Online Kids + Teens Summer Art Classes
Month-long art classes for kids and teens! Offered on Zoom, these classes feature hands-on art and literacy. Each session is full of games, laughing, and a multi-sensory learning experience.
Classes Offered for Kids Ages 5-9
June
All Things Bubbles
Mondays in June, 930am-10am
Just like the name, this class is ALL THINGS BUBBLES. Each week, kids will learn and practice science experiments with bubbles, bubble paint art, making unpoppable bubbles, and end with making our own bouncy balls (bubble shaped).
Note: this class will be 30 minutes.
July
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Making Monsters
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Mondays in July, 930am-1030am
Make all things monsters! Sew a monster stuffed animal with fabric. Make monsters out of paper mache and cardboard. Draw comic book monsters and write a short comic. And make a game about monsters! This class includes a kit that will be dropped off for kids.
August
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Watercolor Painting
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Mondays in August, 930am-1030am
We will be scientists and artists as we explore watercolor painting! Each week we will read a themed book about kindness, connection, or love that has watercolor illustrations, and do an art project with watercolor paints. Together we will explore techniques, experiments, and tricks to make watercolor pictures of all kinds! This class includes a kit of watercolor paints and paper.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What does the class buy?
Each class registration buys the month-long class. It is per class, not per child. So if there are more kids in the home or space using the computer/link, that is great!
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How long are the classes?
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Classes are one month long each. Sessions are once a week, for one hour.
How strict are the ages?
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The ages are flexible for the classes. They are designed for their specific audiences, so, for example, the 8-13 year old class may require different tech skills.
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How do we receive Zoom Links, etc?
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After registration, you will immediately receive the digital download with a welcome letter and all the links for the class.
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How do the kits work for some classes?
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Some classes include kits for activities we will do. I will drop off these kits to houses/spaces the week before class starts. Each child will receive their own kit, so please email how many children will be in the class.
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Can people outside of Madison take classes?
Definitely! That's one of the great benefits of Zoom classes. There have been kids in different states and even different countries!
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I don't live in Madison, can you mail a kit?
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It varies with the class. If you live outside Madison and the class has a kit, please contact me to figure out options. If I cannot ship a kit, I will reduce the class fee and email the materials list.
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What is the refund policy?
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Any class that needs to be dropped can do so up to a week before the class starts, and have a full refund minus a $10 administrative fee. There are no refunds on classes after the start date unless there are extenuating circumstances.
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Do you have scholarships?
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Yes! Thanks to a very generous sponsor, there are scholarships available this summer. Please email me to learn more.
Classes Offered for Kids Ages 8-13
June
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Kindle Comics Creations
Tuesdays in June, 11am-12pm
In this class, kids will write and design a complete single series comic book, graphic novel, or storyboard to prep for a movie! Kids will create characters, write a story, pencil, ink, and color it. Then, best of all, we will learn and use the program Amazon Comic Creations to upload their whole story to Kindle so that it can be read like an e-book, magazine, or online comic. This will be a private link, so it can be shared with friends/family, but no one else. (We will have a brief talk on internet safety as well.)
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Modern Collage
Thursdays in June, 11am-12pm
We will explore and make all things collage. Each class will feature a different era of the collage genre, from Picasso and found objects, to Annegret Soltau and sewing thread onto canvas, to more modern collage approaches like picture juxtapositions. Kids can expect a fun, and unexpected approach to art.
Inspiration for the Swiss Family Robinson Class
A work and style that we will be studying and practicing in Modern Collage. Artist is Jose Romussi
July
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Swiss Family Robinson
Tuesdays in July, 11am-12pm
An immersive learning and play class, where we read the illustrated abridged book in sections (outside of class), do everything that the family does. Stepping into the story, students will be cooking, writing, art, fort making, learning about animals and habitats, map-making, pulley-system and simple machine building, and do a survival escape room game!
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DSLR Photography
Thursdays in July, 11am-12pm
Learn how to use a DSLR camera for photography! Kids practice the many features of a camera, and understand shutter, aperture, ISO, depth of field, composition, perspective, and many other elements of photography. More than anything, kids will develop their own style with open-ended prompts/assignments to encourage them to practice taking pictures.
August
Art Journaling
Mondays in August, 11am-12pm
This open-ended class is based in art therapy practices. The mission of such is to develop or continue a regular art practice. Kids will be provided with a sketchbook that they can use in, or out of, class. We will have open ended prompts in class, and we will be collaging, painting, drawing, writing, adding poetry or song lyrics. Additionally, I will be sending a handout at the beginning of class that will have ideas, suggestions, mindful work, and also specific instruction that students may do outside of class. In this class, we honor your experience, your personal practice, and mistakes (because, hey, everyone makes them, and they are a great opportunity to learn!)
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Into the Spiderverse
Tuesdays in August, 11am-12pm
Learn why and how this movie is awesome. This comic-book class will learn colors, fonts, pop art, characters, and how the movie makers capture the emotions and tell the story, and then follow the model to make their own story.
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Smartphone Photography
Thursdays in August, 11am-12pm
Learn how to use a smartphone for photography. Download and use apps to edit and stylize photos. Kids learn lighting, composition, perspective, and how to manipulate environments to make cool and interesting pictures! Some prompts/assignments to practice and develop your own style!
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Online Classes at Other Cool Organizations
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Classes I am teaching this summer
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@ Communication
Community Art
Ages 8-13
Community art is calling the community to engage in art practices. After learning about different practices and types, the kids in this class will organize and execute a community art project in the city of Madison. We will also “meet” different community art artists in Madison and learn how they bring art into people’s lives.
Making Monsters
Ages 5-9
Make all things monsters! Sew a monster stuffed animal with fabric. Make monsters out of paper mache and cardboard. Draw comic book monsters and write a short comic. And make a game about monsters! This class includes a kit that will be dropped off for kids.
Graffiti Art
Ages 8-13
We will learn and explore elements and styles of graffiti art - why do people do it? Why is it awesome? How did people do a certain piece? And how do we do it ourselves? Graffiti artists use spray paint, acrylic paint, and paint pens. In this class, we will practice the styles with acrylic paint, stencils, and paint pens. (A handout will be sent to parents/guardians on safety measures and practices if they choose to purchase and practice spray paint at their own houses, outside of class. We will not be using spray paint during this class.)
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See these and other classes for kids, teens, and adults at Communication
@Gilda's Club Madison
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You must be a member of Gilda's Club Madison to register for the following classes.
Victory Gardening
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Transform your community spaces and support your community with food! In this four week class, we will explore and learn about victory gardens, and a twist on them - potager gardens. A potager (po-toe-jhay), or kitchen garden, can be created with a community garden, containers, or a front or back yard. It includes annuals, perennials, herbs, and vegetables in one space. This class will learn to design a garden with a myriad of colors, blooming, and harvest times. Participants will learn about soil, what to plant in their areas, how to care for and maintain these plants, and how to support themselves, their homes, and their communities with food.
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We'll go over your personal goals for gardening - container, community garden, backyard, and how to work on what you need/want. Those goals will vary per person and space, but we will go over soil, garden design, how to support the plants and garden that you are looking for, as well as supporting the community through a victory garden/Potager garden design and execution.
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We will also go over modifications for gardening to serve your body’s needs. Whether that is changing the way we use a trowel, using container gardens instead of the heavy work in an in-ground garden, hanging baskets on pulley systems to ease watering, but most importantly designing and working in a space that works for you.
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Art Journaling Class for Young Survivors
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In this class, we'll explore journaling with art. What does this mean? It can be as simple as documenting each day’s activities with art, doodling feelings, or creating pages that respond to the larger events of your life - cancer, COVID, family or friends, etc. It can be light, deep, sweet, funny, the beautiful. The mission is to make a regular, creative practice of sharing and honoring yourself and your life.
We'll start with an exercise as we open up our minds and hearts, and warm up our hands for movement. Next, we'll have prompts that you can visually answer with whatever materials you have in your spaces - collage, painting, drawing, stickers, etc.
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This is an intentionally welcoming creative space, where there are no wrong answers, and any expression of creativity is wonderful.
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Drawing Class
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In this weekly one-hour intro to drawing class, participants will have a one-hour session to practice old skills, develop new techniques, and have fun! This class is designed for adults.
There are different lessons and practices every week, inviting participants to join in for one class, or every class. Each week, we will start with a warm-up exercise, where we open up our hands and minds, and one or two larger projects where we delve into either still life and/or portraiture. We will learn how to observe an object with lines, light, color, and value, and how to take the object or character we have in our minds and translate it to the page.
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