» ART ADVENTURES CLASS DESCRIPTIONS
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What are Art Adventures?
Our Goal:
We believe that learning to think creatively is necessary to everyone’s development. Our program is designed to reach all intelligences, to go beyond school curricula to demystify art, artists and their processes with exciting advanced materials. Located at All Souls Church for nearly 20 years, Art Adventures is an inclusive hands-on children’s art league that teaches art not just as a pastime, but as a means of individual expression. Children leave with confidence as they develop the courage to tackle the “artistic problems” we introduce. While exploring contemporary, modern and multicultural art, children learn to overcome obstacles, master triumphs and revel in the excitement over newfound ways to use myriad mediums!
Visiting artists are also invited throughout the year to share their unique perspectives. One Museum or gallery visit is included each semester for ages 4 and up. Art Adventures Studio classes visit museums and galleries more frequently. Although semester/mini-Semester enrollment is offered, curriculum spans the entire year. Languages are also an important part of learning about the world! We offer Art and French classes where French is introduced throughout the art processes.
Topics include:
Modern & Contemporary artists, Multicultural arts & multi-media exploration! Tailored curriculum means age-appropriation, new ideas and favorite processes from classical self-portraits to line, shape and color studies & landscapes… We’ve had students return over 6 years, without repeating a lesson! Here are some unique favorites along the way: Jeff Koons metallic balloon sculpture, Magnetic sculpture, Plaster casting, Pollock in the park, Wayne Thiebaud (candies) and Claes Oldenburg (hamburgers) Pop-Art food sculpture, Louise Nevelson (wood) and Giacometti (plaster) sculptures, Calder (wire) mobiles, stabiles and circuses, Lichtenstein (painted/printed) patterns, African (metal) masks, cloths and mud painting, Batiking, Encaustics (was), Egyptian art (plaster-carving & papyrus-designing cuneiform), Japanese fish prints, Chinese calligraphy, storytelling, World Arts and so much more… mostly because processes are child-directed, reflect the cultures of the world & the museums we visit!
Children love our hands-on projects!
For children 2-3 years:
Mini-Art Adventures! Where adult and child explore vast materials side-by-side, learning age-appropriate skills, language, use of tools and expectations in relationship to art, while having lots of fun!
For children 3-5 years:
In order to instill trust and confidence, Art Adventures encourages decision-making, as well as trial and error, allowing children the freedom to explore at their own pace. Special attention is placed on designing the curriculum so that lessons serve as building blocks to the next new process. Once they have built an “art vocabulary” from previous lessons, they continue to apply their knowledge to make masterpieces the next! Because each group’s social development is equally important, children are encouraged to practice interpersonal skills hand-in-hand with learning a new art vocabulary.
For children 6-8 years:
Older children may have a longer class time, visit museums more frequently and will be introduced to more advanced techniques and art vocabulary related to elevated media such as a variety of pencils, pastels, charcoals, stop-motion animation, paint and so much more, intertwined with the use of the above multi-media exploration. Sketchbooks are kept in class to reinforce topics and to record development throughout the year.
Sarah and Alexander Calder @ Dominique Levy Gallery
For children 9-14 years:
Art Adventures Studio engages our older students with new projects, introduces a wider vocabulary of art, more advanced techniques such as color theory, brushwork, drawing skills, animation, photography, more advanced materials (metal, wood, wire, fabric, sculpting tools, pinhole cameras, papermaking…) and explores a step by step understanding of larger scale projects appropriate to age, level and interests.
This studio class also seeks to strengthen an art portfolio in preparation for applying to a new school. Classes will help students understand what kinds of art pieces go into a portfolio, and will provides basic experience in creating such pieces. Such topics may include still life drawing, (self) portraits, personal projects, and exploration of new media. The direction of a student’s learning will depend on the individual’s amount of prior experience and on the requirements of the school(s) to which he/she will be applying. This class seeks to improve a student’s ability to create portfolio quality pieces and to help select which ones are best suited for his/her desired school.
Art Adventures Studio is a place for students to use the artistic process as a means to make choices to express who they are as individuals. They learn to overcome obstacles and to approach creative thinking in an ever-expanding way, promoting self-esteem and sense of courage when encountering new experiences. Outside of new materials, cultures and advanced mediums, students learn to appreciate their classmates’ varying styles and differences in approach, discovering that there is no one solution to an artistic problem, there are many.
For grown-ups:
We know it can be intimidating to approach a blank canvas or paper. So loosen up with a glass of wine while learning the principals of drawing, painting, sculpting… Just creating!
» ART ADVENTURES CLASS DESCRIPTIONS
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