K.I.D.S. Art Education Program

And the winner (of our first Cake Design Contest) is...

2011-12-15T13:30:00.000-05:00

Liam Battis!

Here's his cake design:

Congratulations, Liam!

This means that Baked will be baking Liam's cake and, after giving him a free slice, will then sell the rest to customers until its gone. Its bound to go fast! YUM. The date of this event event is TBD- stay posted.

Cake Contest 2011:Contestants

2011-12-01T14:11:00.000-05:00

Kentler celebrated its Birthday this year with lots and lots of cake! Our neighbors at Baked (an award winning bakery) made gorgeous cakes and we ate it with glee, joy and multi-generational-sugar-heaven spirit.

The kids drew pictures of their ideal cakes as part of our first ever cake design contest for kids. The winning cake design will have their cake baked by Baked and the winning designer will get a free slice. You can have a slice too but you have to check in here to find out when it will be made and then you have get on down to Red Hook. Oh, and unless you're the winning designer, you'll have to pay for your slice (or two-Baked cakes are DELICIOUS).

These are the contestants. Which one would you vote for?

K.I.D.S. Art Education NEWSLETTER - Fall 2011

2011-11-16T13:22:00.000-05:00

Dear K.I.D.S. Art Education Friends and Supporters,

Kentler International Drawing Space sees Art Education as part of its mission to make art a vital and integral part of our local community life. Our K.I.D.S. Art Ed program is designed around the gallery's contemporary art exhibitions. We bring art and art-making experiences to students, youth, adults and families; cultivating the vibrant creative potential of our neighborhood.

Kentler's 2010-2011 season has been an especially exciting one! Many of you know that we were the recipient of a grant made possible by Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez. These funds allowed us to deepen and extend our work in Red Hook, Brooklyn. We not only garnered new partnerships with three Red Hook community organizations to provide after school art programs (Red Hook Community Justice Center, Red Hook Initiative, and Good Shepherds Services), we also continued to provide our school programs to 40 teachers from three local schools (PS 15, PS 676 and PS 146 Brooklyn New School) and we continued to offer our popular weekend Drawing Together workshops for families. We were able to reach over 1000 children, youth and families. All of these programs were free of charge for participants. With budget cuts deeply effecting underserved communities like Red Hook we were extremely proud to be able to provide these rich creative opportunities to our neighbors.

UPCOMING EVENT:

To celebrate the successes of the past year you are invited to attend a celebration:

Sunday, December 11, 2-4 pm.

We will be highlighting the amazing work of our K.I.D.S. Art Ed team and their students whose art will be installed in the gallery for you to enjoy firsthand. We want to thank our many supporters and celebrate the spirit of creativity, collaboration,and community in Red Hook. SAVE THE DATE!

SPREAD THE WORD

Finally, please help us share our successes and dedication to art in education with others. With our K.I.D.S. Art Ed federal grant ending we need to spread the word to garner new sources of support. The kids need us. Budget cuts have compromised the presence of the arts in schools. We strive to fill that void but we can't do it without your help. Help us turn our efforts to bring rich art experiences into the lives of any and all children a reality. Spread the word about these events and bring friends.

And for those who haven't been following our blog regularly please check it out!
Make comments. Give feedback. Spread the word!

Mollie McQuarrie

K.I.D.S. Art Ed Director

Rubbings and Giant Pencils-Wall Drawings and Sounds: K.I.D.S. Fall Program Highlights!

2011-11-10T10:18:00.002-05:00

This fall, Kentler educators worked with local k-5th grade students from P.S. 15 and Brooklyn New School (P.S. 146) to explore the collaborative sound/wall drawing installation by artists Lezli Rubin Kunda and Ellen Moffat.

In the "big room," teaching artist Meghan Keane led students in experiments with how sound can inspire different types of lines: jagged, scribbly, curvy, broken, straight...the list was endless! Students created "line libraries" to record their experiments.

They also experimented with new ways to create lines (with tape, giant drawing implements, and by erasing)...

...and by drawing directly on the gallery wall (!).

Each of our 14 classes added to the wall drawing. After the first couple of classes it looked like this:

After the last couple of classes it looked like this:

How cool is that??

In the "small room" teaching artist Lance Paladino and Mollie McQuarrie explored Lezli's installation where she rubbed graphite into the wall exposing and responding to imperfections in the wall's surface.

Similarly, students worked to "discover" shapes and textures hidden under fabric by rubbing with crayon and oil pastel.

Finally switching to graphite and compressed charcoal the empty areas ("negative spaces") were filled in or outlined. These black materials made the colors in the positive spaces "pop out."

These awesome murals each represent the collective creativity of half of each class that came to Kentler. Its been suggested that we use these to raise some money for K.I.D.S. Art Education. We are currently working on that. If you're interested, please contact me: we have 26 and they all need homes!! Place a bid!

Wow team Kentler! Thanks to Meghan and Lance for all their input and effort! And thanks to teachers and students for all their cooperation and creativity.

Stay tuned for news about the follow up post visit.

Architecture Appreciation Comes to Kentler!

2011-10-16T13:41:00.007-04:00

This video is the result of our once-a-month family DRAWING TOGETHER workshop co-hosted today by Open House New York: everyone's drawing was lined up to create a new "built environment" based on Red Hook architectural inspiration and suffused with each artist's individual creativity and imagination!

Today, as a warm up, kids and parents explored their local built environment by drawing from memory a map or floor plan of their apartment. Families next expanded their exploration to include the gallery's local built environment in the historic neighborhood of Red Hook, Brooklyn.

Families created booklets to fill with drawings of architectural details they noticed walking along Van Brunt Street, right outside the gallery. Then, back in the gallery both drawings and floor plans were cut up and each artist, ages ranging from 4 to 60+, worked on connecting their parts to create a larger, imaginary skyscraper / building / skyline!

Thanks all for your eye for detail and your enthusiasm for testing out new ways to make drawings! And thanks to Open House New York for co-hosting.

Drawing Together at Red Hook Flea!!

2011-09-27T14:38:00.000-04:00

K.I.D.S. Art Education kicked off our 2011-12 season with a Drawing Together program at Red Hook Flea- a fundraiser for P.S. 15, our neighbor and partnering school. Teaching artist Meghan Keane invited participants to "Draw big. Draw Colorful."

Using handmade stencils designed by Meghan and using all recycled materials, children and their care givers worked together to explore colors, shapes, and textures. Surrounding the students there was music, dancing, food, crafts and dreamy ephemera as folks from the neighborhood sold their wares in a wonderful collaborative fundraising effort.

Thank you P.S. 15. Thank you participants. Thank you Red Hook for your vitality, creativity and community spirit.

Next up? Thoughts and images from our fall program built on our exhibition "MARKING SPACE.
A collaborative drawing, performance and sound project." by visual artist Lezli Rubin-Kunda and sound artist Ellen Moffat.

K.I.D.S. Art Ed at Red Hook Waterfront Arts Festival

2011-06-16T14:04:00.000-04:00

Teaching artist Meghan Keane used the Red Hook Waterfront Arts Festival as a chance to explore drawing and sustainability. Recycling her plastic bag collection as a drawing material she engaged children and their care-givers in yet another exciting Drawing Together exploration. Participants had the option to experiment with sailors knots to attach the plastic bags to one another or to simply create their own silly, make-up-their-own knots. Participants came and went, tying and experimenting, and slowly our plastic bag drawing grew and grew:

March School Programs : with Beverly Ress

2011-05-05T20:30:00.001-04:00

Our March school programs not only look at Moseni's work but also at the works on paper by artist Beverly Ress.
In the front part of the gallery, students have been looking at Ress' large drawings on canvas-backed paper. They have noticed that she is drawing from nature (trees, birds, grasses) and makes cuts in the paper in very linear, almost mechanical ways. One portion in particular of these 2-d to 3-d reconstructions is especially compelling and reminded students of a nest, a t-rex head, and a skull; another work's cut outs reminded students of a visual map of dance steps. Ress's process of cutting into her drawings and then constructing new forms with the paper is key to our central theme, "how does a drawing grow?"

Ruth's still lives

To help the students understand and appreciate Ress's attention to detail, teaching artist Ruth Wetzel constructed a variety of carefully arranged still-lifes using objects from nature she collected. With the still life of their choice students were first encouraged to look closely before drawing anything. Then they were encouraged to draw either parts of the still life or the whole thing, to start with large shapes and then work to the smaller ones, to notice the ways the shapes related to other shapes and even to notice shadows. Drawing with colored pencil, students noticed that there are shapes in flowers that are "roundish," that an ostrich egg has a "bumpy" texture and that one of the branches looks like a "perfect rainbow arch."

Fifth graders from Brooklyn New School

Kindergartners from PS 676

Back in the classroom students continued to explore the question, "how can a drawing grow?" Kentler's teaching artists provided new the students with new materials that inspired students to build. Going from 2-d to 3-d, just like Ress's drawing, the students' work grew and grew...

Installation at PS 15

RHI After School Update: Class 4 of 10

2011-03-17T15:55:00.004-04:00

Our latest session of RHI After School classes is in full swing. With the help of Kentler Teaching Artist Meghan Keane and RHI tutors, Ricky and Destiny, students have been focusing on their goal for this session: "get better at drawing" but specifically "learn to draw people"!

This week students and advisers did musical chairs observational drawing. Students looked across the desk at their neighbor, observing specific facial features, and practiced drawing different parts on cardboard pieces. They switched seats every two minutes in time to music, listening to a local string quartet's new Phillip Glass recording (Brooklyn Rider).

At the end, look what sort of playful, constructed, triangular portraits they created:

RHI middle school group hard at work.

Left: a collaborative portrait playing with textured, perforated cardboard.

Left: trying out what happens when a nose goes across multiple pieces. Right: using dark shapes to create contrast between the neck and the background.

March School Programs : with Arezoo Moseni

2011-03-16T09:58:00.093-04:00

K.I.D.S. Art Ed has welcomed local Red Hook students from P.S. 15, P.S. 676, and BNS to the gallery this month.
We have been looking at work by artists Beverly Ress and Arezoo Moseni. The question that we're focusing on this session is: How can a drawing grow? Using each artist's work as a starting point, students have begun exploring different ways drawings can grow (or expand) and different ways to make a drawing.

This blog post will highlight the activity we do with Arezoo Moseni's work. Our next blog post will feature the activity we are doing with Beverly Ress' work.

Led by teaching artist Meghan Keane, students first spend time looking at one of Moseni's works on paper in which indigo, the dye used to color jeans, is her medium.

Changes #24. Moseni

Students noticed she uses lots of different colored blues and purples, that there are many triangles and diamond-like shapes that come in a variety of sizes, and many students notice that it looks like a portal or a worm hole or something caving in toward the center. It has alternately reminded students of a star, a crystal, water, and...a mountain (because of the layered curves)!

After spending some time discussing the work students worked individually with laminated triangles, of many different colors and sizes, to create a drawing on the floor. Students were asked to imagine that the large brown floor was their "piece of paper" and the colorful triangles were their "crayons," their drawing material.

Students explored what happens when you place ONLY the sides together

and then ONLY the points:

create a HOLE in the middle of your drawing,

or what happens when you work with a partner to create a drawing of something they can find in the city.

These are some of the images of what we've come up with!

Our next post will feature student work from their explorations with the work of Beverly Ress.

Stay tuned!

Check out Mollie's Blog about K.I.D.S. Art Ed on "From Studio To Classroom"

2011-02-08T08:58:00.004-05:00

http://www.fromstudiotoclassroom.com/

K.I.D.S. Art Ed After School brings Dean Haspiel to The Red Hook Community Justice Center

2010-12-07T21:51:00.001-05:00

This week students participating in K.I.D.S. Art Ed after school programs with Good Shepherds Services and Red Hook Community Justice Center (RHCJC) gathered for Career Day at RHCJC to hear graphic novelist Dean Haspiel talk about his career as a cartoonist. The students have been exploring Dean's work on view at K.I.D.S. in "Cuba: My Revolution-The Making of the Graphic Novel and Related Drawings." Their explorations have included a visit to the exhibition and art making sessions with our teaching artists.

Teaching artist Katherine Gressel and RHCJC students exploring "Cuba: My Revolution" at Kentler.

During the gallery visit students explored the content of the artwork through discussion and hands-on art activities. In their follow up art making sessions, students are learning about symbols, figure drawing, layout, drafting, and composition to created their own original comic-inspired artworks. Our goals in these workshops are for young people to have a positive experience making art, to feel more confident expressing themselves, and to have a better sense of what goes into being an artist both personally but also professionally. Since the workshops are mostly focused on art making, we decided to invite Dean Haspiel to talk to the students about the more professional side of being a cartoonist.

Dean's talk took the students through his development from when he got his first drawing gig to the present.

Dean's slideshow.

One on one with the kids. Great questions. Great answers.

Forthcoming about the good and the bad, Dean described his passion for drawing and stories and his desire to develop his own ideas along with his need to make money and take on jobs that weren't always feeding his soul. When a student asked about how one could "get started," Dean's advice was this (I paraphrase): Find other people who like to do what you do. Hang out with them, talk, share ideas and challenge each other. If you like someone else's work, talk about THEIR work (not just your own) to others. In other words, help each other out, support each other! Don't get upset if a buddy gets a gig you were hoping for. Remember that they got hired because their work looks the way the employer wants. When you get hired, it will be because of YOUR "look" and your look alone. Dean reminded the students, "Don't be shy to be who you are." Thank you, Dean!

Drawing Together Family Workshop (11/13)

2010-11-28T18:35:00.010-05:00

Inspired by the characters in the Kentler's CUBA: MY REVOLUTION exhibition, families worked together to create their own character drawings.

Using cut and torn pieces of thin cardboard, kids and parents designed the portrait of their imaginary character. After designing, they glued the cardboard down to their large piece of posterboard. This not only made a unique drawing, but created the perfect low-relief surface for a rubbing! This technique of "drawing with cardboard," or other papers or fibers, is called "collagraph" meaning glued, or collaged, print [colle = glue in French].

Next, families used paper with winter designs on it to create a rubbing with dark cray-pas. We were all excited to work at such a large scale and to see the differences between the two characters! Everyone got to leave with not just one giant drawing, but two! And students can make more rubbings of their drawings for their friends after -- or are well-poised to explore other collagraph ideas!

This DT Workshop was led by Kentler K.I.D.S. teaching artist, Meghan Keane.

View all photos from this Drawing Together workshop here

We look forward to seeing you at the December 18 DRAWING TOGETHER workshop, led by teaching artist Ruth Wetzel.

Email K.I.D.S. Director, Mollie McQuarrie, to reserve a place for you and your child: omcquarrieo@gmail.com
Spaces are limited so reservations are suggested.

Art Ed at "From Studio to Classroom"

2010-11-07T19:30:00.000-05:00

Mollie McQuarrie will be Guest Blogger at "From Studio to Classroom" this month! Check it out.

"Cuba: My Revolution" inspiring student explorations of characters

2010-10-08T11:04:00.001-04:00

Here is a link to some photos from our first Art Ed classes that came to see
the show Tuesday. In the morning we had a first grade class and in the
afternoon a 5th grade class.

http://www.kentlergallery.org/pages/_KIDS%20_ArtEd/KIDS_Cuba.html

Kentler/RHI After School Artmaking Adventures Continue

2010-10-08T10:09:00.010-04:00

As mentioned in my first blog post, students participating in the current K.I.D.S. + RHI after school program are exploring color and texture to create a mood. Inspired by the Kentler exhibition of work by installation artist Ilene Sunshine
the students are exploring the idea of creating art that is both TEMPORARY and SITE SPECIFIC. Our final after school project will involve creating an installation. Students will work in the BCS classroom using all the drawings made over the course of the seven week session. They will wrap two tables, Christo-and-Jean-Claude-style, with their drawings that explore mood. One table will be positive moods (happy, excited, vibrant) and the other will explore negative moods (sad, disappointed, somber).
We will see if our audience can tell that we are using color differently in each table!

Check out a great video about the installation works by Ilene Sunshine and Mary Ting here that are inspiring our after school project!

Check out Wikipedia's definition of installation art here.

Until next time,

Meghan
Teaching Artist, K.I.D.S. After School

Drawing Together: Site Specific Installations

2010-09-28T13:55:00.001-04:00

Last spring, K.I.D.S. Art Education teaching artist Ruth Wetzel led local children and family members in an art making exploration at the Kentler International Drawing Space. In response to the installations of Mary Ting and Ilene Sunshine, participants created their own installations. After examining the work in the gallery through inquiry and observational drawing, partners worked with post-its, twigs, ribbons, tape, toilet paper rolls, pencils, Styrofoam meat trays, oval-cut mats, and phone cords to change the materials and then arrange them in an assigned section of the room. These site specific installations were terrific displays of collaboration and imagination and were poetic reflections on materials, the space and the artwork by Ilene Sunshine and Mary Ting that was already occupying the space. Everyone had a great time!

Pictures Come To Life! This Saturday at 3 PM!

2010-09-09T12:05:00.004-04:00

Artist/storyteller Jeff Hopkins will be transforming our blank white walls into a story-mural that you and your family will participate in. Its going to be fun- don't miss it!!

If you DO miss it, please join us next weekend for a follow up DRAWING TOGETHER workshop with Jeff.

Please NOTE: the performance on Saturday, September 11th does not require a reservation but the follow up workshop NEXT weekend does. See below for details.

For more information on Jeff Hopkins: http://www.picturescometolife.com/

Drawing Together Family Workshop at RHI

2010-07-10T18:36:00.018-04:00

Blog post written by K.I.D.S. Teaching Artist Meghan Keane

Today was our first Drawing Together Family Workshop hosted in the Red Hook Initiative space!

Today's workshop focused on creating colorful line drawings that related to a favorite summer activity or summer word.

To warm up, kids and their parent or accompanying adult brainstormed words that reminded them of summer. Then, we made a group list and everyone shared two of their favorite words/activities from their list.

Our fantastic group list of summer activities and summer words (that could have gone on for another 5 pages!)

Next, students were asked to think of colors related to their word/activity (i.e. sun = yellows, reds, oranges). Ready to start their drawings, students, with help from their adult, created drawings using just the colors that they thought related to their word. They worked hard to only use line and to create patterns or designs, but sometimes it was challenging!

Can you guess what summer word / activity each artist was thinking of by looking at the colors in the drawings below? Give it a shot!

Ricky (RHI) and niece with "House" drawings

"Pool I"

"Beach"

"Pool II"

"Grow flowers and plants"

Young artists, their drawings, and their moms : Estelle with Jasmine and Simone, Tiffany with Natalie

Longtime DT fans: Sarah with daughters Chloe (l) and Josie (r). Their artwork shows is about their visit to Connecticut and a pool with a rainbow.

Looking forward to more DT this fall!

Want to join us at our next free workshop for families?

Email KIDS Director Mollie McQuarrie to be added to our FREE Drawing Together Family Workshops e-newsletter! mollie (at) kentlergallery (dot) org

Thanks and Happy Summer!