TEACHING ARTIST SESSION CATEGORIES
You don’t need a brush to do it, but it is an artform! Discover wycinanki, the Polish folk art of papercutting! Legend states that these creations were once used to decorate working and lower class homes in Eastern Europe, and now, this technique can give students new ways to create with minimal materials.
It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s a….PLATE? Whooping Cranes are incredible Louisiana birds that need to be protected! Students will learn about these amazing endangered birds, and make their own whooping cranes from paper plates. Let’s make conservation fun and creative!
They say magazines are dead, but zines are alive, thriving, and letting artists share their messages! Zines are cool, creative handmade publications that express ideas, emotions, and images in a short, accessible form. Students will learn about the history of zines and make their own mini-zine. Students can pick their own zine topics, or a class can work with their current curriculum. Chat with the artist about options after booking!
It’s a starry, snowy night! Students will learn to fold and cut beautiful paper stars or snowflakes (depending on the season), glue them onto a background, and add sparkly glitter. The teaching artist will manage glitter to reduce the mess in your classroom!
As you may have experienced, younger students are increasingly struggling with scissor projects. This class aims to give them a good basis for this important coordination and creative skill! The teaching artist will give basic instructions in scissor usage and safety, introduce different kinds of cuts, and allow students to complete a simple cut-out project. This session is tailored to the skills of that age group. No one will come out of this looking like Edward Scissorhands, but instead, with better scissor coordination!
Get ready to explore a new concept, engage with artistic materials, and tell a visual story! In this session, students will examine what surrealism was and is today. They will randomly choose cutouts of objects and words to serve as the basis for their own surrealist mixed-media collage. Using acrylic markers and the cutouts they chose, they will be challenged to interconnect these objects to creatively express their own narrative. As they work, the students will apply and internalize the principles of surrealism, and discover how they have allowed artists to express themselves in unique ways.
Traditional craft time! French beading techniques were brought to Louisiana from our French ancestors. This hands-on demonstration includes how to string beads onto wire, how to loop shapes, and then finally, how to pull all of the parts together to complete the final project. This lost art is hard to “bead”!
In this session, the ocean is both an inspiration and a metaphor. Add creative movement to the mix, and students will have a powerful tool for emotional regulation! Your students will be guided in a dive deep to find their sense of calm.
And the trees were WHAT? Yes, they were TALKING! Trees communicate their needs and send reinforcements to loved ones through a special web of communication. Students explore and learn more about the “mycelium network” and the relationships trees have. After learning, classes will use a story and movement to explore their ideas. Finally, students will express their findings through teamwork and performance.
Science + art = sun magic! Students in this session will engage in a hands-on exploration of sun-reactive dye and natural elements. Students will create striking solar compositions using foliage, fabric, and light-sensitive dye. Then the sun does its work, and silhouettes of leaves and flowers are permanently imprinted on cloth offering a memorable mix of art and science that connects students to the natural world.