New Studio, New Classes, New Blog...

If you haven't yet been over to my new blog Make+Believe, come check it out to see photos of the new studio and classes. So many exciting changes!

Collaborative Canvas

As one of our final projects of the spring session, we created a collaborative canvas art piece. The children worked on the canvas in 7 phases, beginning with this picture of the canvas on the floor. To preserve each phase of the work, I used painters tape to cover up some of the areas on the canvas each time a new group worked on it.

For the second phase, I brought the canvas to a block party in my neighborhood. The kids had a blast going at it with long brushes, rollers, and child-sized mops and brooms.

For our final week of spring classes, each group contributed to the canvas in different ways. Some classes worked on the floor with bouncy bean bags and long tools, while other groups worked on it vertically, attached to an easel.

Each day when the canvas was dry, I added more tape (often with help from Karuna and Aaron). For this project, the tape was placed randomly (except for the small heart at the top), but next time I want to try doing a more planned out design!

The tempera paints don't keep their true color when painted over, but often turn muddy after many layers. So I decided to let the oldest class use non-toxic acrylic paint to get back to some brighter colors add more texture.

After some painting, the kids decided to stick collage materials onto the canvas... brilliant!

The next day, I wanted to preserve the collage materials from the previous class, so I taped up a large piece of paper over that section of the painting.

I realized that the kids enjoyed having one area that was a blank canvas, so I taped up another piece of paper for the final class. 

After 7 phases painting and taping, I spent about 2 hours peeling off all of the tape (much of which was hidden under all those layers!) And here is the final piece...

Art and Wine Night

It's back to school time so I decided to invite all of the moms from this upcoming session to indulge in a night of art-making and wine! Many of the moms have been watching their children here in the studio for months and I wanted to offer them a chance to finally participate in the creative process. It's a way for them to get a taste of what their children are experiencing in art class and also get a chance to connect with other moms in the community. It was fun to hear how the children responded when their moms said "I'm going to art class tonight!"One child said, "but that's my favorite class!" And another child said, "why can't I go?" It's wonderful that they feel a sense of ownership here in the studio :)We started off the night making monoprints with acrylic boxes (like we most recently did for Father's day cards).



Then we moved on to collages with tissue paper and tempera paints (mixed with glue and water). This is a great project for anyone to jump right in, regardless of art experience- it's simple and always beautiful!
Outside an easel was set up for a collaborative canvas painting. It now hangs in the art studio for the children to see :)
Thanks Mamas! Let's do it again soon.

Spring Art Show

After 16 wonderful weeks of art class, the time has come to gather, celebrate, and appreciate the children's creative work. My goal for the spring art show was to bring this community of budding artists together and show this exciting collection of our recent experiences in the studio.
With a week of erratic weather, I crossed my fingers and woke up Saturday to find a warm and sunny backyard- just waiting to be filled with the vibrant artwork of children.
Here are a few of the displays from the show:

Printmaking Collection and Garden Bench

Marble/Golf Ball Painting
Finger and Texture Painting
Collaborative Easel Painting
All Class Painting
Clay Work
Watercolor Quilt
Group Watercolor and Ink Work
When the show began, families arrived to view the artwork, munch on some snacks, and enjoy the company of friends.





Thanks for the fun semester... see you soon!