ARTS: A Reason to Survive and Barrio Logan College Institute Visit Art Farm

A wonderful group of San Diego 5th-graders from ARTS: A Reason to Survive and Barrio Logan College Institute visited Art Farm yesterday for an afternoon of painting animals with Art Farm instructor Kris Finch; making nature journals; hugging alpacas; feeding chickens, and enjoying a BBQ in the woods. Both non-profit organizations support at-risk kids by providing free art instruction and educational mentoring.

Here's a little history on both organizations:

ARTS: A Reason to Survive was founded in 2001 by artist Matt D'Arrigo based on his philosophy that the artistic process can change and heal lives. From this modest beginning, ARTS has grown into a much larger organization with eight full-time staff members and a $950,000 annual budget. Talk about one dreamer making a difference!

ARTS provides free arts-based education programs to thousands of children "facing many types of life challenges" throughout San Diego County and at the Pat D'Arrigo ARTS Center in San Diego. As the ARTS website notes, many of the children and families served are facing some of life's toughest challenges: terminal or chronic illness; abuse and neglect; parents in the military serving overseas; physical, mental, behavioral, or emotional disabilities; self-image or self-esteem issues; parental divorce; substance abuse and recovery; gay and lesbian issues; socio-economic challenges, homelessness, and others.

Barrio Logan College Institute (BLCI), located in Barrio Logan, San Diego, is dedicated to making a difference in the lives of children by helping those "with the will, passion, and talent" go to college. BLCI provides free after-school mentoring and academic enrichment programs. Qualifying students must be a first-generation college-bound student. The program starts in 3rd-grade and continues through high-school. The program's goals are to:

• develop the sense of pride, worth, and self-esteem students need to be successful.
• support parent involvement in their children's educations.
• motivate students to excel academically and give back to their communities.
• educate families on how to gain access to college.
• and to achieve 100 percent college enrollment among it's students.

BLCI was founded in 1996 by Harvard graduate student (and Princeton alumnus) Kenny Rogers, who discovered that most college-track programs begin in middle or high school, by which time "to many students of color lack the fundamental skills to benefit from such programs." BLCI now has an annual $400,000 budget, a full-time staff of four and a part-time staff of seven. Graduating BLCI students have attended many well regarded colleges and universities, including Yale. Again, it's nice to be reminded that one individual who acts on an idea can move mountains.

Happy Campers Point the Way to Art Farm

Session Seven Campers at Art Farm last week formed a small but enthusiastic group of students. Here they are, showing off their nature journals at the entrance to Art Farm (for a closer view, click on image).

What's very rewarding from week-to-week is to see students blossom from their first, tentative day at Art Farm to feeling like they pretty much own the place and the animals by week's end. For many urban kids, this is their first immersion experience in a woodland habitat where they have the time not just to view animals and the nature that surrounds them, but to also spend time observing it all in close detail. The students take pride in knowing the names of the various critters and having a sense of their individual personalities. This is a different experience than passing by a cage, seeing a goat or an alpaca, and then moving on to the next exhibit. Art Farm is a 10-acres riparian habitat with a creek that runs year-round.

We have been very fortunate this summer in our instructors, Lori Mitchell and Kris Finch. Kris is pictured here with his painting students. He's an absolute natural at showing students how to break down form and render it in paint.

Now on to Session Eight and Nine, starting this Monday. There is still time to register. Then it's time to start planning for course offerings (for children and adults) this fall.

For more information, visit the Carlsbad Art Farm website at CarlsbadArtFarm.com.

A Mule With a Hankering for Sunflowers

Picasso, our miniature mule, has come a long way since he first came to Art Farm a year ago in April. He was generally anxious and stand-offish, and didn't like to be touched about the head. But now he follows us around like an extra-jumbo-sized Great Dane.

When camp is not in session, we let him out of his pen so he can roam around and get in a good run. He is pictured here with my daughter, Emerson, at the camp registration table. Moments after this picture was taken, he noticed on the table a painting on paper of some sunflowers. It must have been a good likeness, because Picasso got this rascally look in his eye, snapped it up and ran off with it. The paper flapping in the wind caused him to startle and run ever faster, but he wouldn't let go of the painting because he was sure it might be good to eat. After he figured out that the painting wasn't going to harm him, he dropped it on the ground, looked at the flowers for awhile longer, and then, apparently deciding these particular flowers were not for eating, he trotted off looking for something better. Kandinsky, our goat, would have eaten the paper flowers in a heartbeat.

Picasso has been trained to come when we whistle. He'll come to the whistler, and then trot along behind hoping for a treat. Many times his treat is a nice ear scratch. He would prefer some Alfamo, but he thinks the ear scratch is pretty nice.

Art Farm has two summer sessions left before the camp season ends. For details and enrollment forms, visit our website at CarlsbadArtFarm.com and click on the "Camp" tab.

P.S. click on the photo below to enlarge. Picasso's face is pretty endearing.

Chickens For Art's Sake

The American Educator William Lyon Phelps, who served as a professor of English at Yale University from 1901 to 1933, once said: "If I didn't start painting, I would have raised chickens."

Well, we're here to tell you that raising chickens and making art are not mutually exclusive undertakings.


Carlsbad Art Farm currently has 13 free-range chickens that wander through our outdoor studios, foraging for yummy bugs and worms, while students strive to capture their images in paint and charcoal. This group of students - entering second or third grade this coming fall - are showing off portraits of several varieties of chicken which they painted in instructor Kris Finch's class. During breaks, they have fun discovering where the various hens are laying their many-colored eggs.

There are, of course, many other critters at Art Farm for students to observe and render. So far this week, our campers have enjoyed making nature journals, drawing and painting Harry and Mr. Weasley, the alpacas, Picasso the mini-mule, a very large San Diego Alligator Lizard named Lizzy, and our lovely rescue goat, Kandinsky. They have also made "Monster Soap" and "Animal Soap" to give as surprise gifts to their dads on Father's Day (so, shhhh . . .! don't tell). Students have also helped with the feeding of animals.

Carlsbad Art Farm Summer Camp will continue enrolling students as space allows in our weekly camp sessions through mid-August. All enrollment forms and information are available on the website under the "Camp" tab.

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.

Alpacas Coming To Carlsbad Art Farm

Carlsbad Art Farm Summer Camp is all about learning how to draw and paint and otherwise make art rendered from life. At Art Farm, students work in outdoor studios surrounded by 10-acres of rustic, woodsy land where they learn how to draw animals from live models. Last summer our students met Picasso the miniature mule and Kandinsky the goat, plus a host of other visiting animals: horses, burros, baby doll lambs, dogs, and more (but no swine, in case anyone is worried about that).

New this summer are two young Alpacas. They are arriving in May and will be ready to model for students coming to Carlsbad Art Farm Summer Camp starting June 15. These alpacas (photo by Mehgan Murphy) were photographed at the Smithsonian National Zoo in January. As soon as we get pictures of our alpacas I will post them (I neglected to bring my camera when I traveled to California Criations in Temecula to purchase them, but these two look very similar). One alpaca is coming prenamed "Harry Potter" because he has coloring on his forehead that looks like the boy wizard's famous lightening bolt scar. The other has yet to be named, so if anyone has a name that sounds like a good fit for a brown alpaca then reply to this post.

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.

Introducing Art Farm Instructor Kris Finch

Carlsbad Art Farm has assembled some great talent for our Summer Camp program this year (to learn more about our staff, follow this link and click on instructors. Visit frequently for updates on visiting instructors).

Kris Finch will be teaching drawing and oil painting this summer. He has a wonderful low-key style of instruction that is appealing to students. Kris and I sat down one afternoon to paint my mini-Mule, Picasso, and I was fascinated by his technique and how simply he explained it while whipping up this spot-on portrait of my mule. Kris is a classically trained portrait artist, but as you can see from the painting here he’s adept in the barnyard as well.

To see more of Kris’ work, visit his website.