Carlsbad Art Farm Blog Has Moved

Carlsbad Art Farm has a new blog address! Same blog, just a different Url. This site will no longer be updated, so please follow this link to find our relocated, updated blog. If you are a follower, you will need to visit the new site and click "follow" again. You may also keep up with what's happening at Art Farm by "liking" our Art Farm Facebook page, becoming a follower on the Art Farm Twitter Page, and a follower on our Child and Nature Network blog page. If you REALLY like us, we welcome your support through visiting our Yelp page and writing a positive review.

Check out the recent Art Farm review at San Diego Bargain Mama blog (a great site for local families looking for quality family venues at affordable prices)

Carlsbad Art Farm Summer Camp 2012 will continue to enroll throughout the season starting June 11 and continuing through the third week in August on a space available basis. We did sell out last summer so early reservation are recommended. Camps are one-week long, Monday-Friday, 9 A.M. to 3:30 P.M. Students must be entering grades 2-8 in fall 2012 to attend.

New this year, all forms may be submitted online and you may now pay by credit card or through a PayPal account. For more information, email us at director@carlsbadartfarm.com .

You may email us at any time with questions at director@CarlsbadArtFarm.com.

One last thing: this cute little guy munching on orchard hay is Calvin, one of our many animal art models at Art Farm. Calvin and his brother, Hobbes, would love to meet you and perhaps nibble on your shoes. So don't delay, enroll today!

Mallards Enjoying a Winter Day Along Art Farm's Sunny Creek

Mallards at Carlsbad Art Farm's Sunny Creek

Pictured here are four mallard ducks swimming at Sunny Creek (aka Agua Hedionda Creek) at Carlsbad Art Farm yesterday. To get this shot I had to sit down on our trail with a long-range lens on motor-drive, and be very quiet and patient for a good long time, while I waited for them to swim by.


At one time I raised rescued orphaned mallards as a licenced California Wildlife Rehabilitator through the wonderful San Diego-based nonprofit Project Wildlife. Project Wildlife trains teams of volunteers to rescue many dozens of species of local birds and animals that are brought into their care center after being found injured or orphaned. Each team specializes in an animal. In my case I chose ducks because we had the outdoor space for a pre-release flight cage, and also because I had a young child and didn't want to risk injury by rescuing an animal that might bite, scratch, or carry disease. Rehabilitators learn to care for and feed the wildlife that come into our care without taming them as the goal is to release them back into the wild. The less human contact the better. Our ducks, sometimes 30 at a time, were raised in the pre-release flight cage until their flight feathers matured. We then maneuvered them into large dog carriers and trucked them to Whelan Lake, a 73-acres bird sanctuary in Oceanside. I like to think these birds might be the offspring of some of the birds I raised, as ducks will come back to their breeding ground. Art Farm wasn't where my rescued ducks were born, but it is where they were raised from chicks to adulthood.


Now I'm looking forward to seeing the spring ducklings navigating our creek!

January 2012 Classes and More at Carlsbad Art Farm

Happy New Year!


Our Carlsbad Art Farm staff and animals had a nice winter break and are now ready to get back to work. There is never a lack of things to do around here as we prepare for winter. Picasso the mini-mule and the alpacas are ready for rain (if we get rain!) in the comfort of their new corral finished last spring. Our four Nigerian Dwarf goats - Calvin, Hobbes, Zeus, and Buffy - have now taken up full-time residence in the old alpaca/mule pen, which is slated for improvements this coming spring. Calvin, pictured here, is helping my husband, Chase, with a small roofing job on a kennel, which keeps our goats secure from predators and warm at night.

Calvin inspects progress on his new kennel roof

Thanks to all the families who turned out for our first annual Art Farm for the Holidays events in December! Students had a great time making unique gifts for family and friends while enjoying fresh-baked gingerbread and Art Farm brownies, warm spiced pear cider, and spending free time with our animals. We will be offering this again in December 2012.


Our Saturday morning art class resumes Jan. 7, 2012, from 10 A.M to 1 P.M.


Students currently enrolled in Grades 2-8 are eligible to attend. Classes are $30 per session, purchased in monthly blocks. Classes are taught in our outdoor studios, often using our farm animals as models to teach authentic technique in a variety of dry and wet media. New students are welcome to audit one class for $30. Art Farm Saturday class is primarily a studio drawing and painting class, although we do work in high-end craft projects.  Art Farm classes include a visual literacy program which complements the studio art class. Students are also provided with supervised "free time" to visit with our animals, take hikes down to our creek, and to generally enjoy our 10-acres riparian habitat in north coastal San Diego County.


We are open to opening a second Saturday art class in the afternoon if there is sufficient interest, so let us know. Usually there is interest, but conflicts with sports.

Art Farm for the Holidays students making gifts

Art Farm is located on a private property on Sunny Creek Road near the Village of Carlsbad. Visitors are by appointment only. Art Farm's entry gate is closed and locked unless class is in session. To arrange a visit, please contact Perrin Weston Coman at director@CarlsbadArtFarm.com.


In addition to our academic school year classes, Art Farm is a unique destination for local school field trips, scout outings, birthday parties, and more. Kelly Elementary school second-graders visited Art Farm this fall as part of their "pond life" studies. At Art Farm, they took a tour of our creek where they tested water and learned about our 10-acre woodland riparian habitat, and why a healthy creek is so important to maintaining this habitat.


We also post about events and happenings at Art Farm on our Carlsbad Art Farm Facebook Page. "Liking" our Facebook page is a great way to keep up with Art Farm updates. We are too busy taking care of all of our critters to post too frequently, so we won't inundate you with updates. Plus, our updates usually feature a picture of a really cute animal doing something charming, so what's not to like?


Week-long summer camps at Art Farm begin in June and continue to mid-August. Enrollment begins March 1. Camps sellout early, so if you wish to be added to our mailing list for updates please click director and provide a contact email and phone number. Please include in the subject line "Camp Inquiry".