Still Life

Yesterday was art class #2 at the Drawing Room in Midland Park. E is LOVING this class. I decided I'm going to blog weekly about it because I'm so impressed with his work, with the teachers, the way they teach and interact with the kids, and all the cool stuff they're doing.

They use different mediums each week. I think that's great because they don't get bored and the door is opened into all kinds of art. They may like certain ones more than others, but they get to experiment with them all. E was super jazzed after that first trial class he took in printmaking and I didn't even know what that was until he was in there. I certainly didn't know he'd be SO into it either. It's also not the typical "arts & crafts" you'd do around your kitchen table on a rainy day. The exposure to such different forms of art is priceless.

Yesterday, they did still life drawings of autumn fruit and vegetables. They drew first, then painted with watercolors. They used this graphite pencil thing for shading. Then they were able to use their imagination to create a watercolor painting. They were told their paintings should tell a story. Can you guess the story in this one?

Abstract watercolor by E

 

E says the blue dot in the middle is a blue diamond. The rest around it is a cave. The diamond is in the cave. His teacher was very impressed with it, as was I! He's really thriving in this class. The two hours really is a breeze for him. I thought it might be a lot but he really enjoys creating and is having a great time.

This particular class was split by age. The five to seven year olds went in one room and the older kids were in another. They learned how to do critiques at the end which was interesting. E was asked what he liked about his painting and he knew that he liked the colors he chose and how they blended together.

Someone I know saw I recommended this place/class but looked at the schedule and none of the class times worked for her family. I spoke to Christine, the owner of Drawing Room and she told me that if you can get 3-4 other students together, you can kind of make your own class time. There is a mommy & me class on Mondays right now at the same time at E's Art Experience class that was basically put together because of one mom who brought everyone else. That class isn't on the website because it was an impromptu kind of thing. So use your social media skills and pull a few people together and make a class! It's worth it. It's not just typical arts & crafts- it's serious teaching and learning but fun! Give Christine a call if you want to try to figure something out. She may know of another mom trying to get a class together and you might be able to combine.

Drawing Room
27 Central Ave 2nd Floor, Midland Park, NJ 07432
201-447-7272
http://drawingroomllc.com