October 10, 2014

Register Now for Art Fundamentals: A Creative Learning Series for Teachers and Artists

We are excited to launch Art Fundamentals, a creative learning series for teachers and artists.

Once a month, teachers and artists are invited to join us at ArtStarts (in downtown Vancouver) for hands-on workshops in visual and performing arts, led by professional artists.

If you are an educator or artist who wants to brush up on art fundamentals, these workshops are for you. You'll have the opportunity to explore:

• the theory and practice behind basic art forms
• art fundamentals that will help you develop your creative confidence
• ways to implement arts based activities in the classroom
• new relationships with artists and educators

About Art Fundamentals

Art Fundamentals is an initiative of Infusion Studio, presented by ArtStarts in Schools, a not-for-profit organization that provides innovative arts programs for young people, practical resources for teachers and artists, and leadership in advocacy for arts in education.

Art Fundamentals is a series of six workshops that explore various artistic disciplines in visual and performing arts. These workshops will take place once a month from November 2014 to April 2015.

Each three-hour workshop runs from 11am to 2pm at ArtStarts in Schools, located in downtown Vancouver at 808 Richards Street (at Robson).

No experience is necessary, just be ready to try new things!

How to Register

Workshops are $15 per session. You may register for one, some, or all six workshops via PayPal online at artstarts.com/artfundamentals (Please note that no refunds will be given for cancellations.)

Workshop Descriptions

Saturday, November 8, 2014, 11am - 2pm
Transferring Everyday Objects into Art

with Julie McIntyre

This printmaking workshop shows you how to use the most basic equipment and ordinary materials to create professional results. Various transfer techniques will be demonstrated and combined to bring three-dimensional materials, from scraps of lace to playing dice, into seemingly two-dimensional "abstractions". The beauty of these processes is that you cannot predict or control how their image is going to look because of the nature of mirror images, reversals and cover overlays, so they become more playful and experimental. The serendipitous nature of printmaking is celebrated, rather than ignored or discouraged in these activities, while the experimental images also become great exercises in compositional resolution. Delight in the playfulness of the repeated image, develop a greater appreciation for qualities of paper, and deepen your appreciation for surface treatment.

Saturday, December 13, 2014, 11am - 2pm
Mind Craft: Innovative Word Play, Poetic Forms and Story Starters for Inspired, Improvised and Improved Writing

with Lori Sherritt-Flemming

Explore the art of crafting words, of engaging with language in active, emotional, personal and creative ways. Expose yourself to 20 different poetic forms, a treasure trove of story starters with links to literature, both fiction and non-fiction. Act, move and speak before you put pen to paper, discovering ways to inspire learners of all ages to absorb the many concepts and rules that govern language arts. Participants will experience collaborative writing as well as have time to pen their own thoughts personally at various writing stations. Sharing is encouraged as we wrap up in a casual spoken word café. Age and grade level appropriate, you will leave with a print resource listing 20 poetic forms, some story starters and your own, inspired pieces to share with your students.

Saturday, January 10, 2015, 11am - 2pm
Movement and Long Exposure Photography

with Julia Carr

Using hand-held lights we will explore how to create amazing light paintings and drawings with long-exposure photography and movement. Feel free to bring some flashlights and coloured lights, comfortable clothes or any costumes that you'd like to move in.

Saturday, February 14, 2015, 11am - 2pm
A Daily Creative Practice: Using Mental White Space to Build Laser Focus

with Marisa Pahl

Discover the power of a daily creative practice. In this workshop, you will explore how to designing a daily art activity or exercise, as well as learn what this process does for our minds and how it supports other learning. Build a blueprint or recipe for doing this in any classroom and how to tailor an art activity to a specific situation (such as age, location, curriculum, timeline). You'll learn techniques for enjoying this experience, regardless of your personal artistic confidence.

Saturday, March 7, 2015, 11am - 2pm
Fun, Focus and No Apologies: Empowering Theatre Artists

with Susan Bertoia

Discover engaging strategies for creative flow that will empower theatre artists. This dynamic workshop is a physical approach to theatre practice and theatre making. Your body, your voice and your imagination are all it takes to make great theatre. We will explore these fundamentals, and then some, in an entertaining yet probably chaotic environment (much like our world today!).

Saturday, April 11, 2015, 11am - 2pm
Born to Sing and Dance

with Anna Baignoche

During this music workshop you will learn many simple songs and dances from around the world, for a repertoire that educators can use in their classrooms. Many educators are intimidated by leading song in the classroom, feeling they need to be better or know more before they would attempt it. We will discuss and dispel these doubts and myths so that educators and artists feel comfortable and inspired to use song and movement in their classrooms to engage students not only in music but also in the social, historical, and political aspects of music. The act of singing and dancing, as well as the storytelling behind the song, are potent ways of engaging young people, intellectually, kinesthetically and spiritually.

Art Fundamentals is subsidized through support from BC Arts Council and the Province of BC.