SAC Fall '10 class schedule

It occurred to me that it might encourage more parents to sign-up their children for art lessons at the Shiawassee Arts Center, at least perhaps those who happen to follow along online, if the schedule was made available. There are other instructors and Fall classes available, certainly, however here I'll only include the courses that will be taught by myself. The rest can be read on the Arts Center's website.

Classes are available to age groups Kindergarten through 3rd Grade from 1 PM - 2:15 PM, then 4th through 8th Grade from 2:30 PM - 3:45 PM. Each is held on a Saturday afternoon, since we keep in mind the active school season. The cost is twelve dollars per class, but SAC members have a reduced rate of ten dollars. Annual student membership is fifteen dollars, for those who are interested. Contact Linda Ruehle at lindar@shiawasseearts.org to sign up for Fall classes or Arts Center membership.

And now, here are the available Fall '10 children's art classes, instructed by myself:

September 25th - Symmetrical Aliens
"Extraterrestrial special, out of this world art! Learn about symmetry."

October 2nd - Watercolor Sunflowers on Rice Paper
"Big & Bold."

October 9th - Downtown Architectural Drawing
"We will be walking downtown, weather permitting. SAC, inside if not."

November 20th - Watercolor Portraiture
"Bring a good reference photo to work from."

November 27th - Illustrating Children's Books
"Be it The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Grimm Brothers' fairy tales, or your own short story." (one class only, 1 PM-2:30 PM - $15 Member/$17 Non-member)

CCAC '10 summer art camp: caricatures

As you may remember in my past post, SAC '10 summer art camp: caricatures, there was mention of teaching a similar children's summer art class over in St. Johns, Michigan, on behalf of the Clinton County Arts Council. Unfortunately at the time, my netbook which contained photographs of my students and caricatures from that class were presumed lost, since the computer was malfunctioning. I feared the most likely solution was that the hard drive would have to be wiped. However, with help from a much tech-savvier friend than myself, my netbook was restored to its prior state before the malfunction with all files intact. *Phew!* Much thanks, Jon! And with that, here are the aforementioned pictures.

SAC '10 summer art camp: Caricatures, 2

Yesterday was my last lesson in regards to the Shiawassee Arts Center's summer art camp classes, which also ended on a good note. The older group usually goes over better, plus caricatures tend to be more popular on the whole. Here's a pair who modeled for our class demonstration, along with a couple girls who drew me for a change. How's that for turning the tables?

SAC '10 summer art camp: Caricatures

For the past two weeks on Wednesdays, I've taught children's art classes on "High Fantasy Cartooning" over at the Shiawassee Arts Center as part of their summer art camp program. The responses were varied, which didn't exactly put me at ease. Perhaps it was more my own personal interpretation of how it went than anything else, since I felt that the lesson plan suffered due to tiring adjustments in schedule. Thankfully, this Tuesday and next are on a very familiar topic: caricatures. This afternoon's class went well, with the exceptional small snag here and there. But when you're teaching last, and working with the younger children at the end of a long afternoon, it's to be expected. Here are a handful of troopers who were patient enough to pose for caricatures by yours truly.


This is also worth mentioning, as long as we're on the topic. Three weeks prior I taught another children's art class, also on caricatures, over in St. Johns, Michigan, on behalf of the Clinton County Arts Council. Haven't had any dealings with them before until this time. Mrs. Darling, a friend of the family, was coordinator of this summer art camp program and put in a good word for me. Perhaps I'll be called in again to teach, come next summer.

Regrettably, the photographs of my students and their caricatures from that particular class were lost, so sadly they cannot be included in this post. Goes to show what happens when I put off posting. Be sure to check in again next week for more pictures from my second SAC '10 summer art camp class on caricatures.

caricature art class

This afternoon I taught an art workshop on caricatures again at the Shiawassee Arts Center. The kids always seem to enjoy it, so I was looking forward to it, and was not disappointed. It was a smaller group of five, but I've had as little as three and I don't mind. Having a smaller class can make a more comfortable setting, since it's not as apt to get noisy or rowdy and I can be sure to give each kid plenty of attention.

More often than not I forget to bring the digital camera along to take pictures of my classes, like I did last Wednesday for my class on comic creation, but I made sure to this time. It's especially nice to teach this class, since I get to be more involved by doing a demonstration on drawing a caricature with a volunteer student model. Of course, I don't want any of the kids to feel left out, so when it comes to this part of the class I just keep going and draw as many as time will allow. Below, here's three of my students that I was able to do their portraits in caricature.

Perryfest and art classes

A few weeks ago, I've been going down to the Edna Bentley Memorial Library in my hometown to help out. With a book sale coming up it was good timing, as they needed someone to sort through old and donated books. And as luck would have it, the head librarian Pat Brown offered me a free space to set up a table during the Saturday sale, which was happening during Perryfest. Now, Perryfest is an annual, weekend-long town festival that started up some years back. Between those folks interested in the book sale and just wandering between other town events, it was a good spot to be. Unfortunately, I could only stay for the morning, since I had to fill in that afternoon for an art instructor. Business was slow, as you would expect for the morning. But I did enjoy the neighboring folks, who likewise had tables set up. Plus, I did have one caricature commission, so it wasn't a total loss.


Later that afternoon, I taught a pair of children's art classes on painting landscapes in watercolor. Like the caricature classes I've previously taught, I gave a little demonstration to help them understand how to break down their reference pictures and start their paintings.


My first class of three started with practice paintings on smaller-cut sheets of watercolor paper. However, the girls got so involved with them that we decided to keep going for the duration of the class. They were quite pleased with their work, as you can tell.


My second class of three did some practice painting, but quickly took to the larger-cut sheets of watercolor paper. Unfortunately, their interest in painting petered out a bit early, but they are kids after all so I couldn't blame them. Landscapes can be just as tedious to adults. But all in all, both classes were pleasant and the kids were good.

Caricature Art Classes

This Wednesday and last I taught a two-hour long summer art workshop class for kids on the subject of caricatures. The first group was thirteen kids, ranging from kindergarten to third grade, and this last group of eleven was from fourth to eighth grade. Very different groups, I came to realize, but both were pleasant and wanted to draw. So to prepare, I drew a batch of celebrity caricatures, which you can see below.

























This seemed to work out well, since it got me warmed up for the class and provided examples for the kids to see. I also provided them with photographic portraits of anonymous people that I found through Google, so they could start practicing. Then, this would help work them into drawing live figures. (It's useful when trying to break into life drawing because: (1) the image flattens the figure, (2) the subject will stay perfectly still, and (3) they can take as much time as they like drawing, since they don't have the model's needs to consider, like needing breaks.)

It's been my personal experience that a demonstration can be very insightful, so for each class I had a volunteer student sit and pose for a caricature, letting the other kids watch as I drew. I'd like to think it was helpful to them, before they started on their own caricatured life drawings. The kids took turns drawing each other in pairs, as well as drawing those who posed in the center of the classroom, who were sitting primarily for me. After seeing the demonstration caricature, they each wanted their portrait drawn by me. I was more than happy to oblige, though we were limited on time and could only draw a portion of the class. Unfortunately, I didn't have a camera on hand with the first class, but I was able to take pictures of those in my second class who volunteered as models (as seen below).

Children's Art Classes

Sometimes it's the little things that make something worthwhile. In this case, I'm referring to my occassional work with the Shiawassee Arts Council, where I've taught a couple of art classes for children. I'll admit it's not where I imagined myself after graduating college, but it's something for now. The work is simple, the pay is decent, and a few of the kids can make the experience particularly rewarding. But what really made my day was seeing this.













The Argus Press, a local newspaper, published an article about my most recent class. That Saturday, I was taken a bit by surprise when one of the paper's writers, Michael Peterson, showed up before my class started, wanting to talk and sit in during the class. Despite being unexpected, I felt very much at ease with Peterson's comfortable personality. It was a pleasant interview while I waited for my students to arrive. When class started, he sat and listened as I worked with the kids, sometimes taking pictures, and talked to each of them as well.

I was fairly flattered by the attention and afterward was looking somewhat forward to reading the article, expecting it likely to be tucked away somewhere in the middle or back of the paper. After all, it was a small art class, so I wasn't expecting it to be exceptionally newsworthy. So when we got a phone call today from an aunt of mine, saying how surprised she was to see me in the paper, I thought it a bit odd. When I was able to see a copy for myself, I understood when I saw the article featured on the front page. Not only that, but accompanied by a good-sized photograph of myself with my students. I know it's not a huge publication, but it still was still exciting and gratifying. It's nice to know that people take an interest in your work.