About Louisa:
BFA Rhode Island School of Design (Providence, RI)
A schooled painter and active member of Portland’s art community, Louisa instills a sense of aesthetics and creativity into all of her work as an educator. Her previous education work spans the country and includes the Children’s Creativity Museum in San Francisco as well as work with at-risk youth in California, New Hampshire and Maine. Louisa’s deep curiosity about the world – from modern art to rocks and gems – informs her interdisciplinary approach to education with children of all ages.
Here’s what Louisa has to say about her 2013 summer camps:
Art making encourages….
- Respect for self, others and nature
- Self-evaluation
- How to learn from our mistakes
- How to see another point of view
- Fine motor skills (lots of gross motor, too!)
- Development of aesthetic taste or opinion
- How to clean up
- Cause and effect, chemical reactions
- Connection-making
I’m excited to harness campers’ physical energy with some great, process-based art making. This is camp all about experimentation in an open-ended way. It’s messy and silly. We’ll have a subtle focus on shape, color, form, scale, materials and line, while keeping it flexible and driven by the children’s interests. A simple project like making our own colorful play dough creates so many developmental opportunities. For example, the malleable nature of play dough makes it a perfect material for investigation and exploration, while it also builds strength in our hand muscles, preparing us for more complex materials that require control. Not to mention, we’ll make it ourselves and learn about chemical reactions, ratios and measuring, and color mixing. Come to Ooey Gooey Art camp to get messy and (secretly) learn a whole lot.
A popular subject matter for art since the beginning of time has been the human. Its beauty and complexity has been pondered and appreciated for millions of years. I feel this is likely because of its convenience – the human body is always present (even if it is only yourself!). We’re going to use our bodies as the inspiration for this art camp. How can we make art that attaches to our bodies and works with our unique form and movement? Can we paint our hands and turn them into animal heads? How silly can we make a hat, and what shapes best fit for our heads? What type of design would look really great on a t-shirt? And what kind of necklace best represents you? The camp, designed for 6- to 8-year-olds, is focused on craft versus art and will introduce new materials and techniques to budding designers.
Talk to Louisa:
Curious about Louisa’s camps? Contact Louisa at 828-1234 x227 or email her at louisa@kitetails.org.
Ready to register? You can do it online here or call Shana at 828-1234 x232.