Intro Class

I felt ready to take on a bigger challenge and introduce my art lessons to a larger audience, so my daughters were able to each invite two friends for a sample art class. The girls were excited to act as students and assistants as they shared what they learned in helping me prepare for class. Nothing beats a full table of kids chanting, with brushes in hand—"We want art! We want art!" I let them get it out of their system and we then learned about the process of monoprints. Each child created a series and gained confidence with the materials. It's kind of a magical process, peeling away your paper from the painted plate to reveal how your image's color and brushstrokes melded into the final project. Then we painted a sea life scene after listening to a piece of classical music paired with a painting in the book "Can you Hear It?" by Dr. William Lach. I chose these lessons to accommodate all ages and abilities, and because they were fun, allowed for a lot of freedom, and gave satisfying results.

The layout of supplies was taken from an incredible book titled "Doing Art Together" by Muriel Silberstein-Storfer. Muffin tins hold the paints which prevent spills and give them accessibility to multiple students—BRILLIANT! A small dish with a sponge gives a place for children to dry out their brushes after washing them out in the water jars—no waste, like paper towels.

This first class could not have gone better. The kids were all lovely—eager, attentive, and we all enjoyed ourselves as we learned to make art together.