Hit the Surf!

This group is waiting for their turn to swim out and tread water

One does not just walk onto the pier as a JG, you must climb the pier

(My Niece, Shaeye)

Waiting like lemmings for their turn to jump

Instructors are great about encouragement, but jumps are never forced.

It's completely voluntary.

Instructor jump

Grand finale - the infamous shaving cream fight!

Please excuse this art related interruption. Just thought I'd show you what many of my school year art students busy themselves with in the summer. We have a fantastic Junior Lifeguard program here where kids 9-17 learn to become strong sea swimmers, surf, learn lifesaving techniques, run their legs off on 2 miles Tuesdays, do boat drops and pier jumps and take fun trips to Wild Rivers Water Park and Catalina Island. This is all accomplished from 9:00am-12:00pm mind you. On the last day they have a team competition, jump from our pier (much to the astonishment from many a tourist) and cap the summer off with a massive shaving cream fight. They are making memories that will last a lifetime.

Congrats all you JGs!

Andy Lakey Inspired Sand Paintings

A BIG thanks to Katie from Adventures of an Art Teacher (check out this link) for her wonderful post about the work and inspiring story of Andy Lakey (and the beautiful work her students created.) My daughter, niece and a friend gave it a go. With a bit of Pacific coast sand from our day at the beach they created lines and shapes with crayon on poster board that they then traced over with glue. After it was dry they used limited palettes of acrylic and tempera to paint their pieces. While these compositions are more free flowing as opposed to Lakey's orderly designs and angels, I think this is a great alternative (and fun) lesson to teach line, shape, and color for a wide age range.

Around the World Art Projects

Last week was my 6th and final art camp this summer, Art Projects from Around the World.

Here are some of the projects my students(1st and 2nd graders) created. A big thanks to all the children who took some time away from the beach and pool to create art with me this summer!

African Masks using cardboard, acrylics and raffia

Watercolor Chinese Dragons

Air Dry Clay Indian Diya lamps

(Thanks to Use Your Colored Pencils)

I gave them a tea light for them to put inside.

Lighting Diyas during India's Diwali Festival symbolizes the victory of good over evil.

Australian Koalas with Aboriginal Dot inspired backgrounds

Cat and Owl by the Moonlight

The glue and chalk pastel cats I did with my three Animal Art camps were such a hit with the kids, I decided to do a take on the idea with my Children's Book Art Camp. Rather than looking at a published children's book inspiration the children (5-9) were given the assignment to create the cover illustration for their own short story or poem about an owl and a cat. We created our owl and cat separately on long sheets of colored construction paper. They could choose any color they wanted. Their pencil designs were gone over in glue and the next day chalk and sometimes oil pastel. They were cut out and glued to a black board where they could finish their piece with moon and stars or even party hats using scrapbook paper. I loved seeing the effort the children took in creating these.

Harry by the Sea (and in the Garden)

My Children's Book Art Camp took a look at the adorable Harry by the Sea by Gene Zion. I still have by original beloved copy from childhood (copyright 1965). We did this project in 2 parts which I find works well for younger children. The background was painted using illustrator Margaret Boy Graham's minimal use of yellow gold and green for the sand, surf and sky. They also had the option of going in a completely different direction and creating a garden for Harry to traipse through. This was inspired by the book, The Imaginary Garden (thank you again for a wonderful book recommendation Erica from Art Project Girl). I knew I had a few girls in the class that would love this option. We created Harry with a simple line drawing lesson adding smudges and spots with charcoal. These were cut out and glued to their background and finished with a charcoal cast shadow underneath his feet. I loved seeing the moms' reaction at pick-up as it was also a childhood favorite book of theirs as well. :)

Expressive Dogs Take 3 and More Zen Shorts

My Children's Book Art Camp group (ages 6-9) did a beautiful job with their art inspired by the book, "Zen Shorts." They created the sky with chalk pastels but painted their branches rather than the straw blown technique of my last group. Pandas were created on a separate paper and glued to their zen backgrounds.

My third and final Animal Art Fun Camp met last week. What a sweet group of kids! Once again Dylan was our appointed model. I thought his big eyes and tousled hair made for a great expressive painting. We created our eyes using oil pastels, later adding reflection dots with white paint. Children chose a warm or cool palette to create their dog with loose brushstrokes and a color on the opposite side of the color wheel was chosen for the background. I'm now ready to create the poster for the SPCA of Reno with a beautiful collection of artwork from three groups. I'll be sure to post it later.

Splattered Dalmations

My Messy Art Fun Camp is over. I had a wide age range for this class, K-6th. We created Kimmy Cantrell salt dough masks, pinch pot clay creatures, non-objective art collages and glue and chalk pastel creations. But the favorite project for many was the splattered paint dalmations. The children splattered 2 long sheets of construction paper on day 1. Once dry, they cut out a simple body shape, head and ears. Eyes and nose were added and charcoal shadows. They were given free reign in creating their background.