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Summer Classes and Workshops are Now Open to Register!
- Summer class schedule can be seen here.
- Studioworks workshops are here.
- Summer tuition page is here.
- And, finally the registration page for all summer classes and workshops is here!
- NEW! Just added for Summer 2012 — Art School Workshops for 7 to 9 year olds!
NOTE: We've made changes to our summer program pages for those of you having problems using the Internet Explorer browser. You should find they now display despite IE's problems.
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May
19
Student Art Show Coming Sunday, June 10th
EACH YEAR AT THE END of our Spring trimester we present our yearly Student Art Show. Last year we had over 500 people visit the studio on the day of the show. This year the show will be held on Sunday, June 10th from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Refreshments will be served during the day. Approximately 180 students ranging in age from 5 years to adult will display their artwork. While the show is open to the public we ask families of students to sign up for time slots throughout the day to prevent overcrowding and make the experience more pleasant for everyone. Sign up sheets will be available in the studio during the weeks leading up to the show.
We also have an Artshow page with details about student participation, artwork submission, open studio dates, and more. We encourage anyone planning to participate in the show to look over this information.
The Student Art Show is our big event and it never fails to impress us. Anyone who has ever attended will attest that you can't help but say, wow! Mark it on your calendar. We hope you'll come.
You can view a few pictures from last year's show by clicking the image above.
Check out our Featured Student Artists page to see some of the remarkable artwork students have produced. What's really impressive is seeing the transition they've made from young students to sophisticated artists.
A parent's quote of note
"I want to thank you for the wonderful homeschool drawing class that Dave attended this summer. He learned a lot, and his confidence in drawing increased--even his handwriting has improved! I love the fact that your instruction extended beyond line, shape and texture and that you had so much more to say about the subjects of the drawings. On the way home after class, Dave was brimming with his new knowledge about meercats, chameleons and such, and was happy to tell us even more about them at dinner. I know that he enjoyed his classes!"
Taina K., Leominster parent
Interested in Private Instruction?
WE OFFER PRIVATE CLASSES when students wish to learn specific techniques or concepts. Private classes are often too expensive for general drawing instruction, but they can work for students who want to learn specific skills. We have a couple of weeknight hours available when private classes can be arranged. Let us know if you'd like more information. Call 978-266-1600 or email info@actonart.com
Join our email list to receive pre-registration reminders
JOIN OUR Registration Reminder email list! You'll receive four messages per year just prior to registration periods for fall, winter and spring trimesters, plus the summer session of classes and programs. That's it. No spam, no more. You can remove your name from the list at any time with a couple of clicks. ActonArt does not, and will not, sell or share our student/family names or email addresses. Read our privacy statement for more information.
ActonArt is on Facebook
We now have a Facebook page for ActonArt. If you have a Facebook account please consider becoming a Fan of Actonart. It's a great way to ask questions, post comments and feedback, make suggestions and see lots of new art being produced daily in the studio. We hope to develop multiple galleries of student work and we'd love to have a large audience to view it.
Follow @actonart
and Twitter too!
You might want to "follow" us on Twitter since we post our weather related closings on Twitter first! If weather is an issue when you need to drive to the studio follow us on Twitter for the latest updates.
Manga students rise to the challenge
AS AN ART FORM, Manga hasn't always gotten a fair evaluation. This is partly due to old-school art snobbery and partly from the somewhat seedy reputation it received due to the "adult" nature of some genres of Manga. Despite these issues Manga is a fantastic way to engage kids in drawing and art as well as encouraging them to write and develop their creative voice.
Manga can be split into a number of genres that are appealing to elementary age, pre-teen and teenage kids. Among these are Chibi which refers to cartoon-like characters and anthropomorphized creatures very popular with younger kids in the six to twelve year range. Shoju/Shonen style appeals to pre-and teenage kids by gender with Shoujo attracting girls and Shonen grabbing the boys. This Manga web page contains more information.
Our teaching approach with Manga has always been to present age appropriate subject matter and basic drawing concepts with manga characters being the primary focus. Our projects include lines & edges, tone, light & shadow, texture, negative/positive space, perspective, proportion, color and naturally, bodies and faces. The exception here is that Manga characters typically have highly stylized faces but their bodies are drawn with a high degree of realism. If your child is a "manga-kid" this might be the kind of drawing class they've been waiting for.
