Monkeying Around

We are just finishing up our Monkey Lesson and the results are so adorable.  For many of the students, bleeding tissue paper was something they never used before.  I taught the students how to apply it to our paper and to let it sit once its wet.  Bleeding tissue paper is NOT like regular tissue paper and if you were to try and wet regular tissue paper, it would just fall apart.  Bleeding tissue paper is very cool and gives a watercolor effect and can make such a range of backgrounds.

Once the tissue paper dried, the kids peeled the paper off to reveal a beautifully colored  backdrop to draw our monkey on.  We used black oil pastel to draw our monkeys and once I finished teaching them the drawing lesson, they were off to draw it themselves on their paper. 

It was a fun lesson and a great one for the younger kids.  They loved the effect of the tissue paper and couldnt wait to peel it off to see what it looked like.  Here are some of the results.

I'll always know who created THIS monkey.  He was

the only one who made teeth.  Very cool Rohan!

Jim Dine "Hearts" Lesson

This week I decided to focus on a famous artist whose name is Jim Dine.  I think its important for children to look at other peoples art and see how art through their eyes.  Jim Dine is a pop artist who takes everyday items and turns them into art, like hearts.  Besides hearts, Jim Dine likes painting bathrobes.  I didnt feel like bathrobes were going to be popular with the kids, so I went with the hearts.

I took one of Jim Dine's Heart paintings and had the kids paint hearts similar to his.  The fun part was that we used our finger, no brushes.  You can tell when its a lesson the kids love, the room is silent!  I showed them how to use white to marbleize the heart and to make sure not to rub too many colors together because it creates mud. 

They all were amazing and every class we went over the hour time limit just because I went a step more and mounted them to the colored paper.  I didnt have time to take as many pictures as I'd like, but here are a few.

Birthday Party Information

I have been getting alot of interest and questions for our Art Birthday Parties.  Thank you so much  if you have already booked a party with me!  I love doing them and the kids are so excited when they enter the studio.  I have created a flyer which explains alot of the information and may answer your questions.

Please call with any questions! Thanks

My Newest Find

As many of you know, I have 4 kids.  Trying to feed and clothe them can get quite expensive.  I am a big believer in reusing and so alot of my childrens clothes are from kids consignment stores, typically the Kid to Kid stores.

My children attend a preschool where a mom that I know from the school has just opened up her own consignment store.  It is amazing.  Bright, beautiful, clean, and it doesnt smell like mold!  She has put so much work into getting this place up and running and I think she is on to something really great. 

Her store is located right off Holly Springs Road and Sunset Lake Road.  It is called Bee Mine Kids Consignment.  She has toys, bedding, clothes, shoes, strollers, and much more!  If you buy your childrens clothes at consignment stores, then you MUST check her business out. 

Here are some pictures of the store.  She is also accepting Spring and Summer attire for consignment. 

Duke Childrens Hospital

I recently had a fundraiser to help Duke Childrens Hospital.  The outcome was amazing and we raised almost $600.00 to donate to all the cute little children who need our help.

Recently, I have been asked to participate in a program that also helps Duke Childrens Hospital.  They encourage teachers to send in their students artwork.  If their work is chosen, they turn their work into greeting cards and then sell them to raise money for the hospital. 

Over the next few months, I will be selecting students whose work stands out and giving them a chance to participate in this wonderful opportunity.  If their artwork is chosen, they will be invited to a special press conference where they will be recognized for their creativity!

I think it is a great cause, and a fun way to make the students strive harder!  If your child does get chosen by me, parents will be informed.

New Paintings

Here are some new paintings I have been working on.

Neon Tigers

We had some really excited students last week.  I try so hard to find products I havent used yet and also try to find materials and art supplies that the kids will love.  This time I think I did good!  Although the neon paint was very expensive (still dont understand why), it was worth it. 

I taught the kids how to free-hand a tiger.  Almost all of them never drew a tiger before, so I am very impressed at their first attempt. 

I told them a story of how I was younger and remember sketching my first animal- a cat.  My friend had gotten a "How to Draw Cats" book for her birthday and I remember sleeping over her house and being a crazy woman and drawing cat after cat!  The more I practiced the more I got better and my sketches looked better than the ones in the book.  I try to explain that it takes practice and patience when drawing and if they continue practicing, they will master it!

Here are the results of our Tiger.  Neon paints really made the difference.  We used black oil pastel for the outline and used a "stippling" effect to apply our paints to the tigers face. 

Watercolor Birch Trees

I am seeing such great results with the Birch Tree project that we are teaching this week.  There is alot to learn with this lesson although it seems so simple!

I taught the kids about perspective and how to view the trees as if they were in the forest.  I explained to them that if they were in the forest and were in front of a tree, it would appear quite large.  If you then looked further into the distance, the trees would look small.  We then applied that to our work and I showed them how to make that perspective possible.

Next, we talked about gradients, something I always touch upon when using watercolors.  I gave them an example of sunsets and how all the colors swirl into one another.  I showed them how to apply the watercolor and blend it in with other colors to make the lines and color soft. 

Finally, we talked about detail, which is so important with art and little kids!  We talked about the lines of the birch tree and the detail and shadows they should apply to make it look as natural and real. 

Here are some of the results!

Pick and Draw

I recently came across a man named Rich Davis who created a card type game for children using cartoon faces and features.  I didnt know what to expect when I purchased it, but I love trying new things and I also love to support our artist community.  I opened the deck today and decided to play it with the kids from the art camp.  All I can say is WOW!  The kids loved it.  They loved being dealt a card and seeing what was behind it.  They loved creating different characters and had a blast.  I actually had to tell them, ok, only 1 more game and thats it!  :)

So, here are some of the results, they are super cute!  I love the one with the muscles, my pal Zac made that one!

What big muscles Zac! Nice work.

Awesome job Gracie!  I love the hair!

Great creativity Owen.