Mixed Media Class: Art Paper

On Friday, my class of 14 Students made papers for a future collage. Based off of a paste-paper project I did in college, we painted and stamped textures onto construction paper to create unique art papers. My students used rubber stamps, foam stamps, sponges, toothbrushes, forks, pallet knives, straws, and other objects to texture and color their papers. Instead of the paste material, I used tempura paint! 

This paper was sponged with red and then stamped with blue. 

 Some students dipped plastic forks into their paint and then sketched lines all over their papers. 

 Some students splattered interference paint onto their darker papers to add a shine.

 this texture was made by dragging a fork across a layer of paint in diagonal lines.

Each student made two or three papers. next week we will cut them up and use them to make fascinating, vibrant collages!

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!"

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!