I hope you all are well, and that you’ve managed to have some fun this summer! Our family has made a lot of art this year, and it’s helped all of us tremendously. Mr. Tony has been creating superhero artwork on his computer, I’ve been painting in watercolor and acrylic, Cole has been working on cross-hatched portraits, and Joy has been drawing portraits in color pencil on toned papers. I’ve tagged each of our instagram accounts if you’d like to see our recent work. Joy doesn’t have an instagram account, so I posted a sample of her recent work above.
We have missed sharing art with you, and I’ve given the fall schedule a lot of thought. Our classroom space has always served us well. It’s a bright and open space, but it’s not very big once you consider the latest health guidelines. It’s also challenging to plan classes right now since I have to make the commitment to the county about 4 months before classes start.
With all that in mind, our fall Art Jam classes will be held virtually on Zoom, a platform with which we are all now familiar. I’ll admit that I’m nervous about how to engage students and the advanced planning that virtual teaching will require, but maybe it’s time for me to learn some new techniques too!
As difficult as things can be right now, I’ve also found that there are some unique opportunities. I’ve been teaching fitness classes virtually, and I’m able to reach people far outside of Culpeper, including friends and family out of state. I’ve also had participants in Guatemala and Japan. The Parks & Rec department has seen this happen with other classes as well, where the majority of participants are out of state. I am curious if we will see this happen with registrations for art classes, especially since many students will be attending school online this year.
I’m going to do my best to keep offering classes that share art education in a fun way! I am preparing project kits with supplies to make it easier for families to participate. Once you register, we’ll make arrangements for you to pick up a kit, or we may be shipping them too!
~Kelly