Art in Motion featured on Macaroni Kid

Check out the article in the Macaroni Kid newsletter!

http://newbedford.macaronikid.com/article/546227/art-in-motion

Art in Motion Fall 2013 session begins soon!

Hello everyone!

I'm looking forward to beginning another great session of Art in Motion in September!  Classes are held on Tuesdays and Fridays at 10:30am.

Tuesdays

September 17, 24, October 1, 8, 15, 22, 29, November 5, 12

Fridays

September 20, 27, October 4, 11, 18, 25, November 1, 8, 15

$104 for nine week session

Drop-in classes are available on a first come, first serve basis and are $13/class

Join us for finger plays, new and familiar interactive songs, square dances, and lots and lots of the ever popular painting! (Among other creative exploration  of art materials!)

Email Benares Angeley at decemberbluebird@gmail.com to register or for more information.

And I have fun, too!

I finally got a picture of myself at Art in Motion class!  It's not just the kids that have a good time!

A mess is the mother of all invention

This afternoon I asked Pea if she would like to do some painting with her watercolors.  She has been asking me for a couple of days to get them out, and I kept on stalling--it was always at a moment that would be too difficult to set up, clean up, or assist her along the way.  So today, with dinner already prepped and the baby asleep, it was the perfect time to let her dive into a project.  

I got out the paints, some paper, our drop cloth for the table ( an old twin bed sheet I found at Savers), brushes, and water, and let her get started.  Little Pea is always an inventor.  It didn't take long before she was painting the drop cloth instead of the paper.  I didn't really mind this, but she also wanted to dump water on the paint on the drop cloth, and this wasn't really going to work, so I decided to change things just a little bit.  I wanted her to be able to experiment, but I also didn't want to have to monitor her every move while she poured water everywhere!  So I got her a big, plastic box--one of those Rubbermaid storage boxes.  We put her paper in, and she proceeded to create her own printing method by painting on the paper, pouring some water on the paper, and then putting another piece of paper on top to make the print.  Brilliant! Then as she was pulling one piece of paper out, it ripped, and she said, "oh, now these are the silks", meaning the silk ropes we had used in a circus arts class we had taken together. 

The whole time she was exploring these materials she was talking to herself, explaining her process as she was going along: "doo, doo, doo, little cup and then paint it around with a big brush and then I take a little water...this one...this paint because I'm big and then...washing machine [this is what we call it when she remembers to wash her brush after painting]..."  This is just a little example of her self-talk while she was working, a powerful indicator that she was really figuring something out during this process. 

Pea was not only learning about the properties of paint and water, but also practicing executive function processes.  These are the same set of skills that allow us as adults to plan, organize, categorize, remember important details, and manage events in time and space.  So, just by allowing a little time and space for process oriented creative exploration (pouring water on paint and paper), we also give our children the opportunity to develop important life skills!  We live in a product-centric world, but young children, if given the opportunity, are all about the process.  

This project was more of a creative discovery, exploring materials and processes, than an attempt at making art.  After working for twenty minutes or so, Pea was done.  She got down from the table and moved on to making a bed for her dolls out of a pile of small pillows.  The "product" was a pile of wadded up, soggy paper at the bottom of the plastic container--nothing refrigerator worthy, and probably nothing that Pea herself thought about saving.  The work was done, the process was completed, but the benefits of working in this open ended manner will continue to inform what she does now and in the future.

Summer Session of Art in Motion!

Summer time is almost here!  I can't wait to enjoy lots of creative, open-ended art making experiences with all my little friends!  I've been practicing some new tunes, so we're sure to have a rollicking good time dancing, singing, clapping, stomping, jumping, and most importantly, having fun!

Here is the schedule for upcoming classes!  

Session One: July 9, 16, 23, and 30 at 10:30am (Tuesdays)

Session Two: July 12, 19, 26, and August 2 at 10:30am (Fridays)

Session Three: August 6, 13, 20, and 27 at 10:30am (Tuesdays)

Session Four: August 9, 16, 23, 30 at 10:30am (Fridays)

Where: Bluebird Studios (in the Hendricks Insurance building), 375 Rockdale Ave., New Bedford

What: A class for parents/caregivers and children to explore, create, move, dance, sing, and get messy!  Classes are each about an hour and include a simple art project.

Cost: $47/session/child. Siblings under one are free.  Siblings over one are half price.  Adult caregiver must attend class with child.

Ages: Children age zero to four are welcome.

***Drop in classes are $13/class/child.  Please let me know the night before class if you plan on attending.***

Sewing School: Beautiful Bags!

I am so impressed by the young women in my sewing class! We made large tote bags last week, and in the space of a few hours they learned a running stitch, a whip stitch, designed and completed their own bag, and spent lots of time practicing threading needles and tying knots! There is something so satisfying about watching and helping kids to sew. If you've ever tried to sew on a button, or stitch a seam by hand, you know what I mean. It's not easy and requires patience, fine motor control, coordination, and determination. It's a beautiful thing to thread a needle by hand and sew a seam without a machine; such a large part of our life is dictated and controlled by machines these days (I'm not a total Luddite, really...) that it seems to awaken a different part of the brain when we use our hands to create an object of both beauty and usefulness.

I hope more of you will join me for future Sewing School classes this summer!

New session of Art in Motion begins on May 7!

Join me for a new session of Art in Motion! Classes are on Tuesdays at 10:30, beginning May 7 and running for six weeks, until June 11. Class fee is $70 and is payable by cash, check, or PayPal. Please contact me at artinmotion375@gmail.com to register or for more information!

Also, stay tuned for information about summer classes!



Contemplating the marvels of marble painting.