Girl Scouts of Pamlico visit Bear Hands

The Girl Scout troop of Pamlico County visited our store on Sunday to earn their Painting Badges!

We did two projects with the scouts.

 Our first project was a collaborative mural. Each girl drew, designed, and painted a different section of a tree. The best part about this mural is that it never has to be finished! They can add to it any time with friends, family, other girl scouts, or on their own. All of the branches go off the page, so this tree filled with birds can continue to grow in any direction!

Next, we learned how to portray emotions my using colors and patterns. Each girl drew the face of an animal and then created emotion (energy, excitement, happiness) by using color and movement! In this "Hands on" experiment, they also discovered that you don't need traditional brushes to create beautiful paintings. Finger painting is not just for toddlers! The girls used their fingers to paint, and Q-tips for details and texture. 

(and mom joined in for fun with her angry shark)

I was so proud of the awesome paintings that these girls created! They were such a blessing to work with!

~Hannah Mathiot
Art Teacher

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!

Stay Connected!

After this year's summer camps at 219 Middle Street, Bear Hands Art Factory will be moving to a new location. Although we love the downtown area, our changing economy demands a move to a more accessible, economical location. 

 We will still be serving the New Bern community, and we are very hopeful about the new changes in our business. I will be adding more classes during the school year for both home school students and after school students. I want to add classes for young students ages 4-6, and  kids' painting party events. 

We will also be drastically improving our pottery studio. The first 20 Members (or "Charter Members") to commit to a year of membership will get exclusive benefits (we already have 17 charter members!). Regular memberships will also come with far more membership benefits than before. 

Shelley will be working to improve and maintain the pottery studio, keeping members involved with classes, contests, inspiration, and opportunities. Snag one of the three remaining Charter Memberships to the studio, or find out more about the membership benefits: email us at info@bearhandsart.com. 

I know many of you are wondering where we will be moving to. As of right now, no leases have been signed, so it's a little up in the air. But here's one sure way to find out. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter! You'll be the first to know about sales, classes, and our new location. We feature art events, local artists, student art and more. It's the best way to stay connected with New Bern's art community. 

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As always, thank you for your continued support as we undergo changes to meet the needs of our artists!

~Hannah C. Mathiot

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!"

Starry Night Painting Party

Starry Night is probably the most iconic image of the impressionist art movement. And at Bear hands, its one of our favorite canvas Connections events. This two-hour painting session includes all materials and guests are welcome to bring wine and snacks


 Most of the people who participate in these classes have never painted before, or haven't painted in years. But you don't have to know how to paint to join this event. Chris, the Canvas Connections instructor, guides the class through this painting step-by-step. We boast a 100% success rate! Everyone leaves with a beautiful painting.
Register here!