Want to be a spy?  This summer’s the time!  Join “The Spy Caper” camp for a secret spy mission.  (Week 1, June 13-17, 2016 ages 4-5 and 6-7)  Have fun creating a covert spy name, develop secret codes, and keep a spy notebook.  Send secret messages and design colorful art with invisible ink.  Become a master of disguise and wiggle, jump, and slide through a “laser” maze.  How agile are you at slithering?  Peek around corners without being seen – that’s what spies do – and solve an Art First mystery.  Take home a “Spy School Training Certificate” and loads of spy equipment and art.  Sh-h-h!  It’s top secret!

Need a paintbrush to create art?  Not for a second!  Join us for “Everything Under the Sun”, (Week 1, June 13-17 Ages 4-5, & 6-7).  Imagine painting masterpieces with cars, trucks, and feathers.  Learn the bubble wrap stomp and paint outside with frozen paint popsicles.  Swing a pendulum and watch an abstract painting magically appear.  Splatter paint with toothbrushes and create amazing designs with a broom!  Paint with hands, fireman’s helmets, forks, bubbles and even monster feet!  It’s going to be an exciting paint filled week!  We can’t wait!  There are spots still open for this class,

“Look No Brushes” Camp-June 2015- Using a broom to paint after using a toothbrush for orange and a scrubbing pad for red.

“Look, No Brushes” Camp-June 2015 – Using a straw to blow paint.

“Look, No Brushes” Camp: June 2015. Ages 4-5, being silly, having fun.  You can only be serious for so long. Their pictures are beautiful.

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We’re getting ready to needle felt!  We have new felting needles with cushioned grips.  So comfortable to use!  We also have new high density foam felting pads.  We used them last week-end and it was amazing how much difference they made!  We’re going to to be using them again in July for our “Ice Castles and Frozen Landscapes” camp (July 11-15, ages 8-14).  Come join us as we felt amazing, frozen landscapes out of luscious wool roving and batting.  The two pictures in the background (image above) are examples of needle felted art.  “Painting” with wool is so much fun!

We’ll also be creating ice castles during that frosty week.  Come sculpt a masterpiece in clay with turrets, towers and frosty colors. Embellish it with snow, icicles, shimmer and much more!  They are stunning!

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Look what we have now! We purchased a dozen Gelli® Plates for monoprinting and brand new brayers!  That’s enough for each student to use without needing to share. We made this investment to provide students with the highest quality materials.   Gelli Plates feel like gelatin, but are durable and easy to clean.  More importantly they are fun to use.  Students will be able to create amazingly, cool prints with layers of paint, mark-making tools, stamps, stencils, leaves, feathers, bubble wrap, and more. They will experiment with paint combinations, layer design upon design, and “pull” prints that are uniquely beautiful. No print is ever the same.  Ever made a ghost print? Come joint us and find out what they are! The picture below shows several examples of prints made with the Gelli Plates.

Whimsical Creatures (Week 1, June 13-17) and Project Decorate: The World of Interior Design( Week 2, June 20-24) will have fun turning incredible monoprints into whimsical animals and wacky, crazy birds. (Both classes Ages 8-10 & 11-14). Younger students in Crazy, Colorful Collage (week 8, August 1-5) will use the Gelli Plates also. Don’t miss the fun! It’s going to be great!

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“Crazy, Colorful Collage” was so much fun!  The kids painted their own collage papers then ripped, tore and stripped it into usable collage pieces.  Everyone created amazing art work and had a ball…. regardless of whether they were four or seven!  Come join us this year for more creative collage fun!  This camp will be offered again this summer during week 8 (August 1-5). Register now for a week full of fun!

At top, paper for use in collage. At the bottom are several collage works in progress.

Creating a collage- deciding which colors and shapes to use and where to glue them.

A large collage in progress.

A student uses a variety of brushes to create the desired effects for the paper.

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Ever seen a cow give green or pink milk?  The children, ages 4 and 5, in “Old MacDonald Had a Farm” got to milk the very artistic Elsa who gave a different color milk each day.  They also had fun giving her a fresh new appearance.  Every cow needs a ninja turtle on her belly!

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Last week fashion ruled Art First!  From knitting to sewing the school was abuzz with creativity, originality and fun!  The students learned to finger knit while creating a dragon and made an amazing infinity scarf while knitting with their arms only…no needles!  They created their own knitting needles complete with original Sculpey clay toppers and began work on a colorful poof!  It was amazing to see their creativity, concentration and complete love for this fiber art!

Our students also spent the week in Fashion Design. They planned, created, designed and learned to sew.  Simple white and black tee shirts were transformed into chic tops with scissors, block printing, appliques and great imagination.  The girls’ outfits were completed with a simple wrap skirt finished off with colorful trim.  Headbands and hats were also on the week’s creative agenda as well as design contests creating garments from the myriad of colorful materials and trims.  The designs were amazing!

They topped off their week with a stroll down the red carpet to the appreciative applause of parents and peers!  It was fabulous!  Who knows!  The next great designer may have gotten their start this week!

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Giraffes are coming to Art First! Not the stately tall ones that amble across the lawn munching on tree vegetation; but whimsical ones adorned in color, pattern and texture. No ordinary giraffes here…just fun, creative creatures that elicit smiles from all!

These endearing works of art will begin life on wood and evolve into towering four feet tall mixed media creations. Just like real giraffes, no two will be alike. However, they will be sporting coats of amazingly bright spots.

I’ve been having fun preparing for the class, experimenting with colors and different techniques, and trying out new products. Take a look at what’s in my studio now. The kids are going to have so much fun this summer planning, painting, collaging and creating amazing giraffes!

This class will be held Week 5 (July 6-10, 2015) for ages 8-10 and 11-14.

I can’t wait to see the creativity of the kids.

Ladies wear hat and gloves to a tea party. So did the young ladies and gentlemen at an Art First Tea Party…but they made their own! Tall, handsome top hats and large brimmed, floppy hats, all in a rainbow of hues, adorned the heads of the tea party invitees. The students had so much fun creating their multicolored hats with liquid watercolors. The young ladies even had special “fittings’ for their creations. Gorgeous placemats in a circle design were painted with acrylic paint and then trimmed to perfection. The students also had fun creating decorative plates, clay cups and saucers, silverware, and, of course, teapots to be used in hours of imaginative play. They even embellished their gloves with jewels and lace and learned the proper way to drink tea…pinkies up!

Now it was time for the “pièce de résistance”…the tea party!

Who wouldn’t have been excited to put on their best dress, or pants and shirt, don hats and gloves, and head off to a tea party – the highlight of a week of creativity and fun! The table was set with their own place settings, flowers adorned the table, watercolor hot balloon lanterns hung above the table…and there was food…finger sandwiches, fruit and pastries…and tea! Polite ladies and gents served themselves and enjoyed music and great conversation with friends while the adults marveled at their accomplishments. What fun! We’ll be having tea parties again! Wanna’ come?