CMoR’s Art Workshops are designed to help children of various ages and abilities and a participating parent explore different art techniques such as painting, sculpture, and printmaking. In each lesson, children learn about the work of a famous artist, and create their own work in that style! Children will be able to take home projects made in these workshops! Ages Art Workshops are designed for children ages 4-9 and an adult. Dates and Times CMoR Central - Second Saturdays, 9:45-10:30

Pricing Information

Available for members only
Members: $10 per child
Patron Members: Free
Learn about becoming a CMoR Member, or upgrading your membership to receive free classes here

Upcoming Classes

November 12th, 2011
Absolutely Abstract! Students will start by learning the term “abstract”( visual language of form, color and line to create a composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world). They will be asked to guess what it means and then come to the conclusion that it means something that doesn’t look like something real. We will then discuss the painting style of painter Jackson Pollock and how “action painting” uses your whole body to paint and how you can still have a beautiful painting by never touching the paper with your paint brush. Then we will discuss the use of large shapes and areas of color often used by Mark Rothko and how his style of painting (because there are many different styles) is different from Jackson Pollock. Examples will be shown and then we will begin.

December 10th, 2011
Mobile Mania! Students will look at artist Alexander Calder and discuss what a mobile is? Has anyone ever seen one before, what things can make up a mobile, etc. For the first part of the workshop we will be making what will go on our mobile (shapes, pictures, drawings) and then we will be attaching them to our mobile structure for the second half of the workshop.

January 14th, 2012 Seriously Surreal! Students will be looking at surrealist artists Salvador Dali and Rene Magritte. We will discuss what it means to be surreal (that surreal things are things that look like they should but are taken out of their normal situation….snowman in the middle of the desert). We will also discuss how our dreams can also sometimes be surreal and we will talk about the things we dream about. The students will fill out a simple worksheet with questions such as “What is your favorite animal?” and “What is your favorite color?” They will then create a painting based on the answers to the questions.

February 11th, 2012 Cool Collage! Students will look at Cubist artists Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque and we will discuss what collage is and how we think we make collage or if anyone has done collage before. Collage is taking separate pieces of objects and combining them in to one. You can use paper, fabric, and just about anything to make a collage. We will do 2 collages, one with paper and magazine pieces and the other with found objects such as fabric and other materials.

March 10th, 2012 Crazy about Clay! Students will be learning about clay and that it comes from the Earth and that there are many different types of clay (show examples). We will look at ancient sculptures made of clay as well as modern day pottery. Students will have the opportunity to learn what a “pinch pot” is and will attempt to make one with air dry clay. They will also be able to make a free hand sculpture of their choice.

April 14th, 2012 Wild about Watercolor! For this workshop we will be looking at ancient Japanese silk painting and the students will create their own painting on fabric using both stamps and a Japanese Sumi brush. We will also look at modern artist Helen Frankenthaler and discuss how she “paints” without ever touching her canvas with a brush but rather uses her painting surface to move her paint around to create a painting.

May 12th, 2012 Ink it Up! Students will learn about 2 different types of printmaking in this workshop. We will discuss the idea of what printmaking is and talk about etching and monotype techniques. We will start with creating an etching in to Styrofoam with a pencil. Students will then ink their surface with a roller and print their image on to card stock. We will then paint with the ink directly on to the plexi glass and lay our paper over it and rub on it to transfer the image from the glass to the paper. This will be our monotype.

June 9th, 2012 Breaking the Mold! For this workshop we will discuss the concept of a plaster sculpture made from making a mold from clay. We will look at examples of statues and talk about local statues they may recognize around Richmond (made by and artist friend of mine) and how they were created in different smaller pieces rather than one large statue. Students will each get a slab of clay and may use found objects in the classroom or their hands and fingers to create imprints in to the clay. We will then pour the plaster in to the mold….allow for brief drying time and peel away the clay molding to reveal our sculpture.

July 14th, 2012 All Natural! The children will learn about art made outside from artists such as Robert Smithson who made outside sculpture from purely natural elements! The children will attempt this activity themselves using the materials provided without using glue. We will also talk about the environment and recycling and make our own paper, lay it flat and cut it into shapes!

August 11th, 2012 Michelangelo Magic! Children will learn briefly about Michelangelo and his method of painting upside down in the Sistine Chapel. Paper will be taped to the underside of the tables and we will lie on their backs and make paintings upside down ourselves! Then we will mix our glue and water and dip the tissue paper in the mixture and then apply the paper to the bottle until bottle is completely covered, and you have stained glass!
 
October 13th, 2012 A Positive Perspective For this workshop we will talk about the concept of perspective. The students will lay down to look up at certain objects and stand up on a stool to look down at those same objects and will be asked to point out the differences in how they look. We will look at examples from different pieces of art. We will then attempt to create our still lifes (we will also go over that a still life is a scene that you look at then try to create on paper) from 2 different ways…laying down and standing up.