Laura's Center for the Arts kicked off our summer camp season with "Explore the Arts" camp.  This camp allowed campers the freedom to choose between a performance workshop, working on Green Eggs and Ham from Seussical, learning several ways to make a monster from Beth Gilmore, or learning how we design and paint our sets for our upcoming theatre camp productions.  In addition to their normal classes we took two days to bring in professional artists to run workshops with the campers. 

Tuesday we had the incomparable Maggie MaClellan, a local artist, working on papier-mâché with the kids.  She brought in pre-made turtle shells, created using recycled newspaper and masking tape, and taught the campers her process of sculpting the newspaper and wrapping it in the tape, creating the arms, legs, tail, and head.  They then covered the turtle forms in paper we had decorated earlier in the morning.  Even the most squeemish campers eventually got used to "the goo" and we ended up with a menagerie of turtles, some looking like they had been hit  by a graffiti artist, and some modeled after Maggie's own creation, wrapped in old bits of map. 

Turtles created by the campers!

On Thursday we were visited by Brent Beissel from the Bosse School of Music.  Brent spent a few hours teaching the basics of rhythmic notation with the campers.  He gave them all a chance to experience different types of drums, shakers, bangers, and things that go bump in the orchestra! The campers left that day knowing a lot more about how to count their Tas and TiTis than most adults!!
 

More information about Maggie and her works can found here

More information about the Bosse School of Music can be found here

As an employee at the Y, impact is a word we hear a lot.  Whether we are focused on what impact we can have, being praised for the impact that we have had, or feeling the impact that our members and coworkers have had on us, it is the core what makes our programming what it is.

Recently I had the opportunity to visit the Sollar Wellness Center at New England Villages.  New England Villages offers both residential and day programs for adults with intellectual disabilities, and welcomed us with open arms to observe their programs.  I sat in on a music class one day and an art class on my next visit.  Believe me when I say that I have witnessed some of the most impactful programming out there.

One of the goals of the Fine and Performing Arts department is to create an inclusive environment, and through observing these classes I know we are an enormous step closer to making that goal a reality.  I was able to help someone paint Popsicle sticks, and meet Elvis/Fred/Prince Charles, he had many names throughout the course of the class but ultimately I made a new friend. 

Seeing the staff and the arts program participants at New England Villages really opened my eyes to a community that many people in our society do not understand.  It was beautiful seeing these staff interact with their students, whether it was a joke, a moment of encouragement, and moment of support, or just a shared moment of bliss.

In the end, I got to create some art with people who felt the impact that art had on them, but more importantly, I met some people who have mastered the art of making an impact.

Slime!... or Gak!... or Flubber!... or Goop! or... one of the other millions of names I've heard for this ooey gooey material that is easy to make at home with just a couple of ingredients.  Last Friday I whipped some up for the toddlers in my "Explore the Arts" class and after some slight hesitation, they were on board with the stuff. The amazing thing about this material is that although we are calling it "slime," it actually isn't messy to play with so this is something that can be done without much worry of a mess right at your kitchen table.

Here is what you need:

• Elmer's Glue (8 oz bottle)
• Borax (a powdered soap, sometimes hard to find in grocery stores so here is a link to some you can order online.)
• Large mixing bowl
• Spoon
• Cup
• Measuring cup
• Food coloring
• Water

When I made this I followed these directions pretty loosely, adding things as I saw fit to get the consistency I wanted.

1. Empty the entire bottle of glue into the mixing bowl.  Fill the empty bottle with warm water and shake.  Pour the glue-water mixture into the mixing bowl and stir well with a spoon.
2. Add some food coloring and stir.
3. Into your cup add 1/2 cup of warm water along with a teaspoon of Borax.  Stir until slightly dissolved.
4. While stirring the glue mixture in the bowl, slowly add the water-Borax mixture in your cup.  This will begin to change the glue mixture into something a little bit more rubbery.  Once you have most of the glue mixture moving towards a rubbery state, ditch the spoon and dig in with your hands!
5. Continue mixing with your hands, adding more of the Water-Borax solution to make it more rubbery and more glue to slime it up a bit.
6. Play!
7. Cover, this stuff will dry up when left to the open air. A plastic bag will do the trick.

There are so many fun ways to play with slime with a toddler.  Just exploring with out much intervention at all will keep kids entertained for at least 10 minutes, which can be an impressive amount of time for some of our little ones.  To push this play time a little bit longer I introduced some simple baking tools, rolling pins and cookie cutters.  Another fun thing to do is to hide things inside of the slime for your child to dig out.  Anything from smooth pebbles to small plastic dinosaur toys will work for something like this.  We also played with the slime by stuffing as much of it as we could into little cups (I had some left over play-dough cups from some that had dried out) and were pleasantly surprised at the noise that came out of the cup, "It tooted!" exclaimed one of our toddlers on Friday with bright excited eyes.  And ya, it did, so we all just had to laugh and agree with him on that one.  Keep this slime covered when you are finished it and it should last you for a little while.  A plastic bag will do, but I have seen it stored inside of those plastic Easter eggs which can be added fun if you have a dinosaur hidden inside of your slime.

Enjoy and post any pictures of your slime making to our facebook page facebook.com/SSYARTS

Looking for something to do around here to take your mind off of this endless Winter?  Why not head into the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston with the family to explore the mind of William Kentridge.  The video installation is called "William Kentridge: The Refusal of Time," and explores humans' evolving perception of "time."  Kentridge put together this work alongside professor of History of Science at Harvard University, Peter Galison.  The pair worked at making sure they struck the correct balance of art and history; a balance that is excellently struck with vibrant dance and music alongside a comprehensive run down of our understanding of time starting back at our earliest, celestial based thinking.
How does your family experience time as opposed to each individual family member's experience of time?
What kind of funky dance moves can you create to go along with the music in Kentridge's video?

Our January edition of ArtsReach went off without a hitch!  I think that we are really hitting our stride with the way program is designed and it is so great to see ArtsReach start to catch on with the kids.

We've matched the kids up into mentor/mentee pairs to promote collaboration and joint discovery.  These kids were great about this new aspect of the program and our mentors did a fabulous job of taking ownership over their important role.

This month we made artwork that responded to the work of Karie O'Donnell who is our gallery artist this month.  As a Brant Rock native, Karie creates artwork that is inspired by the sea.

 After we were finished making artwork everybody brought their piece back into the gallery space to share the decisions they made with the group.  We got into discussion about what "mixed media" means as well as what it is to create artwork as a response to another piece.  "Is it copying?" "Is it tracing it and then coloring it differently?" It can be both of those things and more!  A lot of the work made that day had a bit of a tropical feel to it, which you can't blame them for with these bitter days we've been having.  Even though their art seems as though it is from the tropics, and Karie's work is based more firmly in Marshfield, it is still the sea no matter where you find it.

Thanks for coming ArtsReach participants!! Hope to see you again next month for the February edition of ArtsReah where we will be looking at artwork made from artists from the group called SNAC.

As a staff member in the Fine and Performing Arts department at the Emilson Y, I always take pride in the programming we offer, whether I am involved in said program or not. Recently I had the amazing opportunity to participate in a Cork and Canvas event offered by our Fine Arts Coordinator, Beth Gilmore, and I was simply blown away.

Having known Beth for a number of years, and even sharing an office since the opening of Laura's Center for the Arts about a year ago, I knew that Beth was both an accomplished artists and a thoughtful, articulate educator. Having seen her working with the campers, students and community members that participate in our classes and events I thought I knew what it would be like to be on the other side. My expectations were far exceeded.

If you are unfamiliar with our Cork and Canvas events, the basic idea is wine and painting.  The instructor walks the class through recreating an original painting step by step. I do not have any painting ability and I certainly didn't leave with a museum worthy work, but let me tell you, my mother wants in hanging in her living room! 

During our first break to allow the paint to dry!

One of the most amazing things was walking around and seeing the way the other people in the class interpreted the same instruction. There was no pressure to be right, and when that pressure was eliminated it made it easy to sit back, enjoy a glass of wine, and have a blast.  Beth's cheesy jokes and effortlessly casual demeanor made it feel like everyone in the room had known each other for years, providing the perfect environment to allow our muses to mingle.

The finished product

It was amazing to be on the other side of a class, especially with someone who I have spent so much time working and growing with.  We even had a chance to snap a great picture.

It MAY be good enough for a museum...What do you think?

I am always so inspired by the way artist and teacher Kate Sanborn talks about art making.  It's always about  togetherness and process, things that keep any artist on point and separated from the fear that often looms about the end results.  We were talking today about her plans for an upcoming Family Art Night that will be running here at Laura's Center for the Arts where she hopes to get families working together and focused on the process.

Kate calls these little guys "Sculptural Caricatures."  Each family member is in charge of creating another family member's wire caricature. Family members must also play to their strengths, maybe assigning one person to be in charge of the cutting (because perhaps that is a challenge for another), while putting another in charge of bending the wire (because perhaps they find out they really love that part.)  No matter what age or abilities that are in the group, they will create a game plan to figure out who is best at what and what needs to be done so that they can all be working as equals.  Working as equals! I love that.  I love that kids are given as much weight in this situation to make decisions about how things should be as adults and it isn't because we are humoring them.  It is because their opinion is equally as valid.

If you want to come make some art with Kate, gather up your family or your chosen family of the night and come by LCA this Thursday night (January 16th) from 6-7. You can register online or by calling the Y at 781-829-8585 ($35 Y Member Family, $53 Non-Y Member Family; Program Code: 50AEVIS09).

Last week we had a group of Brownies from Norwell come to Laura's Center for the Arts to earn their Painting Badge.  We had two abstract painting activities for the girls to do and they breezed through it like old pros.

This first painting involved creating a group of shapes on the canvas using tape and then mixing different colors with acrylic paint to fill in the various shapes.  When they were finished painting they pulled off the tape and discovered the unique abstract painting they had created!

The second painting project had a bit of a challenge.  The girls were welcome to use whatever they wished for color and imagery, BUT they could not use a brush!

At the end of the class, we played some games as our paint dried and as parents started rolling in for pick up. I learned a game and taught a game so it was a successful game time by my standards. What a pleasure to work with this group, they were such natural art explorers I do hope to see them again.

Last Friday night we hosted our monthly Cork&Canvas event, and what a spread we had! We always provide the beverages, but this group really went all out and brought a bunch of snacks to make themselves right at home, which we love so much.  As you can see from that picture of our beautiful table, we were making a painting of a steaming hot mug of a beverage of your choice.  Some had tea, others espresso, and I believe there were a couple Irish Coffees in there too.

It's always such a blast running these events, the evening has such a fun and relaxing pace.  We turn up some music and let everybody get settled and hang out a little as they start to get their supplies prepped.

Once everybody is ready to get going, I start letting people know the logistics of how things are going to roll and then we jump in!

This was a fun painting to watch come along around the classroom.  Different mug colors and swirl patterns were happening all over the place.

Barbara and I talked about the pros and cons of doing black outlines along the red pattern of the table cloth.  She was really feeling the line work and went for it, which I was so glad to see.  A unique touch on this painting for sure.

I love the way the blue in Michele's table cloth pulls in the white in different places.  And don't forget to check out that fancy signature tree of her's in the bottom corner! 

Aside from an excellent display of paintings from a mother/daughter duo, this photo is a great example of the space we were in.  Check out the art on those walls; we held the event in one of our gallery spaces which currently has the photography of Kate Hannon on display.

Here is a sneak peak at the next painting we are going to be doing here at Laura's Center for the Arts on December 13th, "Snow Dusted Park."