Enjoy the Summer!

The Artists for Kids office will close next week (Wednesday, July 4) for the summer.  We are looking forward to 2 action-packed weeks at camp at Paradise Valley and then the opening of the gallery in the fall.  Watch here for announcements for upcoming events.

John Hartman

Artists for Kids patron John Hartman has an exhibit at the Nicholas Metivier Gallery in Toronto until July 14th.

http://metiviergallery.com/current-exhibitions/john-hartman

Cut and Paste Exhibit.

Many of our AfK artist patrons are participating in the current exhibit "Cut and Paste" at the Equinox Project Space until July 14th. Including Rodney Graham, Gathie Falk, Toni Onley, Jack Shadbolt, Gordon Smith, Takao Tanabe and Etienne Zack. Be sure to check it out!


http://equinoxgallery.com/project-space/

June 11, 2012 - Move-in DayThe

Monday, June 11th was the day we've all been waiting for.  The day started with a meet and greet on the 5th floor.  What a view

 .

Bill and Julie get ready for the day ahead.

but eventually we got most of them put away.

The boxes seemed endless...

Mavis, Julie and Wing take a minute to try out the new chairs.

Mavis' desk is yet to arrive, but this is where it will be.

The gallery won't be open until October, but look at the space we've got.

Looking out the window towards Lonsdale.

The Shadbolt Classroom is an inviting spot - so much light!

This is it!

This is the weekend of our big move!  Our offices at the LMCC are now closed and we will be opening in our new location at 2121 Lonsdale next week.  The gallery will be opening in October, so watch for upcoming events.
 

We managed to get it all into boxes ...

and there it is, empty.  somewhat sad, but we're looking forward to our new space!

Thinking Outside the Canvas Spring '12 Day 4

On the fourth and final day of the Thinking Outside the Canvas workshop, the students dove right into their canvases, pulling together all of the studies and other painted, printed and drawn pieces they had done during the first 3 sessions, and using fragments from these to build a mixed-media collage on their large prepared surfaces.  

This series of photos shows the progression of Launi's piece from Day 1 to its final incarnation... 

Lots of cutting and ripping and gluing ensued, and then some more cutting as the pieces were turned and analyzed to create  better compositions.  The final pieces were each completely different from each other, but all quite spectacular...see for yourself!

Colouring Outside Your Mind Spring '12 Day 4

In the final session of the Colouring Outside Your Mind winter workshop, the students began with a warmup exercise to get the creative juices flowing.  They drew into styrofoam, and then used acrylic paint and gel medium to paint the "plate" and make quick prints onto black paper...so fun, and very addictive!

After this exercise, they dove right into the task of cutting and ripping and gluing together fragments of the many different painted surfaces that they had created over the previous 3 sessions...this final session is called "the art of putting things together."

Using gel medium as "glue," the students were encouraged to simply begin, and to evaluate their piece after they had something to critique.

It is helpful to look at the composition from different sides, to turn the piece, even as you work, to consider other angles that might work better compositionally.  Rather than thinking about the piece as a whole, it often works to "crop" the larger piece into smaller compositions, and to continue building on each piece independently.

Acrylic paint was added to develop areas further, to cover up parts that the students didn't like, and to tie the whole piece together.  The final "layer" of oil pastel and/or grease pencil was added to highlight certain shapes and areas of colour or texture.  The final products from this exercise are abstract and fabulous...see for yourself!