Painted Stained Glass Windows

I did this project with my kids in my mixed media painting class on Friday. 

 I created a template with a few simple lines that formed a little bird sitting in a tree. I printed out enough for my class and taped them against the front side of a document frame. 

I gave my kids sharpie markers and had them trace the bird onto the back of the glass. Then, they used Galleria Acrylic paints to paint in each section of the glass. Its okay if they paint over the lines that they drew, because the line still shows up on the other side of the glass. 

When they are finished, we removed the bird templates and held their pictures up to the light. This was a win-win project. The kids really enjoyed the process, and the results were beautiful! 

Jimmy shows off his painting. 

Emma and her fantastic painting.

I will be doing this project again many times! Hopefully in a Saturday Kids' Painting Club event!

Student Art Show, August 10th

If your child is taking part in our Summer Camps this year, they should also participate in our Student Art show. Allowing kids showcase their work in an art show is a great way to give them confidence as an artist. When I was younger, I took part in a kids' art show at the local library, where I sold my first painting, and took my first commission. I was thrilled! I felt like a real artist and gained confidence in my work.

I want our students at Bear Hands to have the same kind of opportunity. This art show is free entry for anyone who participates in our Summer Camps. We want to hold the show at our new location, although we are not sure yet where that will be! Stay tuned in to our email newsletters, blog, or website to find out.

I'm excited to see the artwork that our kids will produce in these classes.

~Hannah Mathiot
Art Teacher

2013 student art show from Hannah Mathiot

What to Do With The Kids This Summer

Summer is on its way. Moms, you know what that means. Nine weeks of "I'm bored," or "so what are we doing today?" and more...

Well, fear no more, Bear Hands has a huge schedule of summer camps just for you. We like to say, "A creative kid is a happy kid." The word "creative" may also be exchanged with the words: painted, messy, muddy, etc.

You can drop them off here for a two-hour class, or pack them a lunch and take the day off. We have morning sessions, afternoon sessions, and price breaks for a whole day of art camp. Our schedule is packed with classes!

See you there!

Alcohol Ink Tile Coasters

 To start out my six week mixed media course (ages 7+), I showed the kids an exciting, moving, wild kind of painting that most of them had never experienced. Alcohol inks are becoming more popular as a painting medium. vibrant  wild, are hard to control, these inks allowed my kids to paint in a way they didn't think was possible.

When my kids used these inks, the art changed focus tremendously.  For some, it became more about the process than the product. It was a lot more like a science experiment than most of my other classes. But take a look at what happened!

I passed out some straws and let the kids blow the wet ink around.

The child who painted this piece was very excited about the finished product. 

He said "I didn't even know I could paint like that!"

What Can Kids do in our Summer Art Camps?

This summer, I am planning the BEST summer art camps your kid will ever take. I'm concentrating all of my efforts and materials on making camps that will awaken your child's artistic nature. We have tons of awesome materials to use, and tons of ideas on creative ways your kid can use them. So don't wait! sign up today! Oh, and take a look at some of the projects that Shelley has planned for the pottery camps!!

 +Shelley Mathiot  has designed tons of amazing projects that kids can do in our hand building pottery camps!

 Collage, paint, draw, and create in my art camps. Perfect for 7+, but I've also had some five-year-olds do pretty well in these classes, so I'll be flexible with the age groups.

 Space Diorama! Kids can make some awesome dioramas themed however they wish in our Art Camps.

This is a kitty teapot! make an animal teapot in our hand building pottery camps!

monsters and castles and mermaids, Oh My!

Wall Pockets and paper sculptures...

lets face it...kids' pottery is just plain awesome

Click here for the schedule! you can even register online!

This Summer: Pottery Camps at Bear Hands

Summer Camps are now on schedule at Bear Hands! I'm Hannah Mathiot, Bear Hands Blogger and part of the summer camp teaching team. We teach a wonderful variety of summer camps for kids ages 4-6, 7+, and 10+ every year. Our experienced teachers plan each class individually and we are always integrating new projects into our lessons.

This year, we are offering more pottery classes than ever before. We will have four week-long, hand building pottery classes for kids ages 7+, and two wheel classes for ages 10+.  I am always amazed at how much the kids enjoy making functional art. When they make something beautiful that they can use every day, they feel really creative and accomplished. We teach the kids the fundamental rules of making pottery. They learn how to join the clay properly,  how to create secure structures, how to decorate and glaze their work, and about the firing process the clay goes through to become vitrified.

Our pottery wheel classes, for ages 10+, are always in high demand. This year, we will be running two week-long beginner's wheel camps. Each wheel camp has only eight slots, due to the size of our studio, and these camps generally fill up quickly. If your child is interested in learning the process of throwing bowls on the wheel, sign up and put a deposit on your space right away!

We're offering a lot of other summer camp opportunities as well, mixed media, drawing, and painting! Click here for a full calender of our kids summer camps. 

Have questions? Email us as info@bearhandsart.com!