Natural Science Studies Coming to Art Farm this Summer

Art Farm is a living classroom in every sense of the word. Many native plants species, birds and animals call our 10-acres home. A Great White Egret fishes out of our year-round creek; hawks raise their young in nests above our roof; and songbirds flourish in old growth oaks and sycamores. As my husband, Chase, notes, "This is what Carlsbad looked like when I was kid."

For Art Farm's first five years, we have concentrated on developing our art curriculum taught in outdoor woodland studios where students learn drawing and painting techniques using live farm animals as models. We teach animal anatomy for young artists and we also get them involved in basic animal husbandry. Anyone know how to bathe a chicken, wash a goat, or teach an alpaca proper trail etiquette? You've come to the right place.

All along, our purpose has been to offer local students a chance to spend time in and learn from the natural world by offering real art education at an age-appropriate level for elementary and middle school students. We started with our popular summer camps and have now branched out into year-round instruction. Area schools have visited Art Farm for day field trips, scouts have been here to earn badges and for bridging ceremonies (on our bridge!), and adults dropping off their children have lamented, "I want to go to Art Farm!" (good news, we will be offering classes for adults in the fall).

Now Art Farm is set to use its natural resources to educate young students attending Art Farm Summer Camp in the natural sciences specific to our riparian habitat. Our natural sciences teacher, Jennifer Stowe, pictured above during a recent visit to Grand Teton National Park, has developed a fun and challenging curriculum that will introduce students up-close to animal, bird, bug, and plant life by the creek and under the tree canopies.

"The science is serious, but it will be delivered in a fun and engaging manner," notes Jennifer. "Students will be asked to think about biological and ecological concepts that they will learn in the coming school year while they sketch animals and plants found during a guided tour of the farm and riparian stream habitat." Jennifer prefers an inquiry-based learning approach where materials, environments, and questions are presented to students so that they may discover the answers for themselves.

Jennifer holds a Master's in Biology from the University of California at San Diego. She has worked in research and development for the biotec industry and as a science teacher and tutor to all ages. A native San Diegan, Jennifer loved biology from an early age. She was inspired by her mother, an herbalist and amateur botanist, who would take the family for nature hikes and point out herbs and plants used by Native Americans. She credits her engineer father with teaching her to think about how things work and how everything connects.

This love for nature and science evolved into many hobbies, including: surfing, hiking and nature tours, snorkeling, creative writing, and gardening. She also grew up around animals. Raising rabbits and chickens in 4-H, among many other critters. “My parents made me write a report about the care of each new type of animal I wanted to get so that I would know how to take care of it," she said.

That's good advice for any child OR adults considering a pet!

Don't let your student get left standing in the barn this summer. For more information about our summer camp program or to enroll, visit our website and click on the "Camp" tab. Registration materials are available there for download.

Chickens in the Land of Oz

Does this happen to you? You're on a tight deadline, desperately trying to finish a 12'x14' canvas painting of the Emerald City of Oz for your daughter's upcoming 5th grade play when up pops a chicken to inspect the wet green paint.

Didn't think so. This particular chicken seems to be a real art fan as she keeps popping back up to peck the canvas no matter how many times she's removed. Either she doesn't approve or the flowers look so real she's determined to eat them. So far all she's gotten for her trouble is a cap of green paint on her head.

Art Farm is pleased to announce that Jennifer Stowe has joined our team as a natural sciences teacher for our summer camp program. Jennifer holds a Master's in biology from the University of California at San Diego. She has been involved in local nature tours and environmental protection groups for many years. Jennifer notes: "I hike our mountains and trails, surf our waves, and grew up catching tadpoles in our local creeks. During college, I spent one summer in Montana identifying and cataloging native trees and shrubs as part of a conservation effort with the University of Montana's Biological Station."

As Art Farm's naturalist, Jennifer will provide students with a solid introduction to our unique, creek-side woodland habitat and the life it supports. She will instruct students in age-appropriate groupings with an emphasis on hands-on learning. The addition of Jennifer to our staff represents Art Farm's continuing commitment to educate local children about the beauty and importance of our biomes.

Art Farm enrollment continues throughout the summer! Visit our website at www.carlsbadartfarm.com for more information. Enrollments forms for summer camp are under the "Camp" tab. You may also contact us at 760-688-6147.

Coming Soon to Carlsbad Art Farm

After nine busy weeks of summer camp, and time out for some end-of-season vacation time, I'm getting back in the saddle (so to speak) at Art Farm. Thanks to all of you parents who have been patient in waiting to hear back from me concerning after school and Saturday art classes for young students. I will be posting times, dates, fees on this blog soon. The difficult part is getting consensus on best times and days. If you would like to weigh-in on this, please contact me at director@carlsbadartfarm.com.

This year Art Farm is opening up to adults (the quick-sketch painting at right is my own recent effort). We will be offering ongoing classes, workshops and seminars.

If you are interested in wildlife or animal art, please let me know as I am working on having Joe Weatherly (www.joeweatherly.net) come to Art Farm for a 2-Day paint sketch seminar this fall. We will use resident Art Farm animals as models.

Will Weston (www.westonseminars.com) is coming to Art Farm Saturday & Sunday, Nov. 21 & 22, to teach a 2-day, 18-hour seminar on Composition for Artists. The fee is $249. Space is limited to 20, so if you are interested contact me soon at director@carlsbadartfarm.com. A $100 deposit secures your reservation.

This workshop is appropriate for intermediate to advanced students (or the ambitious beginning student!). Will notes that many artists - even very experienced artists - have difficulty with composition. Whether you're a fine artist, landscape painter, composing for animation or film, graphic novels, or children's books, this seminar is designed to help you work through those problems and come away with information and hand-out materials that will enable you to continue leaning after the workshop.

The seminar addresses traditional issues faced when composing environmental drawings by combining lectures, presentations, and demonstrations with selected exercises and hands-on drawing. Using landscape composition as a starting point, students learn to compose pictures with applications to studio art and illustration. Examples are presented and explained in detail. Students do short exercises to direct the eye, create depth and establish mood and time of day. Students then draw a landscape composition under the direction of the instructor. Handouts provided during the seminar enable students to continue learning after the workshop.

About the Instructor: Will is a professor at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, where he teaches composition, film composition, digital painting, life drawing, and visual development for animation and film. He is also the curriculum advisor for Art Center's Entertainment Program. Professionally, Will has worked for many studios, including Disney Feature and Television Animation, Nickelodeon, Warner Bros., and Sony Pictures. He also has many years experience working in illustration and advertising.

It's a Wrap for Art Farm Summer Camp 2009

We at Carlsbad Art Farm want to say thank you to all the wonderful young artists and their parents who have made it yet another wonderful summer camp season at our woodland wonderland.

Yesterday marked the completion of our ninth and final weekly summer camp. At right are a selection of nature journals by some campers (click for larger view) filled with images of animals, plants, chickens, and just about anything else they could think of to draw. For more information and images of what students have seen and accomplished at Art Farm this summer view earlier posts or visit our website at CarlsbadArtFarm.com.

The good news is that for the first time this year Art Farm will be open year-round starting in mid-September. We will be offering classes for children and adults. We will be updating our website to reflect new offerings, but in the meantime check this blog frequently for the most current information.

Coming this fall, Art Farm will have ongoing art classes for students in grades two through eight. Additionally, Art Farm will be offering adult seminars and workshops. We are also available for home school art instruction. This is a wonderful opportunity for students to spend time in a natural woodland habitat, learning to draw, paint and otherwise make art through direct observation of animals and the surrounding natural environment.

Also for the first time this year, Art Farm will be available for mini-camps during the school year. We are available for week-long or three-day art camps during your school district's breaks. We have numerous inquires asking if we are available for activities by various youth groups such as girl scouts, boy scouts, youth soccer leagues, etc. The answer is: Yes we are. If you are a group of parents who would like to take advantage of any of these options then contact us at director@carlsbadartfarm.com. We do need up to two-weeks advance notice.

And finally, in answer to a question we hear a lot from parents whose children have attended Art Farm: Yes, we are available for birthday parties. Cost will depend on the number of guests and the type of art projects you select for your birthday child.

Again, thanks to all for joining us this summer at Art Farm. Come back to visit us and the critters often!

Alpacas Have Arrived at Art Farm

Alpacas have arrived at Carlsbad Art Farm just in time for the summer camp season. They are pictured here with my daughter, Emerson. They are unbelievably cute, like giant stuffed animals. The lighter colored alpaca is six months old. His name is Harry Potter because he has a zig-zagging spot of color on his forehead. The brown alpaca is one-year old. His name is Mr. Weasley.

The natural habitat of an alpaca is the high Andes of South America, but since 1984 they have flourished on farms throughout the United States. They are shorn twice a year. Alpaca hair is very fine and silky, and unlike wool it doesn't itch.

These are huacaya alpacas, which are known for their fine fiber and wooly coats. (There are also suri alpacas with tightly-wound fiber that looks like dreadlocks). A baby alpaca (birth to five months) is called a "cria". Harry Potter will be a "weanling" until his first birthday. Mr. Weasley will be a "yearling" until his second birthday.

Adult alpacas live up to 25 years. Their average height is 36-inches at the whithers. They can weight up to 175 pounds. Alpacas are camelids and are related to llamas and camels. They are much smaller than llamas and are a distinct breed apart. Alpacas are believed to be descended from vicunas, a wild camelid from South America.

Our alpacas will be serving as models for young artists coming to Carlsbad Art Farm this summer. And to answer a question that keeps coming up: No, Alpacas don't spit at people.

Where Do Artists in San Diego Get Their Supplies?

This is not a comprehensive list (in fact I'm listing all of two locations). But parents ask me all the time where to go to get art supplies for their kids and I'd like to keep it simple, and I'd like to wean them off of Michael's Art Supplies.

I have nothing against Michael's, except that when it comes to fine arts supplies their prices are horribly jacked-up, their section is limited, and they don't have knowledgeable staff on hand to answer questions about the supplies they do have. If you have a child who is truly showing an interest in drawing and painting, then take them to a real fine arts supply store and encourage them to ask questions of the staff. And be ready to make a small but worthwhile investment because there comes a time when making art requires better materials (yes, that means not buying the Value Pack of one trillion paint brushes for $9.99).

A young student with a passion for drawing and painting absolutely should be introduced to and have familiarity with good quality art materials and their functions, in the same way that a promising young violinist should have access to a decent violin. Better materials handle better and get better results.That's why grown-up artists use them.

One of the things I really enjoy about teaching foundation drawing classes to middle school students is introducing them to basic art materials and then showing them the effects they can get with these materials. I issue each student a small tool box filled with a variety of charcoals, pencils, erasers, a limited range of Nupastel, white and black chalks, Conte Crayon, etc., and then set about showing them how to use these on different types of surfaces and papers.

We talk about different brands, soft and hard leads, vine versus willow charcoal, what type of charcoal pencil gets the darkest line, why different pencils come in different shapes and how to use them, what the different erasers do, etc. I want my students to be knowledgeable so that they can go into an art supply store and ask for the materials they need.

When I shop for drawing and painting supplies in San Diego County, I go to one of two places: Rhino Art Supply or Dick Blick. Since I live in North County, I usually shop at Rhino Art Supply, at 97 N Coast Highway 101 in Encinitas (at the corner of Encinitas Blvd.), an independently owned and operated art supply store that is well stocked and staffed. It also looks like actual art gets made there, which, if I were a kid, would be fascinating. But be warned, if you're a Thomas Kinkade fan you might want to stick to Michael's.

For parents in South County, Dick Blick, 1844 India St., in San Diego (in the Little Italy district), is a huge art supply store. (Dick Blick is also where I shop online for art supplies. If you're buying in quantity and can wait a week or so, that's where the best prices are.) Dick Blick is a supermarket of art supplies. Fine art students from the UCSD and San Diego State go there for their art supplies. Dick Blick also has a knowledgeable and large staff, but you need to work a little harder to get their attention.

At both stores, the prices for materials are fair. Both stores have websites (see my "Links") where you can check for discounts, coupons, etc.

Blogs for Younger and Older Artists

Art Farm has two blog list headings: "Blogs for Younger Artists" and "PG-13 Artists' Blogs".

These blogs, for the most part, are maintained by artists. I post blogs because they are wonderful resources for learning about art technique, being introduced to new art, taking glimpses into the wonderful world of keeping art journals (for example, Vickie Henderson, a birder, who keeps journals about bird watching), etc.

Another example is Artist Duane Keiser, pictured here with his painting of a giant PB & J sandwich. Keiser does lots of food still lifes and his blog explains his process. What I like about this, for kids, is that it shows them, much the way Andy Warhol did with his soup cans in his time, that the most mundane subject matter from everyday life can be the stuff of art. What I like even more is that it shows kids that not everything is done on Photoshop. This is done on a big canvas, with messy paints and a fistful of brushes, and the guy has to know basic perspective, composition, color theory, and how to paint and draw to get this accomplished.

My ratings guide for my blogs list come with this disclaimer: I cannot guarantee what will or won't appear on a blog from day-to-day (or even moment-to-moment). Blogs are maintained by other people. These people may post whatever they like whenever they like. What I have done is visited each site personally, looked through them, and posted them on my site because I believe these blogs are well-established, have artistic merit, and have educational value to my audience.

My rating system is based on what I would allow my 10-year-old daughter to look at. Every family is different, so you must use your own judgement.

Anything under "Blogs for Younger Artists" I would have no problem allowing my daughter to view unsupervised. Anything under "PG-13 Artists Blogs" I would view first before deciding whether or not to let my daughter have access (it's just like the movies, some PG-13 rated films are fine for younger kids. It's the parent's call).

If you find these blogs useful, please take a moment to let me know by commenting to this post. If you find a blog that you believe should be moved to the "PG-13 category", I would also appreciate a heads-up.

Goat Art? Why Art Farm Summer Camp is Unique

Summer camps abound in San Diego County. Art camps, too. So what's so unique about Carlsbad Art Farm?

Art Farm is a place where kids come to learn how to paint, draw, and otherwise make art from live animal models in outdoor studio classrooms nestled on a beautiful, wooded 10-acre coastal property.

At Art Farm students take a step back to a time and place where the emerging talents of young artists are treated seriously and nature serves as their inspiration. They cross our wooden bridge and leave behind cityscapes, stoplights, and pavement for a setting that looks much as Carlsbad did back in the early 1960s – when the director’s family first purchased and set out to preserve the property.

Kandinsky the Art Loving Goat (pictured above; she will eat your art work if you letter her get too close!), Picasso the mini-mule, Hilda the Soccer Dog, Maude the Mystery Chicken, and all our other animal models at Art farm loved meeting the many students who came to camp last summer and they look forward to seeing some new faces this summer

To see more of Art Farm and to download enrollment forms, follow this link.