Talking to Myself: artist in training

Thursday, March 10, 2011

artist in training

James is becoming quite the little artist. Last fall I signed him up for an art class, offered by the Swarthmore Recreation Association, just as something to do after school and a way to see his friend, Gracie. Eve Walters, the woman crazy enough to run this class of twelve 3-5 year olds, is an amazing teacher! She takes time to really teach the kids about art history and well known artists as well as how to create their own art.

making Tiffany windows

James can not get enough. He now draws all the time. In fact, this week he has decided that he needs to teach me how to draw. So Tuesday we sat at the kitchen table and he said, "OK, Mom. We are going to draw a camel. Now first let's start with the head. Don't forget you need two humps and a tail. See what I'm doing? OK. Don't forget the eye. Are you making a girl camel or a boy camel? Now we are going to draw a unicorn..." It is adorable!
The SRA art class is one hour a week and six weeks long. The last part of the 6th class is the art show. Eve mats all of their artwork and displays it charmingly for the parents to admire.
The greatest thing about this whole experience is watching his growth. He is really getting better at art and enjoys it more than he ever has before. Today as we sat at the table to do some drawing he drew a picture of a lamb and of his stuffed animal giraffe. Not only were they both clearly recognizable but they were actually pretty good. I was totally blown away.
Here are some pictures from his latest art show. We are now starting our third series of art classes. Eve makes sure that their are new projects each session so none of the kids ever make the same project twice. So fun!

The wall of paintings