Artists for Kids will be closed from December 17, 2011 until January 3, 2012. See you in the new year!

The Art of Putting Things Together: Adult Art Class Session 4

For the fourth and final session of the "Colouring Outside Your Mind" adult art class, students pulled out all of their work from the previous three sessions (quite a lot of it, as it turned out!), and proceeded to rip and tear and cut their work to build a mixed-media collage.  We used fluid medium as "glue" and layered it with paint and grease pencils.

Students learned that sometimes all it takes to make a composition better is to cut off the part that is not working and keep going!  These pieces are some examples of the success that they achieved...

We will be offering more adult art classes in the Winter Session...look for more information in the next Artists for Kids newsletter, or on our website: http://www.artists4kids.com

Building a Love of Architecture - Grade 3 Enrichment

Architecture Canada and Artists for Kids are bringing architecture to life for kids. In November, two dozen Grade 3 students had the opportunity to work with an architect (Kate Busby) and an art teacher (Candace Gillespie) to expand their understanding of space and forms. Running for three Mondays, the students who were selected by their teachers, were able to learn more about the power of architecture and the elements that make it effective as well an asset to our communities.

In the three day-long classes, kids have learned about perspective, bubble diagrams, elevation drawings and the use of clay in formulating designs, to help them develop a sensitivity and appreciation for the built environment.

After School Jewellery Making Class

Students in the After School Jewellery Making class at Argyle learn a variety of techniques to make personal pieces of jewellery such as rings earrings and pendants.

After School Clay Creations Art Class

The students in the Clay Creations class at Carson Graham proudly show off their works in progress.

After School Art Class Registration

Registration for the next session of After School Art classes has started. Please see the website www.artists4kids.com for details and then call our office 604-903-3798 to register.

Collaboration and Imagination: Adult Art Class Session Three

In the third class of the Colouring Outside Your Mind workshop for adults, we began by loosening up with a fun exercise called "Exquisite Corpse."  It is a term coined by surrealist artists in the 1920’s and 1930’s to describe the process of several artists (or writers, musicians, playwrights, etc) working together on a single piece without knowing what each one was making.  The basic concept behind this technique is for one artist to begin a drawing and then to conceal what he or she is making from the other artists in the group.  The next person in succession continues the drawing using only minimal clues left behind by the first person’s drawing...

The next exercise involved working with a partner to generate "shadow drawings" which were used later in the class as the basis for an abstract painting.  

After a short chocolate and chips break (!), the students were put to work "drawing their day"...what would your day look like if you drew it as a continuous line, without lifting your pen from the page?   These drawings were then painted with water soluble crayons.

These last images show the students painting their shadow drawings, and having fun with colour and texture!

Our last session is this Wednesday...check back next week!

After School Primarily Painting Class

Students in the Primarily Painting After School Art Class work with primary colours to learn colour theory.

Drawing without Thinking: Adult Art Class, Session 2

In the second session of the new "Colouring Outside Your Mind" workshop for adults, the students started the evening by mark-making, working on one sheet of paper, and then rotating around the table to make marks on all the other papers in response to what was already there.  

Next up, a series of timed drawings following different instructions, including: drawing with your opposite hand, drawing with your eyes closed, drawing without looking at your paper, drawing what you "see" when you press your hands on your eyeballs, etc.

Each student brought an object to draw, and they were to "dissect" the object, to break it down into its essential components, and complete a series of 4 drawings on one large sheet of paper.  Then they got to paint these, which was the highlight of the evening.  Some basic colour theory helped make their work pretty amazing!

Look for next week's installment of the Colouring Outside Your Mind workshop series, and please leave a comment here...

After School Art

Students in the After School Art Class - Artful Adventures - at Lynn Valley Elementary are experimenting with many different mediums.

For the 2nd session of the teacher workshop series, participants expanded on the theme of leaves. Teachers focused on the element of colour and explored the use of oil pastels.

Colouring Outside Your Mind - Adult Art Class

Over the years, the Artists for Kids has been asked by parents to add an art class for adults to their selection of offerings.  This Fall, the opportunity to do that arose.

"Colouring Outside Your Mind" is a four session workshop taught by two local artists, Mary Shaughnessy and Sarah David.  It runs once a week in November at the Artists for Kids Studio.  Our first offering of this course has 12 registrants, who come to the course with a variety of creative backgrounds, and a serious interest in trying something new and outside their comfort zone!  

Through spontaneous, playful experimentation, these participants will discover how to access their creative intuition, while learning techniques and skills with painting and drawing materials.  In a non-threatening, fun environment, they will be guided through a series of progressive sessions, keeping it purely abstract, and they will emerge at the end with some great tools for creative expression.

Session One - having fun with paint!

In our first session, the class dripped, drizzled and splattered, applied ink and paint with string and other "tools," and then blew paint through straws while listening to music.  The work they produced in this, and the next two sessions, will be used in the final session to create a one-of-a-kind mixed media collage.  This week we are using drawing media.  Check back next week for updates on their progress!

Straw-blowing art

Drizzle, Drip and Splatter work

Mark-making with inks on tissue