Our First S.T.E.A.M. Art Camp!

We've completed our first S.T.E.A.M. Art Camp and it was amazing!!! Campers became makers by completing Challenge tasks or projects using specific MakerSpace materials. Creative thinking was a must!



Little Artists completed these Challenges (and more):

a model of a campfire
a chicken in a basket
flowers in a vase
a building set
a wooden face
fairy slippers




Art Smart Kids competed these tasks:

a tallest tower challenge 
a paper bridge that can support a cup of   water
a Newton's Cradle
a self-propelled car
5-cent battery that works
a completed graphite circuit
a catapult

The Memory Project

Today I sent off our second batch of completed Memory Project portraits, and I am so proud of our fantastic portrait artists! They worked so hard on all of these lovely portraits, and they are stunning! 

Our first portrait project was of children living in Bolivia. After we completed and sent them, the Memory Project created a personal video for us (posted on our Facebook page) of the creation of our Bolivian portraits and finally the delivery to the children at their school in Bolivia. Our young artists were so pleased and excited to see these kids' happiness upon receiving their portraits! 

                                                                             
Our second Memory Project subjects were children living in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). We just finished these portraits and we shipped them today to the Memory Project. 

Once the portraits are delivered to the Congolese children, we will receive another very special video of the project, which I will again share on Facebook. 

We plan to create more portraits for the Memory Project in the fall. 

If you would like to join us, just contact the Art Center for details. We welcome everyone, ages 8(ish) through adult. 

This is such a a wonderful project for everyone involved! The artists have an opportunity to utilize and practice their art skills while completing a global service project that benefits children their ages in third world countries.  They learn to capture a likeness and other portraiture skills, while working with soft pastels, colored pencil, graphite, watercolor pencils, and watercolors.  

In the posts shown below, you can view all of the portraits we completed for the Memory Project. Enjoy!

Our First Memory Project Portraits

These are the Memory Project portraits we created for the Bolivian children:

Our Memory Project Portraits

These are the Memory Project portraits we created for the Congolese children:

April Classes - Paint Your ART Out!

In April, as part of our Color Play lesson series (color mixing/color theory), we painted like Monet! We mixed colors and learned how to create and use the more subtle, muted colors of the impressionists to create atmosphere and mood. We learned that less is more!

Want to sign up? You can register for May classes on our website. Of course, you can also visit the Art Center and register in person. This class takes place on Thursdays from 4 to 6 pm, for ages 8 and up.

Painted Kites!

We made these awesome painted kites! 

Kites are a great way to show off beautiful paintings, don't you think?

If you would like to make your own, here's how we did it:

First we traced a diamond kite template on a big piece of white butcher paper (you could use colored butcher paper too).

Then we filled in the shape with our paintings.

We chose our favorite things to paint, such as cats, a shark, a horse, and a donut!

Then we cut out our kites, leaving a one inch border around the outside of our paintings so that we could string our kites. Here's how we assembled them.

All done and ready to fly!

Here's my sample (I like foxes).

March Classes - Paint Your ART Out!

Our Paint Your ART Out monthly class schedules will no longer be posted to this weblog. Instead, you can find the monthly schedule on the Blackfoot ART Center website at https://www.blackfootartcenter.org/studio-classes/paint-your-art-out/. This will enable you to register in advance for a class through our online portal.

We will continue post finished student projects and instructions right here, so remember to check back often to see what we've been doing in our Thursday afternoon painting class!

Say It With Feeling!

This project is very personal to the artist. It's also super fun because you just layer colors and shapes and collage elements until you like it, then add your quote and WA - LA! 

Amazing Art!


We have a another Mixed Media session scheduled for Saturday, March 18 from 1-4 pm. 




You can see all of the details on our website at blackfootartcenter.org.

Tuscan Colors - Like the Impressionists

The impressionists painted their 'impression' of a place instead of attempting a photographic, detailed rendering. 

Once cameras were being used to record landscapes in detail, artists gave themselves permission to use their artistic 'license' to interpret a scene more creatively or artistically. (This 'new age' art was not entirely appreciated by the art world at the time)



Impressionists began utilizing a variety of new painting methods. One method used tiny dabs of paint color that, when viewed as a whole, created a lovely combination of color and form to indicate an 'impression' of a place or scene. 

We decided to try this ourselves to create a Tuscan scene of a field of flowers with cypress trees and shrubs along the horizon. 







The results were quite stunning!

ART Hearts!

We had so much fun creating our Jim Dine style ART Hearts mixed media paintings! We used this unusual heart art by Jim Dine as our model:  

The Handkerchief, 1993
(woodcut and etching, hand-colored) 

The heart on the right was my interpretation of the project using our media:

bleeding art tissue paper

red acrylic paint

black and white pastels

This piece is the demonstration that I did in class. Can you see the differences?



The students loved this project because it involved an unusual combination of media to create a truly mixed media piece! Also it was kind of messy and you didn't really have to plan much - just let the media do its thing. We liked how we could make it a little funky or grungy - it has sort of a graffiti look.

This great art project idea came from Edna Lemm at Do Art! Thanks for sharing, Edna!

February Classes - Paint Your ART Out!

The month of February is all about the LOVE of color!

Each beautiful project involves different art processes, media, and techniques. Try a little of everything for a fabulous adventure in color!

All of these projects are designed for ages 10 and up; no previous painting instruction or experience is required. 

Day: Thursdays

Time: 4:00-6:00 pm 

Ages: 10 and up (unless otherwise noted) - adults are welcome!
Fees: $15 per class (February 23 project is $20, $25, or $30 depending on canvas size chosen)

February  2    

ART Hearts

Jim Dine style ART Hearts mixed media painting. Fun and easy to do - experiment with the process and make more than one - for family or a special friend! This one is for ages 8 (or so) and up 

February  9    

Say It With Feeling!

Mixed Media Collage.  You'll learn how to express yourself beautifully through words and imagery of your choice. We'll supply everything and walk you through all the basic steps.

February  16    

So Sweeeet!

Create an amazing 'food portrait' in the style of artist Joel Penkman!  Work with both dry and wet media to create these tasty treats - but don't eat them!

February  23    

Tuscan Colors

Acrylic painting on canvas. Learn to use these harmonious colors on a tinted canvas to create  a gorgeous Tuscan landscape; all with simple dabs of color! NOTE: You will find this painting listed on our website as a Painting Event if you would like to register online.

Snowy North Artwork

Here are some of our Snowy North art pieces. I think they are really lovely!

The process includes:

wet-in-wet watercolor to create the gorgeous sky

black tempera paint to create the distant trees

a template and the black paint for the animal silhouette

strips of heavy white paper and a credit card to smear paint with for the trees in the foreground

scissors to cut paper strips for the trees

glue sticks to construct the trees

clear glitter to outline the horizon line and fill in the moon shape and some of the foreground

foam dots to glue the birch trees to the background to give the illusion of depth

a quote print-out about snow and funky scissors to cut out the phrases or words to be glued on to the artwork

Lots of steps, to be sure, but lots of fun!   We really enjoyed making these.

Penguin Party!!!

We're having a Penguin Party, and your child is invited!

Kids' Winter Art Workshop - Friday, January 27

TWO sessions of PENGUIN FUN!

Session 1: Kinders through 2nd graders will create beautiful mixed media penguins on ice. This project includes painting, designing, drawing, cutting, pasting, and FUN!

Times: 11 am - 1 pm

Cost:  $10.00 per child, all supplies are included. 

Session 2: 3rd through 6th graders will create a recycled plastic pop bottle penguin AND a mini-acrylic penguin painting! 

Times: 2 -5 pm

Cost:  $15.00 per child, all supplies are included. 

Note: It's okay for a student-artist (age 8 or older) to sign up for both sessions. 

Space is limited!

To sign up, please visit our website or register at the Art Center early to ensure your child's space in this fun winter workshop!