What our Children's ART classes are up to! Clay, design and painting!

We have a talented group of kids in our "after school" programs and they have explored sculpture, clay, design and more recently-abstract design!
Our clay work, so far, has been working in relief and from the few examples below you can see how creative their work is!

 We are not finished in clay! We will be using hand tools to build our own armatures to make 3 dimensional sculptures. It's a great way to learn about hand tools such as pliers and wire cutters and how to balance their piece, add clay and then paint. A super cool project!

Snowy weather didn't slow us down this past week! Enjoy the collage below (I have more coming) of the "Abstract Tree". It's a fabulous painting exercise in going right to the canvas with no pencils, no erasers...just pure imagination. There are pretty much no rules in this one so it's also an excellent exercise for them to show other family members :-)
We'll continue painting the week of Feb 10-15!

One group

another group of paintings!

Stay tuned for examples of the adult class taught by Stephen Filarsky Feb 1-Drawing Trees from life. Amazing!

Toothpicks and Marshmallows and Tinker Toys sculpture

What imaginations my students had this week!

The after school kids in Art Student Academy had to put on their thinking caps because sculpture is not just clay! It's the basic building block of everything from practical buildings to works of art.
Many an engineer started their careers with Tinker Toys and Erector Sets!

Building from the basics

Sculpture is one of the few art forms that combines so many elements! The kids (ages 5-15) did just that in combining Math, geometry, structure, design, history and plain common sense to create some amazing 3D sculptures and they did it all in just an hour. Think what they could create on a rainy afternoon at home with these inexpensive items!

What we did:
After a discussion and demonstration about which was stronger-a pyramid or a square (50% got the right answer-a pyramid!) we went over the take home sheet of basic geometric shapes of square, triangles, etc. to more complex forms such as octahedron, pentagram and tesseract. Students learned that every building, stairway, bridge, in fact every man-made structure they see going down the road or in their house started with a simple basic shape. And the basic shape could grow and grow but not unless it was structurally sound! Learning about reinforcement for instance is important knowledge to keep walls from falling over when they get into  slab clay structures next week.
The very cool thing about using the miniature marshmallows instead of self hardening clay is that the marshmallows, in less than 24 hours, harden to a rock hard consistency.  These same, very cool structures can then be spray painted with a glossy or matte spray paint and hung from ceilings or set on tables. The possibilities and the results are infinitesimal!

We started with the basic shapes and went from there!

The students all started with the basic building blocks of cube, pyramid and (tada) octahedron (diamond). From there they were allowed free rein to go in any direction they wished. It did not take long for them to see the importance of reinforcement and practical design :-)

Exercises such as these are part of the hands on knowledge that all children excel in. They learn best by doing. They retain that by practice. Give them a bag of miniatures marshmallows and round toothpicks, step back and watch what happens!

Expanding a basic pyramid

Marshmallows are flexible, eventually rock hard and yummy!

An even more complex creation

Even the youngest were intrigued!

She just got totally involved and would have kept going!

January is Sculpture Month at Art Student Academy!

2014 art classes!
Our After School ART classes at Art Student Academy start back January 8 and 9 for ages 5-17 and we can't wait! We have dedicated January as Sculpture month where our students will learn about relief sculpture, armature building with wire, pottery glazing and a little art history about famous sculptors!
To sign your child up for the winter sessions, pop over to our sign up page and scroll to the bottom: http://www.artstudentacademy.com/After-School-Classes.html

Simply find the day and time for your child's age group. Any possible conflicts, give us a call!
Theresa 919-880-7431

Rolling clay

Relief sculptures

Making armatures

Some of the sculptures before firing!

T

Plaster casts!

Watercolor Wednesdays! The Art Zone!

Feeling stressed? Well, we know of a beautiful solution! There is NOTHING like being lost in the "Art Zone" before, during and after the Holidays to reduce stress! Join watercolor expert, Stephen Filarsky as he takes you through a relaxing 2 week course in painting in watercolors. Follow the links to sign up today. Take a look at what first time students did below!

WATERCOLOR WEDNESDAYS

Wednesday December 4 and December 11,  6:00 - 8:00 Instructor Steve
Wake Forest Art and Frame Shop, 139 S. White St, Wake Forest NC 27567



First, I'd like you to take a look at the watercolors of barns in a snowy landscape. They were painted by first time watercolor students. Just to let you know that watercolor is not "difficult" nor is "harder than oils or acrylics." In fact all you need is a cup of water, a brush, a few watercolor paints and a piece of paper. That's it. Well, a pencil might come in handy, but none of the fumes or smells that you get from acrylics and oil paints. You can paint on your kitchen table without worrying. Simple.
Our first class will look at the types of watercolor paints, brushes and papers. (The water is pretty much standard, what you get from your faucet will work fine.)
We will experiment with the materials and try different techniques. And of course, we will create a painting, after all, leaving a class with a finished painting sort of makes it worth while.
I will provide you with paint and materials for this first class. I will also discuss and give you a list of recommend paints and brushes. If you have any paints and brushes at home, please bring them along. We will take a look at what you have and how you can use it.

Our second class we will continue by creating another painting the easy way, playing with our new toys.
Now a side note, a few years ago Theresa and I took some swing dance lessons. What I learned from those lessons was that when you go to the second class, you probably could use some review of the previous lesson before jumping into some new steps because I had completely forgotten them. And the practice we did at home, well it probably could have been better. (The instructors didn't seem to have any trouble, but boy was I lost in that second class when they began telling us to do steps that they assumed we not only remembered but were able to do.)  So our second painting will also consist of some time reviewing what we learned, and we will do that the easy way. by painting another watercolor.
Continuing Classes  We will be continuing these classes, sometimes working on a single theme and other times going in individual directions. There might be homework.
Please take a look at the bottom of this page, there as some examples of my watercolors for you to look at. After all, you do want to know what your instructor can do, don't you.
Only $50. for both classes in December.
 You can register on line with Paypal or Credit Card. Please select the option, then click the "Add to Cart" button. You can select the number of students you wish to register at the next step.
 

Watercolors by your instructor, Stephen Filarsky

How to draw a portrait

So what happens when a group of my young students spend 30 minutes with me learning to draw a portrait? 
Well-l-l-l...why don't I let the "before and after" photos  below speak for them? :-) Drawn by my students, ages 7-14, the change is dramatic and inspiring. Results create motivation and that's what we want to achieve above all else.  The most motivated will continue to practice and practice and learn to see on their own. But in the meantime they were all pleased with what they did in just one class!

 

One group, under 10

Over 10

Pretty dramatic, huh? The point is that sometimes simply showing someone tips and techniques is all it takes for them to go to the next level. It is with most things and Art is no exception!

School and ART and new studios are starting!

Wow, where did the month of August go? Kids are already back in school!
Panic mode-must get out newsletters!

So THIS week our after school classes begin, http://www.artstudentacademy.com/After-School-Classes.html  
We have some new and exciting programs for the kids, so sign up for September now!

The weekend of Sept 7 and 8 is the Wake Forest Artist Guild tour. I can't call it a studio tour as it will all be concentrated in downtown Wake Forest, but I will be there painting portraits and showing the art room to parents both days!

We're expanding  a few of our art courses to include a serious classical training course at our Franklinton studio. It won't be a course for everyone as it is does NOT involve creativity-it involves discipline...lol, the way it used to be taught actually back in the Old Masters Day. We'll keep you posted!

We've added a smaller studio to our mini-farm...or maybe I should call it an Art Compound? What with our large art studio, the 2 story woodworking shop and now the smaller studio (re-purposed 12 x 20 storage building!) we'll need to re-think our parking areas!  Read all about the studios on my other blog: (http://www.mtheresabrown.blogspot.com/)

Shed being positioned after moving

Fall is a time for  art shows for us as well so it's incredibly busy! But we always find time for your questions....new 2 hour classes coming up on the calendar on our webpage!


STAY TUNED FOR UPDATES and
Have a Safe and Great LABOR DAY!

Our working art studio

Painting Mountains

Since my artist husband, Stephen Filarsky and I are full time artists, we must constantly coordinate our art schedules with our instruction schedules and it takes some serious organizing to do that!

Recently, we completed a show in the stunningly beautiful mountains of NC near Blowing Rock. It must be the cool weather combined with mountain vistas that is so inspirational but whatever it is we squeezed in a workshop for a group of ladies. Only one had painted before. The others were total beginners. Apparently a former group experience had not inspired confidence nor enthusiasm so it was fun to watch them not only create a beautiful painting but become enthused enough to later run out and purchase paint to continue their art studies!

Learning to paint is all about learning to"see". That was the missing component that no one had ever showed them. None of them will ever look at clouds or mountain vistas again without experiencing that "AHA!" moment when what we shared, clicked with them! And that is a good place to be for an artist of any skill level!  The tips and techniques we shared for painting mountain vistas is the same for ALL mountains whether it is the Blue Ridge, Adirondacks, Himalayas or the Rockies. Painting such a scene once and painting it well is often the inspiration needed for a beginner to become and enthusiast.  And painting is one hobby that can be enjoyed year round, at all ages and for minimal expense (compared to other hobbies!)

Happy Painters :-)

If your group would like us to to share our methods of instructing with them, contact us!
classes @ artstudentacademy.com  (just re-do without spaces!)