Art Academy is an after-school class designed for students who wish to develop and grow their artistic aptitude. Throughout each six week session, students learn and practice foundational skills in the visual arts and are exposed to a variety of mediums in both the 2D and 3D arts. Art Academy students also develop strong visual literacy and critical thinking skills through looking at and discussing their own artwork and the artwork of others. For the 6-10 year old cohort, each session yields a "final" work or project that is shared and discussed. For the 11-14 year old students, the focus shifts to skills-based instruction with an emphasis on drawing, painting, design, and composition.

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This spring in Art Academy for the 6-10 year olds, we explored artwork and artists that take their inspiration from botany and horticulture. Our students had the opportunity to learn directly from Payne County Master Gardener volunteers and participate in hands-on horticulture activities with fun, follow-up art projects, one of which was this gorgeous gelli plate printed collage inspired by one of the most famous artist-gardeners of all time, Claude Monet. This lesson could be adapted for any age group, K-12.
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Welcome to the Prairie Arts Center Parent and Teacher Resources page. Once a month we will feature a successful lesson plan from past Art Academy classes, summer camps, or other youth and/or outreach programming here at Prairie. Lessons will include enough detail, context, and resources to execute at home or in the classroom. It is our hope that this will be a valuable, shared resource among educators and parents in our community and beyond. We would be happy to receive feedback, social media tags, and suggestions!
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Fall Break Art Camp
Prairie Arts Center is excited to once again partner with the OSU Museum of Art for this year's Fall Break Camp. This 3-day camp will begin on Wednesday, October 18th with a visit to the museum for an interactive tour of Leon Polk Smith: Affinities in Art and Design. Just as the exhibition does, we will follow native Oklahoman Smith on his journey of simplification and abstraction. We will use elements of nature and everyday objects as our starting point, making paintings and sculptures that sing with simplicity, clean lines and bold colors! Students should bring a lunch and snack, and come dressed for the weather and making messes.
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