, Victoria paisley, felt appliques, antique fabric, Victorian buttons](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/326f51b/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3024x4032+0+0/resize/880x1173!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Faf%2Fb5%2F1552fe4f44a5b167afdd2ce341e2%2Fleahy-detail-star-crossed.jpg)
A quilt nearby is called “Sophie's Heart could be forever found in the forest.” Under a tree is a black woman with a skeleton sewn inside her and nearby is a vintage image of a white woman suspended from the beak of a black crow. What stories do you see woven into these vibrant textiles?
!["Sophie's Heart could be forever found in the forest," Mavis Leahy. Victorian overskirt, wool Victorian mourning dress, vintage paisley border, vintage fringed tassels, antique tintype, vintage rosary beads, heart milagros](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/9c8eebb/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3024x4032+0+0/resize/880x1173!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F4e%2F25%2Fdde1462a46ba82041a2bd56e0c46%2Fleahy-sophie.jpg)
![Detail, "Sophie's Heart could be forever found in the forest," Mavis Leahy. Victorian overskirt, wool Victorian mourning dress, vintage paisley border, vintage fringed tassels, antique tintype, vintage rosary beads, heart milagros](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/09c55eb/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3024x4032+0+0/resize/880x1173!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F67%2Fc3%2F7cf7744c44b995b3bd13091aa2fe%2Fleahy-sophie-detail.jpg)
There’s always a crowd gathered around a steampunk-style Victorian cabinet by Dan Pillers. Why is a simple lunchbox displayed with such reverence? Look beyond the surface – admire the intricate joinery, the etched spine on the glass panel. Could this be a subtle connection to the Industrial Age the cabinet represents?
!["Labor," Dan Pillers. Salvaged wood and metal, etched glass, vintage lunchbox.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/5eef01f/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3024x4032+0+0/resize/880x1173!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F93%2F2d%2F2d49f710486abf9b28aa7423c5cd%2Fpillers-lunchbox.jpg)
As Alice in Wonderland's Cheshire Cat says, "Curiouser and curiouser!" You’re on the Curiosity Bus with Sandy Brown Jensen for KLCC.