Summer days are coming to an end, school buses are on the roads again, the tomatoes are ripe for the picking, and the afternoon rain showers are just what we need. Here’s a look at the happenings in my life this past summer and the amazing art experiences I had. In May I taught the Carnival of the Animals art class. This is a class where students prepare illustrations for the iconic Colorado College Summer Music Festival. This performance provided an opportunity for families to attend the performance for free, listen to the world renown orchestra, see a llama at the outdoor petting zoo, and view the illustrations made by my students. This is a favorite class for young creatives because the characters in the book are so whimsical. An added attraction to the concert this year was the dancers who interpreted the characters also. It really was the best of the best! Here are a few pictures to give you an idea of the performance.
The CC Summer Music Festival happens every year with a family concert in June. This free event for our community is very special and a way to introduce your children to orchestra music with a fun twist. The petting zoo was a new addition to our event this year and the children loved it! I look forward to the 2025 opportunity and if you have a talented artist who likes to draw, age 7-12, reach out. I would welcome them into my class.
The Secret Garden is always sold out and we have a grand time creating art inspired by the iconic children’s book in an art journal. The graffiti garden, Mary Lennox, blossoms coming to life, and looking through the keyhole are some of the prompts I use for exploring mixed media techniques. The last day is always a tea party hosted in the Bemis Art Studios, complete with my mother’s China, and macaroons.
The Natural World featured art inspired by nature. Neon beetles, zentangle zebra, leaf rubbings, butterflies, and sea creatures are the subjects we explored with mixed media including chalk pastels, watercolors, and oil pastels. We ventured outside to discover any interesting bugs and this year the grasshoppers were a hit. Captured in a bug box, taken home for an overnight, the grasshopper was brought back to class for a ceremony in letting it go free. Next year I am going to add a bug hotel project to our class because catching bugs was so fun!
Such a hoot when one student wanted to make a mustache, I said OK, and then the whole class wanted to make one. That’s the way my classes go, serendipitous and fun.
This year I was selected as one of the artists to paint a butterfly for The Rotary Club’s Wings of Change event. The butterflies are auctioned off and land all over our city. Funds raised are used to support art programs locally and other Rotary Club philanthropies. It is always an honor to be part of Wings and here is a look at the butterfly I painted this year. It is named “THE SECRET GARDEN”…inspired by the book (an absolute classic), my design depicts the beauty found in creating a garden, bringing it to life and the hope it brings to our lives.
The butterflies will be displayed on the lawn of The Pioneer Museum on September 6 for the grand reveal. Join me that evening and take a stroll through the butterfly garden.
Summer walks through the valley also have filled my days as well as family time, working in the garden, the Cystic Fibrosis Climb at Rockies stadium to fund raise for the CF Foundation (my sweet Ella Leigh has CF), a quick trip to Taos, tennis, and an art workshop at Bemis. Here are the papers I made in the workshop. It was so much fun taking a class and letting my creative muse have time to play. “Paint, Print, Collage Express” with Barbara Dimond is a great way to spend a day making beautiful papers. I can use them in my art journals, or as collage pieces for other works.
Barbara brings all of the supplies, so you just have to show up, pay a small fee, and get your art on. I hope your summer has been enjoyable and you have had time to create. The Fall schedule for Bemis is out, registration is open, and I am teaching two classes: one for kids, and one for adults. Check my classes listing tab for more information. Hope to see you soon!
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