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".

Two Hour Time Lapse Painting Demonstration by Instructor Kris Finch

Molasses the Desert Tortoise Visits Art Farm

We get a number of interesting guest animals at Art Farm each summer. This week, Camp Aide Erica Barrett brought her 3-year-old desert Tortoise, Molasses, to visit with students in Science Lab class.

Molasses is an inspired name for a tortoise (you know, "slow as molasses . . ."), so I was surprised to see how fast this little guy (gal?) can scoot around. While Erica provided information about the care and feeding of a desert tortoise, Molasses made several laps around the table to check out the in-progress drawings students were sketching of him in their nature journals. Molasses mostly eats lettuce, and lots of it.

Later this week, Persephone, the flying squirrel, will be returning to Art Farm for another guest appearance.

Next week is the last camp for the summer season. There is still time to enroll. For more information, call 760-688-6147 or email us at director@CarlsbadArtFarm.com. Information about camp and printable forms are available at our website under the "Camp" tab.

Flying Squirrel Visits Carlsbad Art Farm

Art Farm Summer Camp Aide Max Giffen delighted campers recently by bringing an unusual visitor to natural science class -- her pet flying squirrel Persephone. If you click on the picture, you can catch a glimpse of Persephone at the bottom of her travel cage.

One surprise about flying squirrels is that they're pretty small compared to the more robust ground and tree squirrels we're accustomed to in California. Max noted that to be aerodynamic, flying squirrels need to be small enough to glide from destination to destination. Persephone is a variety found in North America (there are two). In all, world wide, there are 44 known species.

Flying squirrels are not capable of sustained flight. Instead they glide between trees, with flights recorded up to 295 ft. The direction and speed of the animal in midair is varied by changing the positions of its two arms and legs, largely controlled by small wrist bones. This changes the tautness of a furry parachute-like membrane that stretches from wrist to ankle. It has a fluffy tail that stabilizes in flight. The tail also works as an airbreak before landing.

Also, unlike other squirrels, flying squirrels are nocturnal. Their large eyes indicate the importance of vision as they navigate and forage at night. Because of their small size and elusive behavior, flying squirrels are difficult to observe, which is why this class felt very fortunate to observe a tame one up close. Students took notes and drew pictures of Persephone in their nature journal.

For more information about flying squirrels, visit www.flyingsquirrels.com, the only website dedicated to these fascinating creatures. Art Farm weekly summer camps still open for enrollment are Sessions 7, 8, and 9, starting the last week in July and continuing through mid-August. For more information and registration materials, visit our website at www.CarlsbadArtFarm.com and click on the "Camp" tab. If you wish to make a reservation today, email the director at director@carlsbadartfarm.com or call 760-688-6147.

Art Farm Camp Students Show Off Their Work

These session three campers display paintings completed on the last day of camp last week (click image for a larger view). During the week, students learn to sketch animals; color mix using a limited pallet; how to block in their subject for a painting; a little about animal anatomy, and then use the colors they create on their own pallet to render their subject (in this case: a bunny, chickens and a mouse on a wheel). These students will be entering Grade 4 this fall. First row center is Emerson Coman, who will be starting Grade 6 this fall, and whose mother, Perrin, owns and directs Art Farm. Directly behind Emerson is Kris Finch, who teaches painting at Art Farm.

For more on camp life, read previous recent posts on this blog and visit our website. Art Farm has several sessions still open for enrollment (see previous post) and our Saturday morning art class continues through the summer and year-round. Adults interested in taking classes this coming fall at Art Farm should email the director at CarlsbadArtFarm.com. Please indicate your level of experience and what type of classes you are interested in taking. Also, please type "Art Farm Classes" in the subject line so we don't delete your message as potential spam.

All registration forms for camp are available on our website under the "Camp" tab. When sessions fill, we post that information on our blog immediately. For more information, contact the director at www.CarlsbadArtFarm.com or call 760-688-6147.

Art Farm Summer Camp Kicks-off in One Week

It's hard to believe, but summer is here. If you haven't enrolled your student at Art Farm yet, don't worry. We continue enrolling all summer as long as space is available. Classes begin June 14 and continue through mid-August. For information about our week-long art and nature camp for Grades 2 through middle school, read this blog and visit our website. Camp schedules and registration forms are available for download under our "Camp" tab.

When sessions fill, we will immediately post that information here, or you can call us at 760-688-6147. You may make a reservation by phone.

New at Art Farm this summer is our natural sciences curriculum taught by Jennifer Stowe (see previous post). Students will learn about Art Farm's unique 10-acres woodland environment. Art Farm will also host a series of classes presented by the San Diego County Humane Society on topics such as how animal adapt, habitat preservation, and environmental preservation.

We are also still enrolling in our 10:30 AM to Noon Saturday morning art class. Saturday Art Class runs from $100 to $125 monthly, depending on the number of Saturdays in the month. There is also an annual $50 materials fee. Students must be in Grade 2 through middle school and able to stay focused for the duration of the class to attend. All instruction is taught at an age-appropriate level. Our main focus is developing studio drawing and painting skills. For more information on Saturday morning classes, email the director at director@CarlsbadArtFarm.com.

Spring Chicks Coming to Art Farm

Carlsbad Art Farm has placed it's spring chick order for summer camp. Arriving May 17 are 31 day-old chicks: Silver Polish (pictured here); Golden Polish; Buff Laced Polish; Barred Rocks; White Crested Polish; Black Polish; and Light Brahmans.

Our daughter, Emerson, 11, is the resident chicken expert at Art Farm. She did all the ordering at McMurray Hatchery, assuring us that kids will especially love the Polish hens for their fabulous feathers.

The chicks, believe it or not, arrive care of our local post office. After pick-up, they are placed in brooders to keep them warm and safe until they are ready for the outdoors.

The polish variety are known for their wonderful feathered heads. Students will learn how to hold baby chicks and wash their hands after handling birds. Older students may enjoy learning how to bathe and blow dry a chicken for show.

Chickens at Art Farm are free-range during the day. They enjoy roaming our 10-acres woodland habitat for bugs, worms, and weeds. Students are delighted when the chickens cruise by during art classes. While doing so, they help fertilize and turn-over our soil. At night time, they all voluntarily return to their coop to roost. All of our birds are inoculated against disease.

Weekly camp sessions begin June 14 and continue through Mid-August. We offer two sessions daily to accommodate busy families. Students must be entering Grades 2 through 8 in Fall 2010 to attend. All classes are small and grouped according to age. Art projects are geared toward the age level of each student group.

We are located off El Camino Real and College Blvd. very near the Village of Carlsbad and Palomar Airport. Students come to Art Farm from all over north San Diego County. For more information visit our website and click on the "Camp" tab. Registration forms are available for easy download under the Camp Tab. You may contact us directly at director@carlsbadartfarm.com.

Coming Soon: Saturday Art Classes at Carlsbad Art Farm

Carlsbad Art Farm has made its reputation on our summer art camps. Many parents who have had their children come to Art Farm summer after summer have asked about ongoing art classes during the school year.

We are pleased to announce that starting in January, we will be offering 1.5 hour Saturday studio art classes with a concentration on drawing and painting. As with our summer program, students will work in our outdoor studios on our 10-acres woodland property near the Village of Carlsbad. For those of you who have been here, you know this is a unique and wonderful environment for children. For anyone who has not been to Art Farm, we invite you to come visit.

Our ongoing visual art program will be more comprehensive than our week-long summer programs. The education will be progressive, and will incorporate age-appropriate art history, education about the environment, and, using Heifer International classroom materials, we will incorporate how the gift or farm animals are useful to helping lift families and communities globally out of poverty. Students, through their artwork, will also have an opportunity to help raise funds to buy animals for these families.

At Art Farm, we take your student's visual literacy education seriously while keeping it fun and challenging at an age appropriate level. Middle school students will also learn about animal anatomy for artists and the elements of composition for artists. This is important but seldom taught to this age group. Composition is to picture-making what plot is to writing a story. Without it, there's really no story.

In drawing and painting with any level of sophistication, composition prioritizes everything from the most important to the least important elements. The ability to compose a picture that really communicates an artist's feelings and intentions is what separates the beginning from the more advanced student. It's also what keeps young artists intellectually engaged.

Our approach to instruction is to have students work with artists who are teachers in a studio setting where they learn to render from live animal model, natural settings, costumed models and other lively subjects. The setting and subject matter make art come alive for students, even those who say, "I can't draw. I'm no good." We keep the teacher-student ratio small, usually no more than 10 students per teacher.

We look forward to posting more information about our classes soon. We will also be offering after-school enrichment classes as our program develops. For more information on times, fees, and other information about our Saturday class, please contact Director Perrin Coman at director@carlsbadartfarm.com

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!