June @ Studio 4 Art

Studio 4 Art is always excited to be a part of the community. We are always looking for other ways to be involved with kids, art and creativity. Recently, Studio 4 Art has contributed by assisting with sculpture garden art and school fundraising projects. Having a booth at the farmer's market, Whole Foods Mom's, Babies and Kids Event, and Novato's Art, Wine and Music Event. We have also just signed on with the Marinwood Recreation Department to bring a week of summer camp and an after-school art program to their site. Then there are our traditional activities of on-going art classes, drop-in's and the beginning of our all summer art camps. Whew, that's a lot and we love every part of it! I truly feel blessed to share my passion for art and the importance I feel creativity is to every child's development. If you have a school or business that is looking for creative projects, workshops or classes, please give us a call. Studio 4 Art has many ideas, we love to brainstorm and we have 11 years of experience to work from.

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Hill Middle School's Garden Tile Project

The students walked from their school in three different groups. Their science teacher, Nicole Calmels, had an idea to contribute tiles to the garden she and the kids had been working on. When she came into the studio, she thought that they would paint on bisque (ready to paint) tiles. She had no idea that the kids could create a tile from wet clay that they would carve, sculpt and paint. She was excited to find out they they would be more involved with the creative process this way.

They turned out FABULOUS. Nicole did a great job of having the kids prepared when they came in, with a sketch of what they wanted their finished project to be. Such a treat to work with middle school kids. They came in with little experience working with clay, stayed extremely focused, and ended with a tile that they were proud of (that was the best part)!
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LuSutton Elementary School's Fundraising Project
This was a very creative fundraising project idea. All children created a face on one side with a nature theme on the other. All 23 would be stacked together, creating a garden sculpture where every student had a part. When I get a picture of the finished project, I will share. The individual sculptures were so creative, I can only imagine what the finished piece looked like. So glad Studio 4 Art was available to help execute these beauties!
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Novato's Art, Wine and Music Event (on June 12th and 13th)

The festival was on the first warm weekend we have had this year. Studio 4 Art's booth had an art project that was titled Make-and-Takes. Every tile was made that day was taken home that day. Perfect for father's day!

We also had wheel demonstrations to show the town how fun throwing is. Shown here is my son, who, every time I sat down to do a demo, would say, "No, I want to throw." I do think he impressed many bystanders, as many explained to me, that they had tried many times and had not achieved success. Studio 4 Art has tricks to show anyone, of any age, how to make bowls, plates, mugs, vases and other round things!
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Art Classes, On-going through Summer for ages 2-14
These are two students that have been coming to the studio all year. They are sharing a windchime made from clay they created. Their class, in particular, is the use of all art mediums. All summer we will continue to bring you our art classes for children 2-14 that specialize in drawing, painting, clay and sewing.
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Art Camp, Sharing our first week of incredible activities and talented artists

The creative process is so important to Studio 4 Art. We don't usually give students a project that has a step-by-step process. Instead, we give information that is needed to create a successful work of art, but don't show any outcomes. And we don't have any student work that will look like the student's sitting next to them. The project that you are looking at above is a great example.

As a group we talked about sculptures. What they mean, where we may have seen them, the materials used to create them, how big a sculpture may be, etc. After this group discussion, the students were given 5 circles of clay. They were about 4" round and about 1/4" thick. They were given the liberty to do whatever they wanted with them to create their own sculpture. When they come out of the kiln I will share the results. They were incredible. Another day where the kids blew me away with their creative ideas and ways of executing them. Looking at the picture above, you would not know that this process began with 5 circles!

Portraits are popular. Everyone loves a face. These campers painted these with the use of the primary colors, with the addition of white and black. This picture captures the ages, styles and pride of these individuals. SO COOL! How could you not smile everytime you use these canvas bags?!

Studio 4 Art loves when people and companies donate to us. This recycled, repurposed art project is made from wood samples. The criteria was to paint pictures that expressed who you are. This was Studio 4 Art's first time with this project and it was so successful that you will be seeing it again, as we have about a thousand more tiles :¬)

The #1 thing that kids want to learn when they first arive to the studio, is the wheel. You can see by how focused these boys are, and the two anticipating others, that it is fun! I think this week, most campers went home with at least 3 wheel thrown pieces. In addition to the fun that they have when creating these bowls, plates and mugs, is that Studio 4 Art uses a clay body that is dishwasher safe, food safe, microwave safe and oven safe. Don't try this with the old style of paint it yourself pottery pieces or other low fire clay bodies, because they will crack, chip and craze.

Just sharing a shot of the studio in action. Always a lot of different activities happening! Drop-in anytime this summer between 10:00 and 5:00 for "drop-in session".