Blue Church Art 
  • HOME
  • ABOUT
    • IN THE NEWS
  • INSTRUCTOR
    • HELENE'S ART
  • GALLERY
  • VIDEO
  • ART ROOM BUZZ
  • MAP/CONTACT
    • THE "BLUE" CHURCH
  • SCHEDULE

Lake County Art 2015

8/31/2015

 
Picture
Grade 6-12 students with their masterpieces.
Picture
Once again I volunteered to teach a week of art lessons at the library near our lake in northeastern Pennsylvania: four classes, each meeting for three days. Some mighty fine artwork was created there in mid July!
On their first day of class, students in grade 6-12 drew pumpkinseeds- a variety of sunfish that inhabits our local lakes. A combination of colored pencil and soft pastel added color to these beauties.
Picture
Pumpkinseed, a type of sunfish.
Picture
Picture
Picture
The older kids also created sunset pastels and paintings of water lilies during the 3 days of art class.
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Grade 3-5 students drew beautiful night owls on black paper, using colored pencil.
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Using watercolor and crayon the grade 3-5 students created these colorful lighthouses:
Picture
Picture
Picture




Ring-tailed lemurs were the subject for this age group's third project. Their lemurs have a lot of personality!!
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture



The youngest students, grades K-2, painted awesome sea turtles in their first class:
Picture
Picture

On the second day the K-2 students drew these adorable sheep with colored pencils.
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
On the last day of class the littlest students drew the Red Eft. The Red Eft is a beautiful little creature that lives in the forests in our northeast Pennsylvania lake country. As an adult it lives under water, breathing with gills. This greenish newt lays its eggs in the water; 3 or 4 months after the eggs hatch, the juvenile newts  lose their gills, develop lungs, and begin their lives on land! That's when they turn bright orange, a warning to predators that they are poisonous if eaten. After 3 years the red eft returns to the water to breed and to live out the rest of its life- sometimes up to 15 years! Take a look at these lively Red Efts:
Picture
Picture
Picture
Usually I offer art lessons for kids only. This summer the library asked if I would teach an adult class, and I was happy to oblige. The adult students were fun to work with! I was very impressed with what they accomplished during the week, and I think they were all pleased with their masterpieces, too. 
Picture
Picture
Their first class was a lesson in "blind contour" drawing. I brought a variety of objects for them to draw and explained that they were to draw the contour (outline) of the object, and to look ONLY at the object they were drawing, NOT at the paper they were drawing on! 
Picture
Blind contour is a fun exercise in close observation. They did exceptionally well, drawing the objects repeatedly, using different colored pencils for each drawing.
Picture
On the second day of classes the adult students drew The Great Horned Owl, using black colored pencil and graphite powder. 
Picture
Picture
Picture
A classic watercolor of a pink hibiscus was their final project. The watercolors were wonderful! I am very proud of what my new adult students accomplished in the 3 days of classes. 

I hope they'll all return for lessons next summer:-)
Picture

Netherlands Adventure

8/31/2015

 
PictureOur beautiful living room
This fall my husband and I are living in Maastricht, The Netherlands, while he teaches at the University here. We're having a GREAT time- there are so many new things to see and experience! Our apartment is beautiful. It's located on the city's loveliest square, Onze Lieve Vrouweplein (Square of Our Lady). The Vrouweplein is ringed by popular cafes that feature extra outdoor seating in the center of the square. We've enjoyed many pleasant meals there, just steps away from our apartment door. It's a lively neighborhood! Often we hear musicians playing in the Vrouweplein, and one evening there were people dancing to live polka music, right below our windows! Maastricht is a lot of fun, definitely a party city. 

Picture
View of Onze Lieve Vrouweplein from our apartment.
PictureEindhoven train station, the Netherlands.


Art pops up in unexpected places in this part of the world! I was delighted to see that children's art is displayed on waste bins in some of the Dutch railroad stations. OK, so it's on a trash can...but a lot of people are getting to enjoy these artworks while they're waiting for their train. It's a great idea.
 



In a park near the Rhine,in Koblenz, Germany, I found plane trees (similar to our sycamores) that were decorated with colorful splotches of paint. Another great idea (but I wonder how the tree feels about it?)
Picture
Deutsches Eck park, Koblenz, Germany.
In the German city of Trier we visited the Karl Marx Museum (Marx was born in Trier, and the Museum is housed in his family home). There were Karl Marx images EVERYWHERE, in and around this cool museum. As we passed through the inner courtyard of the house something bright red caught my eye: a mini-Karl Marx...totally red! So funny. This is a museum with a sense of humor.
Picture
Karl Marx Museum, Trier, Germany.
Picture
Hindeloopen, province of Friesland.
Last weekend we rented a car and toured the countryside in the north of Holland. In one little village on the IJsselmeer (the Netherlands' great inland sea), we came upon this most unusual back yard. 
But my favorite "unexpected" art so far is this little guy on a bicycle. We came upon him when we were driving on a sand road that runs alongside a canal in a town near Maastricht. There he was, in the middle of nowhere, peddling his three wheeler through the air! This delightful little sculpture captures the spirit of the Netherlanders' favorite activity.
Picture
Peddling in the air above a canal in Susteren, Limburg province.
I've been writing a blog about our adventures here. If you'd like to read more, check it out:
http://viewfromsintpieterstraat.blogspot.nl
    Picture

    Blue Church Art 
    offers weekly group lessons in drawing, painting, and design ~ 
    fun classes for pre-kindergarten through adult students, 
    in a non-competitive and nurturing environment.

      

    Archives

    February 2019
    January 2019
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    April 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    November 2015
    August 2015
    April 2015
    February 2015
    November 2014
    October 2014
    August 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    October 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    August 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012

    Categories

    All
    A Kaleidoscope Of Butterflies!
    Art Lessons In Lake Country
    Art Show 2014
    A Skulk Of Foxes
    Autumn Artworks
    A Week In New York
    Beauteous Birds
    Blue Church Artworks
    Bunnies!
    Catkins
    Colorful Collages
    Delft Blue Tiles
    Dillingersville Schoolhouse
    Dragons Galore!
    Dutch Canal Houses
    Eiffel Tower Art Lesson
    Fall Fruits
    Gabriel
    Groundhog Day
    Happy Birthday To Me!
    Happy Thanksgiving 2015!
    Hokusai Art Lesson
    Indian Corn
    Inuit Igloos
    Irish Cottage
    Lake Country Art 2015
    Leprechaun Art
    Leprechauns In The Neighborhood
    Llama Love
    Maastricht
    Madagascar Masterpieces
    March Snow People
    My Dutch Students
    Netherlands Adventure
    Penguin Awareness
    Philadelphia Eagles
    Pysanky Eggs
    Rainforest Creatures
    Red Barns In Autumn
    Signs Of Spring
    Snow People
    Splendid Stink Bugs
    St. Lucia Day
    Student Show 2012
    St. Valentine's Day
    Summer Art 2014
    Sunflowers And Poppies
    Thanksgiving Masterpieces
    The Art Of The Pineapple
    The Netherlands
    The Remarkable Bee
    The Year Of The Sheep
    Tooth Fairy
    Tulipmania!
    Under The Sea
    Windmills Galore
    Wonderful Windmills
    Year Of The Pig
    Year Of The Rooster

    RSS Feed