Summer Children's Workshops
Let the summer fun begin! To see all of our programs, simply scroll down. To sign up for any or all workshops, contact me here.
May 30, 2023 ~ 10am-11am
Tulips and Sprinkles
In this workshop, we’ll be reading the book Bloom: An Ode to Spring written by Deborah Diesen and illustrated by Mary Lundquist. The story revolves around a mother and daughter who plant a garden together and observe its growth over time. The book’s poetic language is complemented by charming and vivid illustrations that showcase the natural world and the bond between a parent and child.
Now that we can finally leave winter and the snow behind us, it’s time to welcome the warmth of sunny spring! We’ll be creating painted paper tulip gardens. The children will be using previously painted and textured papers (construction paper, deli paper and newspaper) to create their gardens. Afterwards, the children will be sprinkling their projects with paint for added texture and dimension.
Cost: $10
June 6, 2023 ~ 10am-11am
Turtle Watercolor and Mixed Media Art
In this workshop, we’ll be reading I’ll Follow The Moon, a children’s picture book written by Stephanie Lisa Tara and illustrated by Lee Edward Fodi. The book tells the story of a baby sea turtle who hatches from its egg and begins the journey across the beach and into the ocean. Along the way, the turtle encounters various obstacles, but is guided by the light of the moon and the love of its mother. It emphasizes the importance of perseverance and the power of love and nature.
The illustrations in I’ll Follow The Moon are beautiful and colorful. Fodi’s artwork captures the vivid details of the sea turtle’s journey and the rich variety of marine life. The illustrations are also filled with small details that add to the book’s charm and appeal, such as the tiny crabs scurrying along the beach.
Our projects will begin with a crayon resist watercolor background, setting the stage for our budding artists to showcase their creativity. The children will then utilize stencils and blend chalk pastels to create beautiful sea turtles. Once the turtles have been cut out and the background has dried, the final step will be to glue them onto the backgrounds, resulting in their own unique finished projects.
Cost: $10
June 13, 2023 ~ 10am-11am
Pointillism
What can you do with just a dot? In this workshop, we’ll be reading The Dot by Peter Reynolds. It’s the story of a young girl named Vashti, a young girl who doesn’t believe she can draw. Before long, she is confidently experimenting with watercolors and creates an entire collection of artistic dots – every size and color.
The book The Dot’s theme is to have confidence in what you do, while celebrating the differences that make all of our artwork uniquely ours. It’s also a gentle reminder that if first you don’t succeed try, try again — the very essence of all art, the experimentation and learning and creating that comes based on those previous experiences.
We’ll be designing dragonfly wings using dot markers to color the dragonflies. Designing dragonfly wings can be a delightful and calming activity for children of all ages. By using dot markers to color the wings, kids can explore the fascinating technique of pointillism, which was famously used by the artist Georges Seurat. This hands-on experience not only nurtures their creativity but also helps younger children develop their fine motor skills. With this simple, yet engaging activity, children can create their own stunning dragonfly artworks using a myriad of dots.
We hope you’ll join us as we celebrate the power of creativity and the potential that can emerge from a simple dot.
Cost: $10
June 20, 2023 ~ 10am-11am
Tissue Paper Suncatcher Art
In this workshop, our inspiration is Planting a Rainbow, a children’s book written and illustrated by Lois Ehlert.
The book tells the story of a mother and child who plant a rainbow of flowers in their garden. The story follows the process of planting, watering, and caring for the flowers, and the eventual blooming of a beautiful garden full of color.
The book is notable for its vibrant and colorful illustrations, which are created using a collage technique that incorporates real flower petals and other materials.
Our art project is also vibrant and colorful! The children will be creating tissue paper flowers. This project lends itself well to many ages. To create a tissue paper suncatcher, we’ll arrange the tissue paper pieces onto a sticky surface of the contact paper, creating a design or pattern. The children can experiment with different shapes and sizes of tissue paper to create a variety of unique suncatchers.
And when the children take them home and hang them in a sunny window, the colorful tissue paper will allow light to pass through, creating a beautiful and vibrant effect.
Cost: $10
July 11, 2023 ~ 10am-11am
Pastels and Watercolor Butterflies
Every spring, butterflies emerge and dazzle the world with their vibrant beauty. But where do butterflies come from? How are they born? What do they eat–and how? With a simple, rhyming text and glorious color-drenched collage, Lois Ehlert provides clear answers to these and other questions as she follows the life cycle of four common butterflies, from their beginnings as tiny hidden eggs and hungry caterpillars to their transformation into full-grown butterflies in her book Waiting for Wings.
Our project this week will be butterflies created with oil pastels and watercolors. Combining oil pastels and watercolors is a great way to create a unique and textured effect in a painting. The oil pastels will resist the watercolors, creating a barrier between the colors and allowing the colors to blend and create interesting patterns.
The children will draw the outline of their butterfly with oil pastels on a piece of paper. Once they have finished drawing, they can outline the butterfly with the pastels.
After the oil pastels are applied, they can start painting with watercolors. They’ll sprinkle salt onto their backgrounds to create texture and more visual appeal. And as the watercolors dry, the oil pastel resist will become more apparent and create a unique and textured effect as well.
Overall, this project is a great way for kids to explore various media and techniques while having fun and enjoying the process!
Cost: $10
July 18, 2023 ~ 10am-11am
Watercolor and Salt Sandcastle Painting
People are often surprised to learn that Nebraska has beautiful beaches. In this workshop, we’ll be reading The Sandcastle that Lola Built, a modern, summery spin on the classic The House That Jack Built, in which Lola’s day at the beach leads to new friends and a giant sandcastle.
As part of this art workshop, the children will be using images of sandcastles to help in designing and sketching their projects. There are several ways the children can create the sandcastles. They can be drawn by hand, they can be traced using templates, or younger children may also make use of the lightbox to trace their designs onto their papers.
While painting, the children will experiment with the use of salt on wet watercolors to create visual texture in their sandcastles.
Cost: $10
July 25, 2023 ~ 10am-11am
Ocean Art Ceramics Painting
The book we’ll be reading in this workshop is Ocean Life by Jill McDonald which provides an introduction to the fascinating creatures that live in the ocean.
The illustrations are one of the highlights of this book. Each page of the book is filled with detailed illustrations that depict various ocean creatures in their natural habitat. The artwork is colorful and vibrant and done in a style that is both realistic and whimsical, which adds to the overall appeal of the book.
For our last workshop this summer, the children will be painting ceramic ocean life pieces such as fish, dolphins, crabs, lobsters and turtles. They will have the option of placing magnets on the back of them if desired, too.
Cost: $10
August 1, 2023 ~ 10am-11am
Ice Cream Mixed Media (Tinting and Shading)
In this workshop, we’ll be creating mixed media ice cream cones inspired by the poem Bleezer’s Ice Cream by Jack Prelutsky. Ebenezer Bleezer is a proud owner of Bleezer’s Ice Cream Store. There are twenty-eight different flavors in his freezers that nobody has ever seen. His ice creams are too delicious to resist. His ice creams include all sorts of flavors ranging from fruits, vegetables, butter, cheese, and different cooked dishes like Tuna Taco Baked Potato and Peanut Pumpkin Bubblegum.
We’ll also be reading Ten Scoops on Top by Sarah Joseph that tells the story of a boy named Max who is determined to stack ten scoops of ice cream on top of each other. The book is beautifully illustrated by Melissa Webb with colorful and engaging illustrations that bring the story to life. The images are full of whimsy and humor, and they perfectly capture the joy and excitement of a summer day spent with friends.
For our project, the children will have a choice of three colors for their ice cream cone scoops: brown (chocolate), magenta (strawberry), orange (sherbet). Using paint, they will add black to their color to shade the first scoop. Then they will continually add white to their chosen color to change and tint the color to create all the scoops for their cones.
So who’s ready to scream for ice cream?
Cost: $10
August 8th, 2023 ~ 10am-11am
Paint and Soft Pastel Sharks
Dive into the world of sharks on Shark Day at the ARTivity Center! Immerse your children in the inspiring true story of “Shark Lady,” a captivating children’s book that follows the incredible journey of Eugenie Clark. From her early fascination with sharks to her pioneering work as a leading marine biologist, Eugenie’s research has revolutionized our understanding of these enigmatic creatures.
In this week’s exciting art project, young participants will embark on a creative adventure. They’ll start by painting a colorful ocean backdrop, setting the stage for the main attraction. Armed with soft pastels, the children will then trace and add brilliant shades to a shark stencil, giving life to these often misunderstood beings on paper.
Come and join us for a day filled with exploration, artistry, and a deeper appreciation for the fascinating world of sharks!
Cost: $10