Archive for the 'Camps and Classes' Category

Gone Camping (Museum Style)

As a kid, I went to two different versions of summer camp—Girl Scout camp and music camp. One was hot and dusty, the other seemed to have been a tricky way to get me to practice my viola more! But either way, summer camp brings fond memories of making new friends, learning new things, and never being bored.

Now that I’m all grown-up, I DREAM of having a week off to go to summer camp. The next best thing? Living vicariously through the DMA’s summer camps! You too can experience the fun of DMA-style camping (or glamping) through your kids. Need something to keep your children from being bored? We have camps for:

Basically, we have camps for every kid! Each day campers get to spend time in the galleries looking at art from all around the world. Then they take their ideas and creativity (and plenty of glue and paint) and create their own masterpieces in the studio. This year campers will strut their style through the Dior exhibition, build miniature play houses, create art that’s good enough to eat, and so much more. If you’re still looking for something fun to do this summer, come spend some time at the DMA! Register for camps here.

Leah Hanson is the Director of Family, Youth, and School Programs at the DMA.

The Student Becomes the Master

Summer art camp interns play many roles during their time at the DMA: teaching assistant, museum navigator, problem solver, carpool coordinator, bathroom trip taker, funny face maker, and–most importantly–friend to all campers! This year, we added three exciting new roles to their list: researcher, lesson writer, and teacher. For the first time, in teams and under the supervision of DMA staff, our 2017 summer art camp interns researched, wrote, and taught their very own summer camps.

These interns had six weeks to plan their camps, collecting ideas and teaching tricks from other camps and teachers they worked with along the way. We provided them with basic themes to start from, but from that point on their camps were entirely their own, from the works of art they focused on to the projects they made in the studio. They taught techniques, guided campers in looking and talking about art, and–like every good teacher–improvised when things didn’t go according to plan.

Without further ado, allow me to introduce our two teaching teams: Team Sense-sational Art and Team Portrait Party!

Team Sense-sational Art: Sharidyn Barnes, Jenna Buckley, and Mary Judge

Team Sense-sational Art was tasked with planning a camp all about art and the five senses for a group of children ages 6-8. They divided and conquered, each taking on one or two senses and planning a day around it. Sharidyn found she had a knack for getting into the why and how of art-making, Jenna dazzled with her knowledge of art history and fun facts about the collection, and Mary ignited campers’ imaginations with dramatic storytelling and gallery exploration.

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Team Portrait Party: Madeline Bumpass and Paige Alexander

Team Portrait Party planned a camp focused on portraits throughout the ages, from Roman busts to modern-day selfies, for a group of girls ages 9-12. Madeline and Paige worked together on each of the days, taking turns leading conversations in the galleries and getting elbows-deep in clay, paint, and fabric in the studio. It was a week of singing (lots of Disney and Taylor Swift), masterpiece-making, joke-cracking, and serious fun.

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Now that their camps are done and their internships have concluded, Jenna, Mary, Sharidyn, Madeline, and Paige are wrapping up their summer vacations, heading back to another year at college, and who knows – maybe one or two are on their way to a career in museum education! Congratulations on a job well done, ladies!

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Jennifer Sheppard
Teaching Specialist

Friday Photos: Gone Campin’

With February having only just begun, you might be wondering why my mind is already on summer. Well, camp, that is.

Drum roll please…Summer Art Camp Internship applications are now open!!

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Summer Art Camp Interns work closely with the DMA’s art camp teachers to help facilitate art projects, gallery games, and all around FUN. One of the things I am most excited for this summer is that Summer Art Camp Interns will have the opportunity to work in teams guided by staff to plan and facilitate their own camp! How cool is that? In case you’re not convinced, allow me to bombard you with photos from our 2016 camps – these fun faces can say much more than I ever could.

We’re accepting applications for the Summer Art Camp Internship until Friday, March 17, 2017. Don’t worry parents: you can find more information on our 2017 summer camps—registration opens March 2!!—here.

Jennifer Sheppard
Teaching Specialist

 

Friday Photos: Mural Mania

In celebration of Nicolas Party’s installation along the Museum’s concourse, our September Home-school and Family Workshops focused on the world of murals. After walking through the “magical underwater forest” as one participant called it, families had an interactive lesson about different forms of public art, including murals, installations, and graffiti. They were challenged with a matching game of pairing local Dallas murals to their locations, followed by a riveting game of Jeo-Party, a spin on the classic game show featuring questions about the artist.

After taking another closer look at Pathway, we came back to the studio to create our own larger than life masterpieces. Using vibrant chalk pastels on large sheets of butcher paper, the young artists had a blast creating their murals!

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Our next Family Workshop is on Saturday, October 8 from 1:00-2:30 p.m. You can register and find out more information here!

Grace Diepenbrock
McDermott Intern for Family and Access Teaching

Friday Photos: Summer Art Camp Interns

I’ll be the first to own up to my pretty serious bias, but I think summer camp is the most wonderful time of the year! The DMA offers unique camps throughout the summer which feature different themes, artworks across the Museum’s collection, and new teachers and campers every week. We wouldn’t be able to manage so much change and excitement without our six camp constants: our 2016 Summer Art Camp Interns! It is my pleasure to introduce Kristin Wright, Clare Mills, Annabella Boatwright, Shannon Bentley, Julia Dotter, and Vanessa White.

Each Monday, these all-star interns greet a new group of campers and put their hearts into creating a friendly, fun, and safe environment for our young artists. They support our teachers, plan lunchtime projects, encourage and challenge campers in their art-making, and are the fastest exhibition set-up crew in the west. Take a look at some of the fun they’ve helped make happen!

Jennifer Sheppard
Teaching Specialist

Dance, Dance, Baby!

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I first met dance instructor Misty Owens last summer when she partnered with some of my colleagues to present movement-based workshops for visitors with special needs here at the DMA. She brought pool noodles, scarves, inspiring music, and a mesmerizing grace into the galleries, and it was so fun to watch her work with our visitors.

This past spring, I saw her in action once again when she brought her Dance for Parkinson’s Disease class to the Museum for regular visits. Her ability to communicate ideas through movement and encourage even the least-coordinated person (me!) to attempt some dance moves in the galleries is inspiring. The culminating performance for Misty’s Dance for PD group just happened to fall on the same day as a Toddler Art class I taught. As the children trickled out of our classroom space after class, they literally stumbled upon the dance group’s dress rehearsal. The toddlers were mesmerized! They spontaneously sat down on the carpet and became an impromptu audience as the dancers practiced their steps. There were huge smiles (on both the toddlers’ and the performers’ faces), and it sparked an idea—what would it be like to have Misty work with our littlest visitors?

Lucky for me, Misty is willing to try just about everything, and earlier this month, she was at the DMA once more, this time as a special guest teacher for the Art Babies class. The Irving Penn: Beyond Beauty exhibition served as our inspiration, and Misty led caregivers and babies in a lively exploration of Penn’s photography through movement.

We began by looking at Issey Miyake Fashion: White and Black. Misty and I were both taken by the fabric and thought that the peek-a-boo playfulness to the image seemed to be begging for some baby dance moves! Using lengths of stretchy white fabric, we experimented with making shapes with our bodies, played peek-a-boo, and created living sculptures around the babies. One little guy could not stop giggling as his mother wrapped him and unwrapped him in the fabric, surprising him with silly faces.

 

For our next stop, we took a closer look at Frozen Foods (one of my personal favorites from the show!) This time, Misty focused our attention on the different textures in the photo—we noticed the long, straight shoots of asparagus, the rounded pops of frozen berries, and the crackling frozen lentils. Using pool noodles, shakers, and maracas, the babies and parents created their own soundscape for the photo, and moved and danced in rhythm to bouncy melodies. It was a ruckus, but so much fun!

I loved watching the parents and children experience the art in an entirely new way. When the music came on, the babies couldn’t seem to help themselves, and their little legs and arms would start bopping in time to the music. Parents were all smiles and gave themselves permission to be silly as we jumped and reached and swooshed around the galleries. And for me personally as an educator, Misty helped me to approach these works of art with a new eye and gain an even greater appreciation for Penn’s artistry and talent. I noticed textures, shapes, movement, and stillness where I hadn’t really seen them before.

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Lesson learned—a little dance is good for everyone, no matter how big or small!

Leah Hanson
Manager of Family and Early Learning Programs

Pollock for the People!

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For the last few months here at the DMA, we’ve been proclaiming “Pollock for all!” From toddlers to teens, and grade schoolers to grannies, the exuberant and lyrical works of “Action Jackson” have inspired thoughtful discussions, messy art, and even a dance performance! As a museum educator, one of the things I love most about Pollock’s work is his approach to putting paint on a canvas by splattering, flinging, dripping, and dropping (a process we often refer to as action art). When you have a bunch of squirmy three year-olds, Pollock makes all kind of sense! But Jackson Pollock: Blind Spots goes beyond Pollock’s all-over paintings and explores a body of work known as the black pourings, in which Pollock’s trademark action is tightly controlled, sweeping and swooping over the canvas to create figures that almost seem to be hiding amidst black lines, puddles, and splatters.

The exhibition has inspired all kinds of Pollock-ing in the studio, proving that no matter how old or young you are, Pollock is for all ages! Read on for some Pollock-inspired ideas you can try at home.

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Babies

Our Art Babies class wiggled and giggled our way through the Pollock exhibition, then enjoyed sensory play inspired by the artist’s work. Pollock’s all-over paintings often remind me of a tangle of lines, with one line twisting and turning over another, so I created a sensory bin of “Pollock lines” for the little ones to explore. One little guy couldn’t get enough of throwing fistfuls of “noodles” into the air as high as he could. Recreate this at home with a large bin of either plastic cording or cooked spaghetti noodles (follow this helpful DIY recipe). But remember, since babies tend to put everything in their mouths, this activity does require grown-up supervision!

Arturo's Preschool Pollock

Toddlers and Preschoolers

If you are feeling brave, suit up your children in their messiest clothes, cover the floor with a drop cloth (or paint outside), and let them go to town, dribbling and splattering paint onto paper. If that idea has convinced you that Pollock is not for you, here are some less messy alternatives.

Marble painting is a fun way to get a feel for the energy and action Pollock might have used, while containing the mess. Place a piece of paper and a marble in a large box or box top, squeeze puddles of paint onto the paper, then have your child tip and shake the box back and forth to roll the marble through the paint. In no time at all, you’ll have a Pollock-ing, rollicking masterpiece.

Or if you want to avoid paint all together, substitute markers, yarn, and contact paper for the messy stuff. Have your child throw, dribble or drop pieces of yarn onto a piece of paper to create some Pollock-like lines. Cover the entire piece of paper with clear contact paper to seal the yarn in place. Then use colored markers (permanent works best on the contact paper) to create puddles of color. Pollock’s Convergence served as our inspiration for this project, and the children loved the layered effect.

Homeschool Pollock

Elementary & Middle School

The Pollock exhibition at the DMA features an entire gallery of paintings Pollock created on paper rather than canvas. We tried a similar approach using Japanese paper, droppers, and liquid watercolor. Layer two or three sheets of paper together, then gently move the dropper around the paper, squeezing watercolor as you go. Watch as different colors swirl and puddle together, then separate the individual pieces of paper to discover what images have soaked through.

Teens

At a recent Late Night event, we used scribble bots to create a modern take on Pollock’s work. All you need is a plastic cup, a toy motor, a battery, and a brush to make your own painting robot! The motor sends the robot skittering across the paper, and the paintbrush “captures” the movement in visual form. Download step-by-step instructions here: Scribble Bot Instructions.

Dance for PD Pollock

Any Age

This final project is as mess-free as you can get! And it provides the most amazing results. Since November, we’ve been privileged to be a part of the Dance for Parkinson’s Disease program. We’ve hosted a wonderful group of individuals who have regularly visited the Museum galleries, and, under the direction of Misty Owens, choreographed a dance performance inspired by Jackson Pollock. As part of the choreography process, the group created light graffiti using laser pointers, flash lights, and a DSLR camera. It’s like painting in the air! This tutorial gives some great tips on creating your own light graffiti. To see Pollock in dance form, join us for the Dance for PD performance in the Center for Creative Connections on Friday, February 19 at 2:00 p.m.

So are you convinced? Ready to join our “Pollock for the People” crusade? We’d love to see what Pollock inspires you to do. Share your Pollock creations on social media with #DallasSpotsPollock and tag us @DallasMuseumArt.

Leah Hanson
Manager of Early Learning Programs

 

Glow Babies

Pop! goes the art in our Art Babies classes. Take a peek at what we’ve been up to as we’ve explored the International Pop exhibition over the past few months. With its bright colors, oversized pieces, and recognizable objects, this exhibit is perfect for our littlest visitors. We’ve been counting pies and cakes, searching for hidden turkeys, and ooh-ing and ah-ing over giant French fries in our investigation of the paintings and sculptures featured in the show.

Inspired by the fun factor in Pop art, I tried something new for our sensory play session in the studio—glow in the dark play! We strung up twinkle lights, plugged in black lights, and used glow sticks throughout the room. With the overhead lights off, the studio turns into a magical place and creates a new environment for the babies to explore. At first the children are quiet, taking it all in. But as soon as they realize that they don’t have to take a nap, there are shrieks of laughter and lots of giggles as they shake bottles filled with water and immersible LED lights, crawl around on a shiny emergency reflective blanket, and try to catch bubbles. It’s a glowing good time!

If you’d like to join us next time, tickets for the January-March classes will go on sale December 3 at 10:00 am on our ticketing site.

Leah Hanson
Manager of Early Learning Programs

Summer Interns: How Time Flies!

I cannot believe that this summer is already coming to a close. It is true that time flies when you are having fun! I have had a great experience interning here with the DMA’s summer art camps and am extremely grateful for the opportunity.

As the summer has progressed I have come to know so many different children, each with a distinct personality and story. Realizing that I have been given the opportunity to be a part of their lives–even if only for a week or so–is such a special privilege. I can only hope that I have helped the children develop their artistic and social skills, and that when they are world famous artists they will remember Miss Anna from summer art camp.

As an artist myself, the campers have taught me a lot about accepting the fact that we are not all Michelangelo or Monet and that, even though our artwork may not be “perfect,” creating something from only our imaginations is awesome. I know that this experience will forever be in my heart, and I really have had an excellent summer working with children.

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Anna Galluzzi
Summer Art Camp Intern

Summer Interns: Creative Young Minds

When I got the email saying I would be one of the five Summer Art Camp Interns at the Dallas Museum of Art, I was so excited because I knew this would be the perfect opportunity to blend my passions for both art and working with children. I am a transfer student from Kenyon College, and I will be attending the University of Texas at Austin this fall where I plan to be a psychology major. My dream would be to someday become an art therapist.

From the New World Kids Camp–a two week long camp that dedicates each day to an element of the sensory alphabet–I recognized that each child had a unique style and voice in their artwork. In only two short weeks I could pick out which artwork belonged to which child because of reappearances in themes such as warships or the color red. Working with these children as a summer intern has changed my opinion about art and its usefulness as a way to reveal interesting traits about each child. For example, certain kids used more curvy and open lines, whereas others were more exact and meticulous. These tendencies to create artwork with certain patterns revealed a lot about each child, and I enjoyed getting to learn about each camper through their art.

Not only was I startled by the overwhelming talent and interest in art created by all of the campers, but I also was excited to observe how creativity in young minds still holds strong, even with distractions today like video games and technology. I love what the DMA achieves in helping children by giving them a place and opportunity to express themselves in a way that is productive and meaningful.

Sara Stahl
Summer Art Camp Intern


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