We are officially in the New Studio

Its been a rough month, trying to get everything in the studio and just right so the students will have a fun and creative environment to work in.  Its a bit different from teaching art classes out of your home and then moving into a commercial space.  Sometimes I rethink my decision, okay, I rethink it quite often, but it all goes away when I open the door and see the kids and have their arms wrap around me.  Its a great feeling.

Lots of changes with the studio and the business.  Thank goodness for a great friend and her hubby too, who is helping me with my marketing and social media.  It can be a bit overwhelming, but if I give parts of it away to other people who can do a better job if it, it makes my day a little easier.

I have a more functional website, which is pretty cool.  I am able to take online payments, have people schedule their classes on the new site, and sign up for events.  I also have a special page for my artwork to sell and people can purchase it at that moment.

I have hired additional teachers who are so wonderful to teach some classes.  There are alot of ideas in the works, but its getting there!

Self-Portraits with a Twist

I created this lesson for the students for them to think outside the box.  Usually self-portraits are exactly what you think they would be....a portrait of themselves using paint, oil pastels, markers, etc.  I thought of taking 4x4 squares and have them randomly traced on a piece of glossy card stock.  Once they created their background, they were asked to put specific things inside their tiles.  Some examples are:  favorite flower, favorite animal, favorite season, favorite holiday and their name. 

They used markers to draw them in, I thought it would smudge alot less than oil pastels.  They finished it up with creating a 2 color combination pattern in the background. Here are some results:

Ceramic Tile Hearts

This lesson was created in our Track Out Camps.  I thought of the idea all on my own, pretty darn proud of myself! 

We used a ceramic tile and covered it with krinkled up tissue paper.  We used Mod Podge to adhere it.  Once it dried, we painted a large heart in the center and then waited for that to dry.

We then used some glitter and added details inside the heart.  We then added pouring medium to the inside of the heart to make it super glossy.  We took some oil pastels and rubbed it over the tissue paper to accentuate the texture.  I wish I had taken photos of all of the results, some students left before I remembered to take a picture, but here are a few.

Vase Lesson

This lesson was a little introduction to shadows and realism.  I had them divide the paper in half, we covered up the top half with black card stock.  The black part of the paper represents the wall.  The bottom white half represents a table or shelf the vases are sitting on. 

The students created their vases using templates and their own ideas, and then colored them in with colored pencils.  They cut the shapes out and glued them on the paper, being careful to sit them on the table and not have them floating on the wall (black part). 

They were then taught to create a shadow on the bottom to create the illusion of light.  Pretty great results.  Here are just a few.

Class Back in Session

Its been a crazy holiday season.  We had a break from art and with all the hustle and bustle, I haven't posted in a LONG time. 

Now that class is back in session, here is the lesson of the week.  I am loving the results and uniqueness in everyone. 

We started by creating a frame around our paper.  I love the look of frames and use them time to time when painting or drawing.  We then created our landscape.  Starting with the mountains, working our way down to the trees, adding the hills, and then finally the stream. I tried to find the best process for the kids to follow along with.  We then retraced our lines with a black sharpie and added some small details such as the snow caps on the mountains, swirls in the stream and blades of grass on the sides and bottom. 

here are some results:

A Lesson in Realism

This lesson was taught a few weeks ago and I thought it might be too advanced for my younger students, but all in all, they did a fantastic job.  At a glance, it looks like a hand, wow, how exciting, but there is alot involved with the lesson once we peeled the layers.

The students were taught the concept of Realism, and we used their hand as our sample.  We also taught them about patterns, movement, and shading.  It was pretty intense when we started on our ribbon that wrapped around their finger.  Although it is a simple line, its how you shade it in that makes it look real. 

I wish I had more pictures, but again, its so hectic after class that I forget to grab the camera.

Here are a few results:

Oil Pastel Cats

This was a really fun lesson with the kids.  All their personalities came out on their artwork.  Some kids had vibrant colors. Others had great patterns and fun backgrounds.  It was a lesson to introduce them to abstract art as well as to teach them about oil pastels.  Here are some results.