Kids Create: Louise Bourgeois-Inspired Wire Spider Sculptures

French-American artist Louise Bourgeois once said her art “deals with problems that are pre-gender.” Indeed, a big spider made of bronze, steel, and marble is absent most gendered markers – except, of course, the sculpture’s title: Maman. But what else would Bourgeois call an ode to her own mother, who passed when the artist was only 21? In an interview with the Tate Modern, who commissioned the piece, Bourgeois listed many reasons spiders reminded her of her mom: “Like a spider, my mother was a weaver … Like spiders, my mother was very clever … spiders are helpful and protective, just like my mother.” Kiddos can this week replicate this ode to Bourgeois’ mother in this Women’s History Month workshop. After all, who wouldn’t want a little wire spider to help, protect, and weave? It’s what all good mothers should do. – James Scott