This week’s class marked the last day for creating glitter portraits and everyone was enthusiastic to paint more. We had a few parents and staff members stop by to create a few portraits too! Overall everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves and made beautiful works of art. During the process, the students revealed that they were excited to have their work up in the Corcoran Museum and that they couldn’t wait to go to their own art show! Im proud and happy for each and every one of them and I truly hope they continue to stay with the ArtReach program!

Leah Sims- TA

In last Thursday’s class, the students loved painting the glitter portraits so much that they begged to paint more and the teachers were more than happy to oblige! As they painted, you could see that they were really mindful of how they wanted the paintings to look. “The red paint should go here.” “I’ll give the background some polka dots!” “Maybe I’ll put a glitter streak in her hair?” I can only imagine what exactly went through the students’ heads, but I could tell they were going through a process. This benefits them greatly as it allows them to fully explore their design options while being concise and critical during their design process. We still have more portraits to paint, so the floors and tables will be covered in multicolored glitter again! ‘Til next time!

Leah Sims- TA

ArtReach students from the Sitar Arts Center and THEARC visited the Corcoran Gallery of Art, viewing the current NEXT 2013 exhibition, the Corcoran College of Art + Design’s graduating class’ (undergraduate and graduate programs) theses work, and some of the permanent collection.

Snapshots from the trip were:

Top left: Imani, a student at THEARC, reacts to Gabriel Mellan’s Heptachord, a steel sculpture reinforced by wood with hidden force-sensing resistors, electronics, and a speaker. When touched, pressure produces sounds which are almost musical.

Top center: Caroline, a docent, talks with a group about Joan Oh’s piece, “Through Their Eyes: A Series of Uploaded Travels,” with hundreds of photos taken by tourists and uploaded to the internet at the pyramids of Giza, Niagara Falls, and Stonehenge. Visitors to these places flood the internet with pictures of their trips from different perspectives, and images continue to be added. Oh left the area below the collection of photos of a flat black, referencing its indefinite nature.

Top right: The entire group poses on the main stairs of the museum.

Bottom left: A panoramic shot of an opening yoga exercise on the bridge

Bottom center: Eric, a Corcoran student and guide, shows the ArtReach group the sculpture studio in the basement.

Bottom right: René Medrano, who participated in the Corcoran-ArtReach Soundsuit collaboration in the fall, explains his work, Neurotica, a mixed media installation, by Karen McKay, ArtReach TA at Sitar Arts Center.

TA- Ingrid Berbery

This week, the students got the chance to finish their clay yoga figures. We had a few snags during the process, such as having the clay crack an awful lot while they were drying. However the students persevered, and with fantastic results! They simply took more clay and water and mended their figures dutifully. I’m quite proud of them! Afterwards, the students took black and white paint and painted all sorts of designs onto their figures. The chosen designs were very imaginative and really shows the thought process behind their choices. This is what the ArtReach is about- teaching children how to create with a clear purpose and with a clear thought process. Art isn’t simply created. There must be a thought and labor process behind it. I believe the students now understand what it really takes to design art. After everyone finished, we had some free time so the students chose to create other objects made out of clay using glitter! There were glitter vessels, glitter worms and snails, and even a golden glitter squirrel! Overall, this class was really fun for them! ‘Til next time!

Leah Sims- TA

During this week’s class, the students began their glitter portraits. Each student chose a picture of a Corcoran college student to paint and design with glitter and much fun was had! First the students were instructed to trace the Corcoran students’ faces on some canvas board using carbon paper. Then they traced the carbon print with a sharpie marker to make it easier to paint over. The real fun began once we broke out the paint! The students gave their portrait subjects different hair and shirt colors. Some added interesting backgrounds too! The glitter was the last touch to make their portraits come alive. Green, gold, blue, magenta, and many other colors of glitter were spread all over the tables as the students shook the canisters over their freshly glued designs. It was a messy affair, but it was enjoyable for everyone! ‘Til next time!

Leah Sims- TA

This week was the third week of the students’ sculpture project.   Each student worked on their sculpture based on their favorite yoga pose. One of the sculptures was dry enough to paint.   Everyone seemed to really enjoy the process of working with clay.  Even though one girl was sick, she chose to make two sculptures.     There are only two more classes left, but all the students seem on track to have their art-works in the Corcoran museum’s ArtReach show!

TA- Patricia Omeara

This week’s class was about catching up in all of the projects that we have done. Some students worked on their mandala balloons and some kept working on their Art Cards. The cards that I’ve been seeing have been very interesting to look at and will be sure to photograph them all when everyone is done. Some have specific themes like occupations or colors, while some are very design oriented. I’m excited to see how they turn out! Those that were done with everything worked on collages, while being mindful of balance of course! Some made houses in grass and others made cute holiday scenes. This week’s class was filled with smiles and good moods. The day was beautiful and everyone was chatty. Spring is here! ‘Til next time!

Leah Sims- TA

Sitar’s Thursday teen class is back in session after Spring Break and a canceled class due to Sitar’s Paint the Town fundraising event last week. They are painting animals on canvas, and these will be in the ArtReach Expressions show this year! The opening reception is Wednesday, May 22, downtown at the Corcoran Gallery of Art–more information to come. The other paintings ArtReach students at Sitar have worked on will be on display at Sitar’s gallery space starting May 14 in the Visions Student Exhibition. They got so focused in their paintings on Thursday that Tang and I almost had to set off the fire alarm to get them out of the studio at the end of the day.* Make sure not to miss them! (*not really, but almost)

TA- Ingrid Berbery

As the Master Class students dove into the pixel project, Ms. Amy explained that the process of mixing colors is central to the learning process of understanding the color itself; sometimes colors turn out lighter or darker than expected. Joanna, whose pixelized painting is mostly a range of blues, was confronted with this, and chose to consciously allow for some variability as she worked out the extra challenge of working out the minute differences in shades, tints, and tones.

In the bottom right photo, Taufeeq meets his miniature self, which he will photograph in a David Levinthal-inspired project. A couple weeks ago, Matthew Lorton, a Corcoran student, collaborated with the Master Class students by demonstrating software for 3D design to produce small blueprints of themselves. The 3D designs were delivered quickly, and students were introduced to the figurines. In two weeks, Corcoran students who have studied Levinthal’s work will visit THEARC to teach them more about his photography of miniature objects!

TA- Ingrid Berbery

In this week’s class, some of the students started on their clay yoga figures, while others perfected what they had already started. The underlying theme for this week’s class was proportion, as some students found it somewhat difficult to sculpt limbs around the wire that were the same size. However, I know in next week’s class the students will charge through! Once a student was finished, their piece was mounted onto a slab of wood and set up to dry. The students can’t wait to begin painting them and I’m excited to see the outcome! ‘Til next time!

TA- Leah Sims