Get 10% off your first online class with me by signing up for my mailing list on The Art Playspace before registering! 

**Thursdays, 12:00pm-12:50pm EST, beginning Thursday, January 16, 2025 and running through June 2025.

Feel free to message me to request another time! As long as I can get at least 3 students in the new time slot, I'll run a section.  

This class is offered on a subscription model:

• By enrolling, you pay for the first month. 
• At that point, your learner is subscribed for a monthly renewal - meaning, your credit card will be charged every month on a recurring basis for the following month's classes.
• Your learner will remain enrolled in the class until you cancel your subscription.
• You can cancel your subscription and therefore cancel your recurring payments at any time. There will be no prorated refunds. 
• In order to avoid being charged for the following month's class, you must cancel at least 7 days prior to the next month.  
• If you forget to cancel in time, you will be charged for the next month and your student will remain enrolled for that month.

Since since each class session stands on its own, your learner can drop in/drop out as your schedule allows without worrying about missing important information. 

Come be inspired by art from around the world, and create your own art!
This ongoing class is offered on a weekly subscription model - see "availability" for details.


In what ways can the art of others inspire us? What is the nature of inspiration? What can we create if given the tools and free reign to express ourselves?

WHAT IS THIS CLASS?

Let me start by saying: unlike many other art classes that begin by showing a piece of art, this is not going to be a look-at-a-famous-artwork-and-then-copy-it class. Although we will look at and discuss works of art to begin with, that will be a launch point. So what WILL we be doing, then?

We will start by looking at a work of art together, and I'll ask lots of questions, the way I do when I sit students down in front of a work of art in a museum. Although I will share some information as we go, I won't lead with that - this won't be an art history lecture, by any stretch. After about 10 minutes or so, we will create our own artworks that are in some way inspired by the art we've looked at.

So how does that play out? Here are some possibilities:

• Some days, especially if we're looking at a few related artworks, we may simply do composite sketches, where we draw images from each as a starting point for a composite drawing, which could of course combine elements of imagination.
• Some days, I might focus on a certain art material, inspired by the artwork. I'll demonstrate a technique, and then learners will create their own art incorporating that technique - they might choose to try to copy (parts of) the original, they might go off in a completely new direction. 
• Some days, I might focus on the subject matter of the art. Looking at 19th-century court portraits of pets? Maybe we focus on doing portraits of our own pets or animals we love.
• Some days, I might focus on the theme within the art. If we're looking at a portrait that is all about creating a sense of power, maybe we talk about how to make something look very important, and they create a work of art showing something important to them. 
  

I am fine with students deviating from the idea presented - so long as they are making art, and it's not breaking the rules of appropriateness in the classroom! If most of us are making colorful scenes inspired by the work or Paul Klee, and one child just really needs to build a cardboard house (maybe the squares in Klee's art reminded him of buildings), I'm not going to try to redirect him. I will ask students about what direction they're taking, but I love giving students agency to follow their own ideas. 

In many ways what I'm doing in this class is setting a scene when we first gather and discuss - I'm opening a doorway to an idea, and allowing the kids to create in a supportive space!

This approach can feel very free-form to some families. Feel free to reach out to ask questions.

PARENTAL GUIDANCE

My teaching philosophy is grounded in the "Studio Habits of Mind" - and a large part of that allows for student agency in exploring ideas and materials. So even if I share in advance what artwork we'll look at, I cannot give you a guarantee as to what your learner will be making. 

Since we aren't doing exact copies of art, but finding inspiration in it, I can't tell you in advance what exact artwork your child will be making during class - for example, I won't be able to say, "next week, we'll be looking at Picasso's cubist guitars and then painting our own abstract guitars." Even when I suggest a particular project - if your learner feels inspired to deviate from that, I embrace that. 

If you or your learner certainty as to the project being completed, this class won't be a good fit.  

WHY LEARN WITH ME? 

I've worked as a teaching artist and as a museum educator for more than 25 years, in some of New York's (the world's!) most amazing museums. I delight in creating a safe supportive space for students to express their ideas. 

See testimonials & more about me on my website, The Art Playspace!

I hope to meet your learner!