Kids Summer and Fall art classes, Seattle

I'll be offering limited private sessions during the last 2 weeks of August and into September this year.    Email Ameen and lets book some dates. Kids 8 and up, $50 per hour. We'll work on drawing skills, printmaking projects and color theory. 

Relief print coming off the press! We'll work from still life set ups in the studio. We'll start with a few thumb nail sketches to get quick composition ideas and then develop a drawing that will be successful as a carved relief print. 

Working with just yellow, blue , magenta, white and black. This project covers a lot! Compostion, drawing from a still life, setting up a still life, drawing for accuracy and color theory. 12x18 Acrylic on canvas.

Block printing a repeating tile pattern, one of my favorites introductions to block printing.

A few of my sample blocks carved from wee scraps!
 

Block printing with kids

Sharing some pretty pictures about the block printing process.

Currently my private sessions are full. I'll update the classes page as they become available in the fall.

The finished print along side the printing tools and ink slab.

The big reveal!

Positioning the paper carefully.

Ink, Ink, Ink!!!!

Carving the block.

Private Art Classes Seattle Self portrait with Portuguese Tile

Here's what has been going on in the studio during this 2023 winter session. 

I am currently only offering private sessions and it has been a pleasure to be able to spend  more focused time on each project. I combined 2 of my favorite projects into one and they turned out beautifully! 

This student is 11 years old. The finished piece is 17"x15." The background is an original desgn block print by the student. We drafted quick sketches of a few designs, carved a sample and did a printers proof before printing on the finished piece.

 The design phase.

Work in progress. We did not complete the printing in one session, so I decided to keep the staggered edges to help match the ink color when we finish printing. The drawing is very delicate, the pale blue background compliments the drawing nicely.

 Testing the block.

When printing a block with radial symmetry the design is drawn with the block positioned like a diamond. With the center line down the middle from point to point. As the block is turned to print a complete square, each corner then begins to create another design.

A few of my small test carvings to demonstrate how the designs grow when printing a block with radial symmetry.

A design does not have to be complicated to be effective. Think about having a 50/50 ratio of positive to negative space. Pay attention to the corners, carve away some and leave others behind. Experiment with borders.