Our second virtual Mini Makers, presented by Mt. Lebanon Public Library, will be a live Zoom class! I will post a short video with tutorials in the next week so check back.
Required materials are listed below:
Puffy Paint Monsters
-washable markers
-aluminum foil
-spray bottle or damp paper towel
-watercolor paper or white cardstock
-shaving cream
-Elmer’s School Glue
-container for mixing
-spoon or popsicle stick for mixing
-spoon or paintbrush
-googly eyes, eyes drawn with Sharpie Marker or cut from magazines
-optional : glitter or sequence, yarn, tissue paper
Sketch books and Visual Diaries: Documenting Experiences and Drawing from Observation | July 8 | 3:00pm-4:30pm | Register
Begin a daily habit of creating and documenting your feelings, experiences and environment with art journaling. Learn to draw from observation and combine doodling, text and multiple drawing methods to create interesting and intimate artwork. Play around with what you have on hand and engage with members of your community for support and inspiration.
Creating a Successful Artwork: Focal Point and Building Interest | July 15 | 3:00pm-4:30pm | Register
Playing with Materials: How to Use What You Have | July 22 | 3:00pm-4:30pm | Register
En Plein Air: Take Your Tablet Outdoors | July 29 | 3:00pm – 4:30pm |Register
Recommended materials: oil or chalk pastels and/or watercolor paints, pencil, paper or sketchbook, clipboard or easel, cardboard with clip or masking tape
Don’t forget to check out the summer children’s programs here !
Bubbling Brew, Magic Flower Crowns and Color Concoctions!
Mini Makers and Art Lab for Mt. Lebanon Public Library has gone digital! Join me through prerecorded videos and live Zoom Chats throughout the summer as we play and create based on the Summer Reading Theme “Imagine Your Story”
First up …
Mini Makers for ages 2 – 5 will be available June 3 at 3:00 pm … I will post the link to my brand new YouTube station at that time. I’ll introduce two sensory explorations and one art project
Bubbling Brews
Color Concoctions
Magic flower crowns
Learn Live in our Mini Maker Zoom session on June 10 at 3:00 pm | Join
Charcoal is a versatile material with the ability to create amazing three dimensional effects and detail. Learn to maximize the properties of the medium, practice with the correspondingmaterials and create multiple unique artworks.
Play Town Creators @ Play Town Square, Mt. Lebanon PA
A brand new art program that I’ve developed with the owners of Play Town! This incredible play space is located in the heart of Uptown Mt. Lebanon and the class has an option to include discounted play for Little Learners.
Let the littles take the lead while young children and their grown-ups work side by side to explore the natural world through art. Paint, print and collage flowers and seasonal landscapes and take home display ready artworks. Build confidence and develop skills like problem solving in your early learner as we introduce concepts like color mixing and shape recognition.
Kids starting at the age of five can come to us after school to explore fine art processes like printmaking and sculpting. We’ll examine artists past and present that look outdoors for inspiration and utilize experimentation, problem solving, and the elements of art to create unique artworks of our own.
Studio Make, McMurray PA
I will be facilitating Studio Make programming on Tuesdays and Thursdays beginning in September. You NEED to check out their Play Groups and maybe I’ll see you there! Learn more about this new creative space here.
The Art Connection is Pittsburgh’s premiere art program for students in grades 5–9. Led by local teaching artists, students learn drawing, printmaking, painting, sculpture, and mixed media, culminating with a student exhibition at Carnegie Museum of Art. The Art Connection combines big ideas and practical know-how to prepare young people for a world of visual information and creative problem-solving.
Design a visual spell book by mixing potions and experimenting with chemical reactions. Sculpt a creepy creature into the cover of your book to protect its magical contents. For kids in 3rd – 5th grade. This program is generously funded by Matt’s Maker Space. Registration starts September 20.
Gear up for the spookiest holiday by creating creepy sculptures and kooky experiments with the whole family. For grades K-5 with family. This program is generously funded by Matt’s Maker Space. Registration starts September 20.
Using the natural spaces surrounding the library as subject and inspiration, students will use the gestural drawing method to capture the form and movement of landscape en plein air.
Students will learn to construct the human face and form with instruction of anatomy and proportion. Artists will create a specific mood and narrative to each drawing using color and style.
Students will learn to create a successful composition using a variety of drawing materials. Using experimentation, students will play with solvency, learn the unique qualities of materials, and capture unexpected results.
During this three-hour class, students will be given instruction on a line-drawing and watercolor artwork. First, gesture and fine line drawing techniques will be discussed. Next, students will add watercolor painting to drawings using automatic painting methods.
Visit my latest blog post to learn more about fall programs for children and families!
I’ve compiled a list of basic supplies for those interested in beginning acrylic painting. We went over this list in the first session of Acrylic Painting for Adults at Mt. Lebanon Public Library. It is not meant to be comprehensive but as a starting point for those new to the medium.
Students gathered at Mt. Lebanon Public Library to experiment with loose drawing techniques and watercolor in a class meant to excite and promote creating for personal pleasure because ‘Why else make art if it’s not fun?’
In our first session, I introduced gesture drawing and students practiced with each other and then toy dinosaurs as models. Next, we transitioned into mark making with 02 Micropens, using fine line methods like hatching, cross hatching, stippling and gestural. In the end, after a few quick experiments with liquid watercolor, students used vintage nature cards as reference for a three layered drawing/painting.
In our final session, we capitalized on the warm weather and sketched outdoors in the library’s beautiful courtyard.
After reacquainting students with fine line methods, we conducted a few experiments with water and oil solvent materials and then used music as a way to manipulate the speed of our brushstroke and mood of our composition. We listened to classical, hard rock and pop and the results were drastically different. One student brought along her six year old daughter, who used her whole body while dancing and painting to the music. In the end, students had about 25 minutes to bring all of the elements together for a culminating drawing/painting.
Earlier this spring I taught a two session drawing course for adults at Mt. Lebanon Public Library.
In addition to the adult students, we had one stay-at-home mother with her three year old son. Our youngest student was a joy and completed every single activity, toe to toe with his more experienced counterparts.
In the first session, we focused on fundamentals like gesture drawing, contour drawing and fine line drawing techniques like hatching, cross hatching and stippling.
Students paired up to complete loose armature sketches, capturing the gesture of their subject. Next, they used quick ‘scribbles’ to define shape, size and location. Finally, students moved to the outside line to refine the contour of their subject. After a few timed gesture drawings, students moved onto still life drawings comprised of small dinosaur toys and bouncy balls. In this short amount of time, students practiced with graphite, charcoal and micropens.
In our final session, students jumped right into artmaking with a collaborative ‘automatic’ drawing game. Students experimented with solvencies and created a complete artwork together after group critique and a discussion about focal point.
We finished class with an extended still life study using a wide variety of drawing materials.
Two students from my drawing class, and a few others, joined me today in an Experimental Watercolor course. I’ll post more details after our final session next week.
Jena Schieb 