Call to Youth Artists

The Moldau, or Vltava, is the second movement of a six-movement suite, Má vlast (My Country) by Bedřich Smetana, which premiered in its entirety in Prague on November 5, 1882.

Description of the imagery in this piece : 

The movement starts with light, rippling figures that represent the emergence of the Moldau River as two mountain springs, one warm and one cold. Water from the springs then combines to become a mighty river, symbolized by a thickly orchestrated, stately theme that recurs periodically throughout the remainder of the work.
Farther downstream, the river passes jubilant hunters, portrayed by a horn melody, and then passes a village wedding, signaled by a passage in polka rhythm. The river then enters a gorge where, according to legend, water nymphs—suggested by serene and mysterious melodies—come out to bathe in the moonlight.
With the morning light, the main river theme returns, though it soon breaks into tumultuous dissonance as the river enters the St. John’s Rapids. Beyond the white water, the river reaches Prague, where to grand arpeggios of a regal hymn, it flows past the castle Vyšehrad, once the seat of power for Bohemian kings. After fading to a trickle, the piece—and the journey—comes to an unambiguous close with a loud two-chord cadence.

Art materials needed

• Aluminum foil
• Paint 
• Paintbrush
• Glue 
• Green tissue paper
• Rocks
• Cardboard 

Project Instructions

1. Start by making the roses (which are the Czech Republic’s national flower!). Take a piece of tin foil and cut it into strips.
2. Take one of your strips and fold the edge over, creating a stem.
3. Roll the strip up, pushing in the foil at the stem.
4. After the rose has been rolled, dust it with paint.
5. Create about 12 or so of these.
6. Next take your cardboard and a piece of tin foil.
7. Cut the tin foil out in a wavy pattern for the river.
8. Once cut, glue the tin foil down to the cardboard.
9. Place small globs of blue and yellow paint down on the tin foil and smear it around with your fingers. Wipe of any excess paint with a paper towel.
10. Next, take a piece of tissue paper and glue it down next to the river. Make sure that it follows the curves of the water and bunch it up to make the tissue paper appear to be more 3D .
11. Glue rocks down where the tissue paper meets the tin foil to create a river bank
12. Now, take your tin foil roses and fold them into the tissue paper. When you like the placement of the roses, glue them into place.
13. Let your creation dry.
14. And there you have it! Your very own 3D river scene!