next adult art workshop: August 29th, from 6:30-8:30PM

Join me for a 2-hour workshop on August 29th, from 6:30-8:30PM: Channeling Children. We'll be making playful, colorful, collage animals, inspired by a project I've done with children. (Which was in turn inspired by artist Clare Youngs). 🐸

Collaborative architecture printing project

This is a new favorite project of mine. I have each of the kids draw the name of an architectural element (row of rectangular windows, double doors, cupola, chimney, brick wall, pointed arch, etc.). They then make a stamp of that element, using adhesive-back foam and cardboard. They are then to make at least three more architectural details of their choice (the first ones assigned just get them all started). When they're done making the stamps, all of the stamps are piled in the center of the table and the printing begins. Each kid composes a cityscape using the stamps, and they all come out wonderfully different! We used black acrylic paint because it dries quickly and won't run (as will block printing ink), if they decide to add color, once it has dried. We did these on BIG pieces of paper, and the results were just terrific.

Inspired by Pablo Picasso's cubist period portraits

Inspired by Pablo Picasso's cubist period portraits, the kids in one of my (many!) summer camp classes at the Fillmore Arts Center made these great, wonky, colorful faces from cardboard. I showed them works by Picasso, asked them to make at least the eyes of their faces asymmetrical, and then let them loose on a huge pile of cardboard. They glued them together, colored them with oil pastels, and then painted over the whole face with watered-down black tempera paint (they then blotted the excess off with a paper towel). The result are fun funky faces with their three-dimensional quality emphasized by the black paint, that stays best in the crevices between pieces. This was one of the kids' favorite projects.