Youth Classes

Students will create a whimsical, oversized portrait of a bear wearing a fair isle sweater! This class will include step by step instructions for the bear's outline, and then the opportunity to paint or color in the sweater. The final step is mounting the cut-out bear onto a large piece of wallpaper. The result is sure to please artist and family alike!

In this fun and challenging holiday class, students will create a continuous line drawing of a reindeer using wire. They will add festive flare with other three dimensional decorations and adhere their drawing to a painted canvas background. This project will make a great addition to the holiday decor at home and be treasured for years to come!

In our most recent session of Art Academy for 6-10 year olds, we looked at artists and artwork inspired by comics and/or cartoons. For this project, we took our inspiration from contemporary textile artist, Hannah Epstein, who makes large scale hook rugs that are both whimsical and satirical, much like her favorite cartoon show, The Simpsons. Epstein's work also takes inspiration from folkloric tales of monsters and goblins. It is the intersections in Epstein's work that makes it so rich- between humor and fear, between high art and low art, and between the very old and the very new. 

Abstracting Landscapes, the Art of Doel Reed

Prairie Arts Center is excited to partner with the OSU Museum of Art for this year's Fall Break Camp. Camp will begin with a visit to the museum for an interactive tour of Sun Patterns, Dark Canyon, the Paintings and Aquatints of Doel Reed (1994-1985). Reed's moody, abstracted landscapes will serve as our inspiration as we create our own layered landscapes with pencil, paint, and ink. We will learn about perspective and depth of field and explore the concepts of mood and tone. Weather permitting, we will also do some painting en plein air!

This activity asks you to imagine yourself as a cartoon character. What would your hair look like? What type of clothes would you wear? Which one of your features might you exaggerate or change? What would your character be known for? In other words, what makes you YOU? Once you've got all that worked out, have fun creating a scene for your cartoon self. Where would your character like to go? Where are you most at home? What do you like to do? Let your shadow box selfie tell a story!