Wednesday, January 25th was a VERY snowy day. We were actually surprised the schools were not closed for the day! Surprised, but happy. Because we had a special activity planned for the day!
Ms McIntyre, a wonderful teacher from Jarvis Elementary School, had booked a group painting activity at the studio that day for her Grade 2 class. It was our very first time receiving a whole class for a program or an event at the studio. We prepared the space, tried to plan so that everything would be smooth and run perfectly, etc. So we were happy, after planning and preparing, that our friends were braving the weather to come have fun with us!
At 11:45, 19 grade 2 students came in with their coats, their boots, their snow pants, mittens and tuques, with their teacher and assistant. Low coat racks were provided, a space to take off the boots, and Mel led the group to our space in the downstairs section of the studio, where tables had been prepared with all the necessary material.
Ms McIntyre had picked a snowmen design. Mel started by teaching step by step how to paint the background, then the snowy hills. Kids learned to mix colours directly on the canvas, how to hold and use different types of paint brushes, etc.
When the basic shapes of the snow men were painted, each student was invited to personalize it by choosing which accessories to add, and the colours they wanted to use. We got top hats, berets, ear muffs, scarves, snow babies, snowmen with flowy hair, etc. No limit to the imagination of children!
After a little bit over an hour of fun with paint, our friends were ready to leave. They left their canvases to dry and walked back to the studio and Ms McIntyre came back a couple of days later to pick up everybody’s masterpiece.
It was such a great feeling to have the chance to host a whole class from the neighboring school! We are part of the same small community and creating those ties is so important and meaningful. We are looking forward to meeting more classes and groups at our studios! Make sure to contact us if you’d like to know more about programs and workshops we can offer!