August 2015 Newsletter with updates!

QUICK NEWS

So much has been happening!

Last month we shared with you that after 4 years of holding many of our art classes in downtown Wake Forest, we moved all of our classes back to our professional art studios outside Franklinton. That address is 2109 Old Mill Farm Rd, Franklinton, NC 27525. We hold our summer camps and adult "Artescapes" there, so it just fell into place! We may occassionally offer a class in downtown Wake Forest so keep an eye out with our newsletters!

Secondly, we have partnered with Vance Granville Community College in both the Henderson and Louisburg locations to teach a number of their art classes. Most are courses ranging from 7-12 weeks and you can find them on our calendar! Just follow the links.If you want a cost effective fun experience, pop over to this link to see what and when and to register directly with the college . http://vgcc.edu/schedules/personal-enrichment
Classes held both at the main campus and the Loiusburg campus. Details on the site or contact me! Both night and morning classes in your favorite mediums and mixed media.


What's Coming up!

NEW!  Our after school art class format has changed!
Instead of parents coming for 1 hour, once a week, I have made it easier for all by adding a 1 day art camp once a month! For the low cost of $45.00 per child, they'll be immersed in clay, paint, mixed media and all kinds of artsy stuff  from 9:30-2:30 on scheduled Saturdays once, possibly twice a month. The first Art Day Camp is Saturday, Sept 26. Check our calendar for dates through January!   http://artstudentacademy.com/Saturday-Art-Camps.html

What just ended: Summer Art camps for kids! What fun we had! We promise to add a few more camps next year but until then-check out our monthly day camps for your family artist!
_____________________________________________________________________
You can always see what we are doing on Facebook on www.facebook.com/ArtStudentAcademy  or our website: http://www.ArtStudentAcademy.com
Artclasses@artstudentacademy.com
We are honored whenever you join us for one of our classes or workshops! We couldn't do it without you!  Have a suggestion or request? Ask us!
Remember, Friends don't let Friends paint alone :-)
Till next time! Steve and Theresa

ART CAMP for the GROWN UPS!

A Grown UP art camp?
Well sure! A group of young at heart participants gathered together on Saturday May 9 and they  had a ball creating the same art the kids do at our summer art camps in the country!

First, the day was perfect-sunny,breezy and in the 70's! The first tropical storm of the season, Anna, did not dampen the area till the following day :-)

Take a look below at some of the fun art we created!

Working in and around both studios!

Watercolor blotches with ink

Alcohol inks on tiles

They met the ponies, the dogs and tried to photograph the chickens :-) We worked with watercolor, ink, alcohol inks on tiles, painted cans and planted flowers....the one thing no one did was eat lunch in the trees (as the kids do!)  Enjoy a few more scenes from a terrific day!

The men relaxing :-)

Notice the men know how to relax naturally?

But that was the point of the art camp-open a beer or a cold drink, bring a bagged lunch and simply enjoy a day for yourself!

In the big studio

Front view of the large studio

Full house inside. But the day was nice enough to spread outside with no problem!












They enjoyed not just the many varieties of roses beginning to bloom but the peonies!

Visit us online and sign up for our newsletters so you can see when our next Art Experience will be!

Wet into wet painting techniques and the results!

The first class ever using the wet into wet oil painting technique was March 21 at the Vance Granville Community College!   Under the category of Personal Enrichment, 
The 6 intrepid painters created some amazing art.
I brought along my assistant-10 year old Alex who embraced the Bob Ross techniques last year by recording hours of video after his mother took away his Electronic time-what a great move by mom! And then he began to paint!

Alex with a few of his many beautiful paintings!

Children will naturally turn to creativity when the TV, electronic games and cell phones are removed-all to everyone's benefit!

From 12-5, the class stayed in the art zone and we had a great time! We practice wet into wet with acrylics as well but you have to paint faster. It was easy to take a snack break in the middle of the workshop as oil will not dry for days.
I'll let the photos do the talking!

collage of the finished paintings

This class introduced the use of a palette knife, letting wet paint blend into wet to create particular effects...and of course the sky is the limit when it comes to taking what they have learned and use the same techniques on a myriad of subjects!

Next similar class is April 17 from 12-5.
Click on the link to go to the registration or visit the website at Vance Granville Communtiy College and follow the links from Continuing Education to the Personal Enrichment page

I encourage photographing the stepsCl

Learning to use the palette knife

Laying in the background

Filling my Blog with PICTURES!

Oh my we have been so busy-I have been so busy.....I have been remiss!
So many new classes I am teaching starting at the Vance Granville Community College! Summer semester coming....My students are awesome!

recent VGCC class

Recent VGCC class

 So many techniques-so many styles-so much fun!

recent VGCC class

After school teens

Painting the Cardinal in the Dogwood or in the Snow!

Mom and son painted the same thing

 Although I posted a collage of these painters in an earlier post, I wanted to show better photos!

So this group came together the other day and enjoyed one of our "Choice" classes! It's been popular-you choose which of the paintings you would like to paint.
So we had some Moms and sons, families and friends spend two hours in the Art Zone and the results were fabulous! 

Mom and son did it differently!

Stay up to date by signing up for our newsletters or visiting our calendar page-we're always updating it! 

Friends painted

 http://www.artstudentacademy.com/Calendar-Classes-&-Workshops.html

Friends painted!

Wow-ADULT ART CAMP! It's about time!

Grownups Art Camp May 9 from 10-3!

 In our summer camps out here in the country our kids have a blast every summer!  Last summer they got dirty, played outside, played games, ran through water streams from the hoses, created loads and loads of art, loved on the ponies and the dogs, picked blackberries, ran through the secret trails, collected eggs, climbed the trees and in general, just had kid fun.Take a look below!

A few scenes from one of our summer art camps!

But as the parents said, "Why should the kids have all the fun?" Yep-that's what we thought too!
So we decided to have a 1 day "ArtEscape" camp just for the grownups on the Saturday before Mother's Day-May 9 from 10:00-3:00. No one under 21 simply because you can BYOB AND it's your adult summer/spring camp experience! It's only $45.00 per person-dress to mess, bring a sketch pad and a bagged lunch (with your favorite beverage) We supply all the rest! Oh and if you want to BYOB-feel free!
 http://artstudentacademy.com/Grown-Up-Artescapte.html

Our second, little studio will be open and the new deck is perfect for the grownup kind of relaxation...so maybe you don't want to climb a tree, but the trails are fun, the roses will be in bloom and we'll work on several amazing indoor and outdoor art projects! 

http://artstudentacademy.com/Grown-Up-Artescapte.html

Don't miss out!

The Community College Art Students!

Our classes at Art Student Academy accommodate ALL  ages-and we have a ball!

My Art Enrichment class is at the Vance County Community College and I have a dedicated evening class of participants :-)
So our most recent class was a mixed bag of subjects although everyone had acrylic paints!
Check out the examples of what they created below-Their homework? Practice blending! Wet on wet acrylics blend well if you work quickly and let the wet paint do all the work!

Getting the Creative Juices going!

Our January after school classes are back in session, the evening class at Vance Granville Community College has started and both track out and summer camp weeks are up!

It's not hard to find inspiration to paint COLD when it is in the teens outside!






And it's not hard to think spring when it's in the teens outside! Add a beautiful cardinal and you have a stunning painting for these beginners.

THe VGCC had a great turn out on a frigid night but 4 newbies came with no supplies-so....we made do with some gathered oil pastels and they had a blast! (hey all ages love this Op Art!)

And finally inspiration comes in spades-art outside and in!

A Track out camp in Feb, March, April and May!


http://www.artstudentacademy.com/Track-Out-Camps.html

http://www.artstudentacademy.com/Summer-Program.html

Outdoor fun makes for happy artists!

And of course art, art and more art!

Painting the Moon over the River

There is something about painting that soothes the soul-and it works well with the after school teens in my class! I manged to get one photo of their painting "Moon over the River" before the battery died in my camera but their results were lovely!

The teens hard at work!

Working from an example I had propped up, they learned to paint the entire background first then bring their dark trees into the painting-a brave thing for kids already happy with their moons and sunsets! We try hard to get past their fear of "messing it up!"

 closer view of one created in an earlier class

Art for the kids and the adults!

I'm not sure what happened to the summer but it's gone, schools are in session and I am behind! :-)

The summer camps were fabulous! Lots of kids, lots of activities, lots of outdoor time as well! We studied the fabulous painting "The Berry Pickers" by Winslow Homer and then commenced to pick berries ourselves.  Of course I think his Maine children were picking blueberries whereas we carefully picked blackberries!

"The Berry Pickers" by Winslow Homer

The Berry Pickers with Art Student Academy!

Our after school classes in Wake Forest began Sept 3 and we have classes for 7-10 and 11 up this year. Info is on our site at:  http://www.artstudentacademy.com/After-School-Classes.html

Wed Sept 17 is a super class for all ages where from 6:00-8:00 we'll be painting VanGogh's rendition of Sunflowers!  Of course you can also paint your own rendition.  It's all here:  http://www.artstudentacademy.com/Van-Gogh-Sunflower.html

It should be a GREAT class! Stay tuned :-)

So what do you do when it rains at your summer ART Camp?

So what DO you do when it rains at your summer art camp. Well, you get wet! And no one minded!
Because, as it turned out, a little drizzle did not dampen the student's enthusiasm at all!

We gave up on the wet shoes :-)

Eventually we did give up on the wet shoes. "Running the Trails" is like a pressure release valve that is especially effective after classroom concentration! So although the grass is short on the trails, it is wet.
With camp from 9:30-3:30 there is time to do it all without too much of any one thing! The "Secret" trails run through the fenced pasture next to the studio. Cut the width of my riding lawn mower, the trails circle, weave and sneak through the tall brush  and around trees, enter tunnels of growth and lead back to the entrance gate. Games of tag, hide and seek and even stopping for a a few late blackberries are just a few of the possibilities in the kids' minds! The popular climbing trees turned out to be too wet to effectively climb but oh the fascination of tadpoles, ponies, dogs and chickens-all treats after creating their beautiful art pieces!

A few examples below are from Day 1! Summer camps are held at our professional art studio just north of Wake Forest outside Franklinton, (NC.:-))

Our popular After School are programs are held in downtown Wake Forest and begin September 3, 2014! Just $50.00 a month! http://www.artstudentacademy.com/After-School-Classes.html

Blind pony "Helen" getting her share of attention!

Catch and release tadpole hunting

Lunchtime indoors during one downpour!

A few of the 14 participants showing their foray into modern art!

Art Camp in the country!

With 2 art camps tucked under our belt, the 3rd (and last one) begins next week!
My July21-23 became filled so I opened an earlier one from July 7-9. Even with the 4th being on our heels, 10 kids had a ball. That group, along with the June group had the fun of picking blackberries along the secret nature trails. Next week's camp won't be able to collect bags full but they'll be able to pick and eat!

What these camps do is give a number of our students the opportunities to experience a new kind of art camp. They are doing plenty of painting and sculpting but when was the last time you told your child, "Just run outside and play?" :-) The secret paths all lead back to one area and when the kids need that break from art, I tell them "Go run the trails!" And off they go.

Helen and Shadow, the two ponies are a favorite. Helen is blind so we bring her out to be groomed and get her share of the treats! 

And of course let's not forget all 5 dogs-yep-DaVinci, Gizmo, Rosie, Troop and Louie! Enjoy the photo collages below of random art scenes from the first 2 camps!