Children’s Museum of the Arts

This class will explore three core fine art mediums including painting, textiles, and ceramics. You will spend approximately four weeks learning both traditional and modern techniques in each medium. Projects will include color mixing with acrylics, collaborative weaving with traditional and recycled materials, and an in-depth exploration of ceramic hand building techniques. You will be inspired by the work of artists such as Johannes Itten, Josef Albers, and Beth Cavener Stichter.   This class is taught by Mandy Talbot, who earned a BFA in sculpture from Pratt Institute, and is working towards a Masters in Art Therapy at NYU. Art. Art Foundations, when taken in sequence for a year, will allow students to learn skills in six major art mediums. (Fall semester will not be a prerequisite for spring.)

This visual art class taught exclusively in Japanese, explores traditional and non-traditional art materials. You will learn classic art making techniques such as origami, as well as contemporary artistic mediums like animation in this wide-ranging class. For over 15 years, this class has taken an innovative approach to manipulating art materials. Teaching Artist Niizeki Hiromi has exhibited her recycled materials installations in New York and Los Angeles, in both solo and group shows.

If the city is your runway, this class is your design studio. In three units, this class covers a range of techniques that are used by professional fashion and jewelry designers. Create your own fabric prints through block prints and dying; learn to manipulate fabric and alter clothes. Sketch, design, and build dramatic sculptural costumes inspired by the likes of Alexander McQueen. Learn jewelry design based on both ancient and contemporary techniques. This class welcomes both new and returning students and will explore new techniques and designs within each unit.

In this class teaching artists will guide you through various techniques of creating, designing, and constructing kinetic sculptures, such as puppets and robots. You will add a level of complexity to your creations by learning mechanical and performance techniques both traditional and contemporary. Taking inspiration from artists such as Jim Henson, Arthur Ganson and Theo Jansen, you will create stories and films featuring your sculptures. This class will incorporate creative writing, illustration, sculpture, and performance. Teaching Artist Nina Alexander earned a BFA from Rhode Island School of Design, studying sculpture.

This class will teach students about digital photography and manipulating their images using Photoshop. You will be inspired by examples of digital photography in contemporary art. Arming each student with a camera (CMA will provide though students are welcome to bring their own) we will explore the neighborhood through the lens, and will then learn the basics of manipulating our images with Photoshop. Teaching Artist Will Ellis earned a BFA from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts focusing on Cinematography. His documentaries have been screened internationally. This class is open to new students and beginning photographers as well as students continuing from the fall semester.

In this new illustration class, you will be introduced to real working illustrator techniques through a series of lessons designed to build skill and portfolios. By looking deeper into the concept of narrative, you will explore illustration (advertising, print and book), graphic novel cartooning, sequential storyboarding and character design. We will look at the work of famous illustrators like Edward Gorey and Roy Lichtenstein, as well as the impact of classics like DC and Marvel Comics. This class is designed to build skills in sketching and illustration, as well as explore storytelling, character development and stop motion animation. Teaching Artist Laura Belmont studied Illustration at Pratt Institute and has been a working illustrator since 2004, with such clients as Nylon magazine, Time Out NY, and Printed Matter. Laura is a recent graduate of Pratt Institute’s Masters in Art Education.

In this class, students will write, perform and record their own radio show. From discussing concepts and writing scripts to recording sound effects and delivering dialogue, participants will create radio dramas, comedies, mysteries and science fiction, of course. You will learn how to record and edit using Garage Band, and will help us break in our new sound booth.  Teaching Artist Ryan Naideau is a musician who studied Education and Sound Recording at the New School University. A great class for talkers, storytellers and future NPR lovers.

In this class, students will explore, under the guidance of teaching artists, the entire animated filmmaking experience. From writing scripts and storyboarding, to building characters and sets, to animating and recording music and dialogue, students will collaborate to create a class film. In the process of creating their film, students will learn the basics of iStopmotion, Garage Band, and Final Cut Studio Pro. Past films from this class have been featured at the Tribeca Film Festival. This class is taught by Media Lab Programs Manager Joe Vena, who developed the CMA Media Lab and has taught animation and film at CMA for 6 years. Both new and returning students are welcome.

Seasoned artist Jamie Kelty teaches by example in this foundations class that models art basics and techniques by learning about notable, diverse artists ranging from Cezanne and Dubuffet, to contemporary artists Chris Ofili, Margaret Kilgallen, and Alexander McQueen. You will learn techniques for still life drawing, sculpture, costume-making, and more. Jamie has taught art for nearly 20 years, and has shown her personal assemblage work in several NYC galleries. This class will continue on lessons learned in the fall semester; new students are welcome to join.

This class will introduce young artists to the unique style of technicollaborative storytelling that has been fostered in the CMA Media Lab for six years. Media Lab programs extend up to age 15 and this class provides a great introduction to the world of animation and filmmaking. Through various mixed media students will explore puppetry, sound, and animation, as well as build skills in storytelling, scripts, character creating, and basic stop motion animation. We seek to empower kids to tell their own stories through the medium of animation. Budding filmmakers in this class will learn to use computers and cameras, as well as iStopmotion software. Films from Media Lab programs have been featured in the Tribeca Film Festival, Big Movies for Little Kids, and the New York International Children’s Film Festival. Teaching Artist Emily Collins graduated from Rhode Island School of Design with a BFA in Film, Animation, and Video. This class will continue on lessons learned in the fall semester, new students are welcome to join.