The Joys of Art

I am celebrating my art club today. But first, thank you to the  co-hosts for this blog hop,  Lexa Cain @ Lexa Cain , L.G. Keltner @ Writing Off The Edge , and Tonja Drecker @ Kidbits Blog  You can go to any of these sites to get all the links and add your name to the links, too.

A word about my art club and why I am celebrating it. Well, it's on my mind, for one thing, because yesterday we had our last class until January 7th. And it's just a wonderful group of kids. They make my week!

I volunteer at a local community center one day a week and teach fine art to kids ages 7-14 after school. This year. though, a couple of 6-year-olds got in, and they are wonderful little artist--focused, attentive, and passionate about art. The class goes for an hour and a half, and all of the students use the time well.
During the course (November through mid-April, we use acrylics, watercolors, soft pastels, oil pastels, drawing pencils,  colored pencils, and charcoal. We cover landscape, portraiture, and still life,   work with Native American themes,  use bamboo brushes during Asian New Year, and we study artists like Turner, Van Gogh, Monet, Georgia O'Keefe, Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, and William H. Johnson (a Harlem Renaissance artist). Here are some samples of their work so far this year:

El Día de los Muertos

More El Día de los Muertos

Plains Indian Themes

Landscapes Inspired by Monet and Van Gogh

Landscapes Inspired by Turner.                 

You can see why these young artists are so inspiring to teach. they really give it all they've got. 

I took pictures of yesterday's work in colored pencils (baby animals), but those are still in the camera.

Meanwhile, I hope you enjoy this little "gallery." 

I won't be posting until after New Year's Day. Until then, Best Wishes from our house to your house for a Blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year ahead.