Arts & Crafts
This creative course allows children to have fun and cultivate creativity, while producing a variety of different art projects. Through finger and watercolor painting, making collages, drawing with colored pencils, and creating puppets and masks, students will showcase their artistic development.
Comic Books, Anime/Manga, and Cartooning: An Introduction
Students learn about Anime and Manga (Japanese animations and comic books), examine popular comic book titles, and draw cartoon characters using easy-to-learn, effective drawing methods and techniques. These art forms combine vivid expression and design with extraordinary storylines. Students will explore the themes, imagery, history, and current trends behind the most beloved Anime/Manga, comic books, graphic novels, and cartoons. Students will also write their own comic book and cartoon stories, and create original illustrations in both black & white and in color. As Anime/Manga and graphic novels sometimes contain mature themes, we take special care to ensure that all materials are age-appropriate.
Introduction to Drawing
This dynamic art course allows students the fundamentals of fine art drawing, line and shadow, composition and the application of color theory in their work, to explore line and shadow, composition, and the application of color theory in their work. Sketching techniques are taught that enable children to bring concepts to paper. Students will soon develop their own unique and masterful syle of drawing!
Creating Comic Books!
Explore popular comic book titles, study current trends in graphic novels for children and teens, and discover how comics are published. As they learn about storylines, design, inking, coloring, and lettering, students will create their very own comic book. They will be proud of their completed work!
Anime/Manga
Anime and Manga (Japanese animations and comic books) combine vivid expression and meticulous design with extraordinary storylines. In addition to their themes and imagery, the class explores the history of Anime from its beginnings to current popular series and films. As Anime/Manga sometimes contains mature themes, we take special care to ensure that all materials are age-appropriate.
Cartooning
Bring cartoon characters to life with beginner-friendly drawing methods and tricks. Students will learn techniques include sketching, coloring, and perspective. Starting with simple shapes and lines, anyone can learn how to draw cartoons in this fun and interactive class.
Puppet and Mask Making
Children assemble and create their own masks and puppets based on themes of personality, animal features, emotions, and more. A variety of fun materials e.g. feathers, paint, sequins and stickers are provided to fuel creativity and inspire their imaginations. At conclusion of the class, students often enjoy presenting their puppets and masks in a final performance showcase.
Jewelry Workshop
Create your own jewelry in a hands-on introduction to this exciting and creative art form. Students receive instruction to make professional-looking jewelry, e.g earrings, bracelets, necklaces, pins and rings, using a variety of materials. Students have fun by creating jewelry for themselves and starting a hobby crafting low-cost gifts to family and friends.
Beadwork and Beyond
Make fun and fashionable jewelry using beadwork and embroidery. Students explore the history and origin of beadwork and design their own line of accessories. Their projects may include a denim bag, hat, shirt or even jeans. Students love showing off their beaded jewelry!
Hemp, Beads & Friendship Bracelets
In this class, students receive guided instruction to design and make necklaces, bracelets and other accessories, using hemp, beads and embroidery string. These particular materials require special techniques in crafting jewelry. Want to impress your friends? This is the class for you.
Yarn Club: Knitting
This class is designed for both beginning and intermediate knitters. Students learn the basics of this fun and relaxing art form; by the end, they will be able to make colorful hats and scarves. Techniques introduced include purling, circular knitting and use of multiple yarns. More experienced knitters, with proficiency in basic skills, branch out in new directions and may explore additional techniques, e.g. felting, modular knitting (patchwork-style squares), usage of beads, and entrelac (basket weave knitting).
Knitting For Beginners
Learn how to knit! Hand knit items are admired by everyone and always make great gifts, not to mention one of a kind item for yourself. This is a class for the true beginner to learn the basics of casting on and the knit stitch, while you knit a draw-string bag. An added bonus is making the twisted drawstring and adding fringe. The next project will be a hat as you learn the purl stitch and how to increase and decrease. Then with the guidance of the instructor pick out a pattern of your choice to match your level of skill.
Crochet
Crocheting is an art from that has been around for thousands of years and many useful and beautiful things can be made from crocheting. In this class you will learn to chain and the single crochet stitch and some of the many patterns that can be made from just these two basics. Then expand your knowledge to double and triple crochet and be able to make handbags, afghans, beautiful edgings, or any crochet project that you would like to make.
Crazy Quilting
Crazy Quilting is fun and puts to good use scraps of fabric too big to throw away and too small to make another item. Learn a modern twist of an art form that has been around since the Victorian Days. You will start by making several small items, and learn how to apply this technique to be used as a decoration, make a pillow top, or even start a quilt. Crazy quilting can also be used to trim clothing (patch pockets) or use like fabric to make clothing (vest).
Cuisine Kings and Queens: Basic Cooking Class
In this scrumptious class, kids will tantalize their taste buds, practice their math skills, and maybe even learn to cook dinner! Students will learn basic cooking techniques, broaden their palates, and gain the confidence to experiment with their own creations through hands-on experience. The emphasis is on learning that cooking is a lot of fun! They will learn math through measuring, as well as nutrition, inquiry based science learning, and cooperation skills. Some possible foods include: cookies, rice, muffins, mini-quiches, risotto, quesadillas and more. Specialized classes in French, Tex-Mex and Asian cooking can also be arranged.
Introduction to Sewing
Designed for beginners, this fun course introduces the wonderful and creative art of sewing. Students are taught the basics of sewing, including conceptualizing, cutting and marking, pressing, and using tools (e.g. the sewing machine). More advanced sewing techniques may be covered once students feel comfortable with the basics. Projects include creating placemats, pillowcases, decorative pillows, and other useful and attractive items.
Fashion Design 101
Are you an avid reader of fashion magazines? Inspired by shows like Project Runway? If fashion is your passion, then Fashion Design 101 is the class for you! Appropriate for students with little or no design experience, this class focuses on the principles of design and color and on applying them to original clothing styles. Students do print design, weave and knit textiles, and render technical sketches to create their own clothing line. Fashion design is used as a fun and creative way to merge imagination and artistic vision!
To learn more about fashion, please visit our website on our After-School Fashion program!
Fashion Design/Jewelry Making
This hybrid class is a fun and creative way to practice conceptual art and give life to artistic vision! Focusing on the principles of design and color, students apply new understandings to their very own styles. Class projects include making sketches and creating an original clothing line with accompanying beaded jewelry. Students with little or no design experience are welcome.
Scrapbooking
Enter the fun and creative world of this popular new activity! Scrapbooking is a great way to express artistic creativity and preserve childhood memories. Using photos, simple mementos (e.g. ticket stubs, drawings, pictures, poems) and art supplies (e.g. feathers, stickers, glitter) students are guided through the design and decoration of their very own scrapbook, presenting their life stories to the rest of the class.
Creative Felting
Felt is a unique and fun medium to learn how to work with. The course covers the basics of this ancient technique, including flat felting, felting on a ball, surface design and sculptural elements such as constructing handles or doll appendages. Students learn to create their own hats, bags, and other items.
Nature Crafts
Discover all the fun things that we can create using only natural materials from the great outdoors. From picture frames with sticks, to leaf rubbings on collages, see what nature has to offer. Students review the importance of recycling and environmentalism and enjoy crafting projects that showcase the beauty of nature.
Found Art
With the collection of some interesting materials and a lot of imagination, students are guided in the creation of one-of-a-kind sculptures. Using basic techniques, students gather an array of fun objects to choose from: feathers, beads, plastic containers, natural objects (e.g. rocks and shells), paints and other items to assemble beautiful and certainly interesting pieces of artwork.
Introduction to Ceramics
Students in this class discover the exciting world of clay! Basic hand-building techniques teach the students simple pottery and how to create their very own clay art. Creativity is nurtured as students bring imagination to life with tangible art pieces they can bring home.
Introduction to Polymer Clay
Welcome to one of the most popular and versatile of crafts. Students learn how to make beads, millefiori canes, jewelry, figurines, hair ornaments, picture frames, amulets and more. Students can even assemble larger pieces from smaller parts they have created.
Digital Photography
Learn how to use a digital camera and to edit photos using computer applications. Practicing techniques, such as framing and exposure adjustment, is key to producing desirable photos. Students have the opportunity to test their skills by taking pictures both indoors and outdoors, uploading the images and editing them in a personal, journalistic or artistic style.
Creative Hand Crafts: Drawing, Painting, Knitting, Crocheting, Macramé, Sewing, Quilting
Discover the wonderful world of handcrafting by learning a variety of techniques. In this series, classes are designed to teach novice artists the basics of crocheting, knitting, macramé, sewing, and quilting. By conclusion of the course, students will be able to add some pizzazz to plain items and craft unique accessories. Students are also given opportunities to pursue the specific techniques that interest them the most in greater depth.
Experimental Sculpture
This class introduces the basic principles of sculpture and relief, allowing the students to explore molding and sculpting with unconventional materials, ranging from aluminum to wire. Students create their own works of art as well as participating in collaborative work for the final project.
If you don’t see what you’re looking for, we would be happy to customize a class to suit your students’ interests and needs.
Contact us to bring our programs to your school
Please feel free to email us or call at (301) 229-8000 for further information. We look forward to hearing from you!