Carlsbad Art Farm

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

2012-01-10T12:43:00.000-08:00

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

2012-01-02T15:41:00.000-08:00

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".

Win a Week at Summer Camp While Making Great Gifts for the Holidays!

2011-11-21T10:48:00.001-08:00

Arctic Fox at the San Diego Zoo, Sun., Nov.20, 2011

Photo by Perrin Weston Coman

I enjoyed another awesome animal drawing class at the San Diego Zoo Sunday with Watts Atelier Instructor Tom Babbey. This gorgeous little Arctic Fox lives in his enclosure near the Polar Bears.

As a reminder, Carlsbad Art Farm is holding Art Farm for the Holidays during the first three weekends in December for students currently enrolled in Grades 2-8.

Students are invited to come to Art Farm to make gifts for the holidays, visit with our farm animals, indulge in sugary holiday treats and hot cider, and enjoy being at Art Farm during this beautiful season of the year. The recent rains have brought much greenery to our 10-acre woodland preserve making it a perfect holiday setting.

All paid students attending Art Farm for the Holidays open studio sessions will be put in a drawing for a chance to win a week at Carlsbad Art Farm Summer Camp 2012 (value $400). Camps begin in June and continue through mid-August. Camps are one-week, Monday through Friday, 9 A.M. to 3:30 P.M. The drawing will follow the last open-house session the third weekend in December. Note: Students must be entering grades 2 or higher in fall 2012 to attend summer camp.

Polar Bear at the San Diego Zoo, Sun., Nov. 12, 2011
Photo by Perrin Weston Coman

Carlsbad Art Farm is located on Sunny Creek Road near the Village of Carlsbad. We are known for our wonderful sold-out summer camps and year-round studio art, visual literacy and natural science enrichment classes for youth Grades 2-8. Students study drawing and painting technique in our outdoor studios, often using our farm animals as live models. Our habitat is riparian, with a year-round running creek which we use to educate students about conservation and respect for the natural world. This November, we welcomed two wonderful groups of Kelly Elementary School second-graders who came to Art Farm for a field trip to study pond life.

Art Farm for the Holidays open studio times and dates are detailed in our previous post (see "Art Farm for the Holidays" below). RSVPs are mandatory. The fee is $40 per 4-hour session per student. An additional fee of $5-$15 per gift made (cost depends on materials used) applies. Payment is by cash or check payable to Carlsbad Art Farm on the day of the event. We anticipate that students will be able to complete 2-3 projects per visit depending on what projects they choose and how long it takes to complete the project.

To RSVP for Art Farm for the Holidays, check dates and times on our previous post and follow link for contacting us. Questions may be directed to Owner/Director Perrin Weston Coman at director@CarlsbadArtFarm.com. Please type "Art Farm Holiday" in the subject head so we don't delete your email as spam.

Art Farm for the Holidays

2011-11-14T09:29:00.000-08:00

An Indonesian Eclectus Parrot, right, and his unidentified

friend enjoy their lunch at the San Diego Zoo yesterday.

(Photo by Perrin Weston)

Carlsbad Art Farm is hosting six open house studio events for students Grades 2-8 over the first three weekends in December. Students are invited to come to Art Farm to make presents for family and friends for the holidays while enjoying our 10-acres preserve in central Carlsbad. Please look at our schedule below for event dates and times (click headline for complete post). Attendance is by RSVP only. Space is limited so early reservations are recommended. Fee is $40 per student per session date, plus and additional $5-$15 per project completed. Parents enrolling siblings concurrently will receive a discount enrollment rate of $25 per each additional child. The per project fee remains the same. Depending on the projects selected, students will have time to finish 1-3 projects per visit.

In addition to making holiday gifts for friends and family, students will have time to simply enjoy Art Farm. Visits with our farm animals, time on our tire swing, walks down the creek-side trail (weather permitting), and sinfully delicious holiday treats are all part of the fun. And naturally, it's always fun to come with friends so don't be shy about getting the word out for us.

For more information and to make your reservation, please click here. In the subject heading, please type "Art Farm for the Holidays" (so we don't delete your email as spam). Provide the first names and current grade level of your student(s), and your preferred open house session date. Payment is by check or cash only on the day of the event.

In the event of rain, we will cancel or postpone an open house on any given date. We will email you prior to any cancellation so if the weather looks iffy check your email prior to coming out the day of your reservation.

Open House Dates: Sat, Dec. 3, 1:30 PM-5:30 PM; Sun, Dec. 4, 11 AM-3 PM; Sat, Dec. 10, 1:30 PM-5:30 PM; Sun, Dec. 11, 11 AM-3 PM; Sat, Dec17, 1:30 PM-5:30 PM; Sun, Dec. 18, 11 AM-3 PM.

Drawing at the San Diego Zoo

2011-11-07T12:34:00.000-08:00

I'm enjoying a 10-week San Diego Zoo drawing drawing class for adults with Instructor Tom Babbey through Watts Atelier (based in Encinitas). Tom is an awesome animal artist (link to his sketch blog at bottom of post). If you can find a class offered by him jump at the opportunity. Tips for Young students: Animal models generally move a lot (even the Galapagos tortoise pictured here), so animal artists have to develop a visual memory of their subjects so they can keep drawing while waiting for their subjects to strike a similar pose.

One week we were drawing Grevy's Zebras (also pictured here), and for almost three hours these animals conspired against us artists by keeping their faces obscured in troughs of hay. Much of my zebra's head that day was drawn using my "visual memory" of what a zebra's head looks like.

If you are serious about learning to draw animals well, it helps to have a good camera with zoom lens and fast shutter speed so you can develop your own image library. If you don't have a camera or can't get to the zoo, visit the San Diego Zoo website and find an image there to draw. The images here were taken by me over a period of several weeks at the San Diego Zoo. I also took many close-up "detail shots" of different parts of the animal such as legs, hoofs, eyes, muzzles, ears, etc.

Tips for Young Students: Make a habit of keeping a daily sketchbook where you practice, practice, practice! When you go to the zoo or any other place where you can view animals, practice drawing them from life in your sketchbook. Over time, as you flip through your book, you will be amazed at your improvements.

You are welcome to print out these zoo pictures and sketch them.

Students: With parent permission, we invite you to send a scanned image of artwork made by you of one of the pictures in this blog post. Send your image file to us at director@carlsbadartfarm.com. We just might exhibit your art on our blog! Remember to include your first name only and your age.

Tom Babbey Animal Sketch Blog

Wire Sculpting

2011-07-26T21:27:00.000-07:00

Students at the Carlsbad ArtFarm were asked to express their favorite animals through abstract wire form. Having many favorites, students decided to combine them together to create a new breed. Instructor Andrew Sinclair discusses how to explain form through abstract thought and reasoning. Students formulated explanations behind the metamorphosis of their new animal to express themselves during critic. The term that were used throughout the class relating to, structure, abstract form, and artistic influences.

based upon its form this student titled her sculpture
Dr. Seuss

The combination of a duck and horse influenced the birth of
Doris

Earth Energy

2011-07-26T19:50:00.000-07:00

Earth energy is an installation done by the alpaca students of the Carlsbad ArtFarm. The intentions from the students was to expose the aura’s of the earth and understand conceptual cycles from where we, as humans, gain our power and strength. Students used minimal materials to create bursts of earth energy shooting out of the ground to represent the different emotional auras of the earth. After the installation was complete students discussed the powers of the earth and how we benefit from its different cycles of energy.

Human Goat Project

2011-07-26T19:16:00.000-07:00

The Human Goat Project is a collaborative effort of over 100 Art Farm students who experimented with the up and coming idea of street art. Using different colored string to create graffiti, students express their own style and unique ability to work together to color the walls of the new sanctuary for Picasso, the resident miniature mule of the Art Farm.

Art Farm Sculptures Inspired by Deborah Butterfield

2011-06-20T21:56:00.000-07:00

Art Farm Summer Camp Season is off to a great start! Last week our middle school-age students studied Deborah Butterfield, an American artist known for her larger-than-life-sized sculptures of horses made from found objects such as metal and wood. Students watched a short video of her work, in which Butterfield talks about her technique and her life as an artist.

Following the video, students set about collaboratively creating primitive, larger-than-life sized sculptures of Art Farm's very own alpacas, Harry Potter and Mr. Weasley. The goal was to use as few tools as possible. Other than a ball of twine, all materials were found within Art Farm's habitat. Art Farm Instructor Andrew Sinclair, an accomplished sculptor himself, used the lesson to teach art concepts including the roles of negative space, tension, and texture in creating a 3-dimensional work of art.

Pictured here is a Butterfield sculpture (top) and the alpaca sculptures (bottom). Click on the images to see a larger view.

!Palomino Horse by Deborah Butterfield

Great Friends

2011-04-23T13:38:00.000-07:00

Picasso, Art Farm's resident mini-mule, was great friends with our wonderful German Shepherd Hilda, who passed away too young in 2010. I had forgotten about this video, which captures Picasso doing his best to get Hilda to play with him, but she would have none of it. At other times she was game. It was clear after Hilda died that Picasso missed her. He stood in his corral with his head hung low and was not much interested in his food (highly unusual for him). Picasso is not one to wear his heart on his sleeve, so it was touching.

Meet Art Farm's Newest Arrivals!

2011-04-14T16:17:00.000-07:00

Meet Carlsbad Art Farm's newest arrivals, Zeus and Hobbes. Zeus and Hobbes are baby Nigerian dwarf goats. Zeus is just over 2-months old and little Hobbes (the black & white one) is just 5-days old. Both are bottle babies. Students coming to Art Farm summer camp are encouraged to help in the care and feeding of our animals, so if you've never bottle-fed a baby goat before, now's your chance. Nigerian dwarf goats are a small dairy breed known as great producers of milk for their size. The sweetish milk is high in butterfat. A full-grown Nigerian dwarf goat is equivalent to a medium-sized dog, with adult weight topping out at between 40-60 pounds. They are extremely people friendly and inquisitive. They come in a wide range of colors and fur patterns. At Art Farm, we use our animals as art models, so it is nice to have a variety of looks. In early May we will be welcoming another newborn, to be named Calvin.

Art Farm's weekly summer day camps enroll throughout the summer season, starting June 13 and continuing through mid-August. All the information and registration forms are available on our website. For Session 1 only, we will be enrolling students entering Grade 1 in fall 2011. During all other sessions, students must be entering Grades 2-8 in the fall.

If you simply can't make summer camp, we have a year-round Saturday morning art drawing class from 10:30 A.M to Noon. For more information, contact Director/Owner Perrin Weston Coman. Oh, and if you think Calvin and Hobbes are funny, cool, interesting, or any of the other options listed below, please let us know.

Two Hour Time Lapse Painting Demonstration by Instructor Kris Finch

2011-03-25T09:06:00.000-07:00

The Mighty Zeus and Why Students Should Learn to Draw With Charcoal

2011-03-24T13:21:00.000-07:00

At the college-level, studio art students learn to draw and paint from life using human models. At Carlsbad Art Farm, we use farm animals as our models and each year we acquire new animals for this purpose. We strive for a variety, and when possible, we like to rescue animals.

My first goat, a Nubian mix, was bought for $20 at the local humane society. We now have alpacas, a mini-mule, a variety of chickens, two dogs, and others. Here is our most recent arrival, a baby Nigerian Dwarf Goat named Zeus. Zeus came to us at less than a week old as a bottle baby (for some reason his mom wasn't letting him nurse), requiring six bottle feedings daily, each bottle containing 2-ounces of milk.

Zeus is now six-weeks old and drinks four bottles of 8-ounces daily, supplemented with goat feed, orchard hay, and alfalfa. He is full of himself. He loves playing with our rescue shepherd, going for walks on a leash, and practicing his head butting on our ankles. He has already started modeling for students.

Wolf in charcoal by Rose, Age 11

One of the challenges for students drawing animals from life is that animals move, unlike human art models who are paid to pose absolutely still. It's an interesting challenge. So what do you do? Well, animal artists develop visual memories of the animals they draw. Once the initial gesture line is committed to paper, and if they have an understanding of the animal's anatomy and how it moves, then they work from both the living model and memory. Additionally, they can use photographs as visual aides. Most animal artists have a library of books on animal anatomy. As with any discipline, the more you practice, the better you get.

The wolf drawing above (be sure to click on images to get their full effect), by Rose, Grade 5, started out as a drawing from a black-and-white photograph of a wolf. She then used our German Shepherd as a live model (alas, we do not have an actual wolf at Art Farm), as a source for more realistic hair texturing, rendering of volume, and rendering of detail in the eyes, muzzle, and so on. The animal really lifts off the page.

So why not just work off of photographs exclusively and skip the problems inherent in drawing an animal from life? For one, photographs flatten 3-dimensional objects and this shows in drawings made exclusively from photos. Also, the drawings look static, as if you were drawing something with no life in it. This is fine for buildings, but undesirable in an animal drawing where the goal is to render a flesh-and-blood creature. Obviously not everyone has a farm full of animal models, so working from photos is certainly a good option. But almost everyone has access to a dog, or cat, or zoo. My daughter, 12, and I have visited the zoo for years just to park in front of an animal and draw. She gets lots of compliments from passersby, and this encourages her as an artist.

Wolf Head in charcoal by Brian, Age 9

In my experience teaching children, the best medium for learning to draw animals is charcoal. It is fun to use, very forgiving, and "painterly." It gets students away from working in sharpie and pencil, which are not "loose" mediums. A good animal drawing avoids being wooden and instead captures a sense of the animal's movement, making it appear more life-like.

Charcoal is an excellent medium for doing precisely this. It encourages experimentation with texture, smudges, and line quality. It is great for creating atmosphere around the animals. Smudges and lines can be used to create a sense that the animal is in a woods, or that the time of day is early morning or dusk, without literally drawing a coloring book-style tree next to the animal with a cartoon-ish sun in the sky. These effects can be used to create perspective to great effect.

Rabbit in charcoal by Samantha, Age 9

Like no other medium, charcoal is very helpful for teaching the concept of value in drawing and painting. Understanding value and it's uses is the gateway to more sophisticated drawing and painting

For example, the bunny at left has a sense of volume, created by how the charcoal is laid down on the paper. The shifts in value are subtle in the dark and light areas of the animals body, but those shifts are why the animal seems three dimensional. Also, the animal's form is not completely encased in a hard, dark line all around the contours of the body. The line width and value alters, sometimes disappears, and this is what makes the image exciting to look at. Also, the shadow thrown by the bunny's ear lets the viewer know there is a sun in the sky, slightly off center of the animal, without drawing a distracting circle with squiggly lines depicting rays of light. While this is wonderful in a preschool or early primary school drawing, it is empowering for a developing young artist to tap into more complex "artist's tricks."

Moose Walking, Charcoal, by Canadian Artist Geordie Millar

At right is an outstanding example of an animal rendered in charcoal by Canadian artist and art professor Geordie Millar.

The drawing, from a series titled "Moose Walking", is huge (76X60). The image beautifully showcases the artist's understanding of the animal he was drawing, from life, in the Canadian wilderness. It also showcases the great versatility of charcoal as a medium: the velvety textures juxtaposed against hard lines to suggest the softness of the animal's fur while clearly showing the hard lines of its underlying anatomy; the smudging to create atmosphere and a sense that the animal is moving through space; the rich blacks that pencil cannot match; and again, the "painterly" quality of the image. This moose, to me, looks like a living, breathing, entity. When I view the student charcoal drawings above, I can see they are starting to pick-up on the concepts that Millar, as a mature artist, exhibits so masterfully. Imagine what might happen if these young students kept at it!

The "Moose Walking" series, and an equally breathtaking study of two horses by Millar titled "Procession", are nicely presented as a slide show on Millar's website.

Carlsbad Art Farm is now enrolling for summer camp 2011. Visit our website today for information and enrollment forms. And while your visiting our website, click our Facebook Page icon, and then click "like" to become a fan of our Facebook Page. As a fan, you will receive notifications of classes, seminars, discounts, Art Farm BBQs, and such. We don't post all that much (we, at Art Farm, are too busy taking care of all the critters to post too much and, when we do, we usually include cute pictures of animal models - like Zeus!)

For questions about Art Farm, send us an email and we will get back to you shortly.

Get Connected to Carlsbad Art Farm Events!

2011-03-18T10:58:00.000-07:00

Carlsbad Art Farm summer art and natural science camp enrollment is underway! For information and registration, visit our website or contact us.

Student Drawing, Grade 5

Whether you are new to Art Farm, or one of our many fans, or a teacher, we recommend that you become a follower on our blog (click icon, lower left) to receive kid-friendly postings about our animal friends at Art Farm and information about great websites and blogs by artists, museums, and other Internet resources, for kids, teens, and adults. We sift through what's out there so you don't have to.

Art Farm Outdoor Studio Drawing Class

If you are on Facebook, we also recommend that you visit our Art Farm Facebook Page and click the "Like" icon. Art Farm Facebook Page members will receive notifications of discounts, ongoing and new art classes, special events such as the Spring Art Farm Family BBQ, and other animal/art oriented postings. Art Farm won't annoy you with overly frequent posts. We just want to get occasional info to you and delight you with short missives and animal pictures from the Art Farm front. Give it try. You can always Unlike us.

To sign-up for the Art Farm Facebook Page, visit our website, click the Facebook icon, and then click the "Like" Icon. That's all there is to it.

Girl Scout getting kiss from Art Farm's Hairy Potter

At this time, we do plan to continue our Saturday morning Art class during the summer. Art class is from 9:30 A.M to Noon. Instruction makes use of live animal farm models to teach traditional drawing technique. Class is open to students in Grades 2-8. If you are not certain your child would like our class, we allow one-time class audits for $25.

Carlsbad Art Farm, recently featured in Carlsbad Magazine, Ranch & Coast Magazine, The Coast News, and the La Jolla Patch, as a premier destination for summer camp-bound youth, is proud to be a 2010 Nickelodeon Parents' Pick Nominee. We are also proud of supporting local schools and organizations, such as Rady's Children Hospital, through our annual silent Auction donations of a week at Carlsbad Art Farm Summer Camp.

Second Annual Project Wildlife Baby Shower Event

2011-03-13T09:30:00.000-07:00

If you enjoy cute baby animals and birds, and supporting wildlife rescue and conservation, don't miss Project Wildlife's Second Annual Wildlife Baby Shower this coming Saturday, March 19, 2011. The event begins at 10 A.M. and continues to 4 P.M.

Project Wildlife, a non-profit dedicated to the rescue and rehabilitation of orphaned and injured wildlife, is located in San Diego at 887-1/2 Sherman Street, just off Sea World Drive Exit 21, toward Tecolote Road.

The event is free to the public and no reservations are necessary. Visitors will be treated to a behind-the-scenes tour of Project Wildlife's intake center, meet many of Project Wildlife's animal ambassadors, enter drawings for great prizes, sample cuisine from the Cohn restaurant group's mobile food truck, "Ms. Patty Melt," and shop for arts and crafts all hand-made by Project Wildlife's army of dedicated volunteers.

Carlsbad Art Farm Owner/Director Perrin Weston Coman is a former Project Wildlife home rehabilitator on the duck team.

Care Center tours are not recommended for pregnant women or immune compromised individuals. For all the information you need to attend the event, or about Project Wildlife, click here.

Art Farm Now Enrolling for Summer Camp 2011

2011-03-10T06:13:00.000-08:00

It's been a busy year at Art Farm, and it's hard to believe that we've allowed so much time to pass without posting. But now we're ready to rock and roll. Art Farm is gearing up for our Summer Camp 2011 Season. The big news this summer is we are going full day. Weekly camp are Monday through Friday, 9:30 A.M. to 3:30 P.M. We have an early drop-off and late pick-up option for busy families.

We are also welcoming some new animal models this summer: three baby Nigerian Dwarf Goats and a new crop of spring chicks. One goat, a bottle-baby named Zeus, is already here and causing all sorts of mischief (pictures of Zeus coming soon!). To enroll in camp, visit our website at www.CarlsbadArtFarm.com. Become a fan at our Carlsbad Art Farm Facebook page to receive special offers, discounts, invites to our locally famous Art Farm BBQ, open houses, and whatever other fun stuff we dream up.

Also, consider becoming a fan of this blog. We keep it youth friendly and it's our way of sharing with you the goings on with our Art Farm critters and introducing young students to great website pages about art and natural science.

We hope to see you all soon at Art Farm.

Art Farm Preparing for Fall Line-Up of Classes

2010-08-19T09:14:00.001-07:00

Art Farm's summer camp season 2010 came to a nice closing Aug. 15 with a great group of students. Thanks again to my wonderful staff: painting instructor Kris Finch; natural sciences instructor Jennifer Stowe; camp aides Emerson Coman, Max Giffen; AnneMarie Delfino; Erica Barrett, and Rachel Mehrberg. Thanks also to the San Diego Humane Society for bringing an array of animal ambassadors to share with students.

I enjoyed teaching introduction to charcoal teaching. At right is a fine drawing by Rose Wilkinson, age 11.

Students this summer really enjoyed our new nature trail with Jennifer, where they learned about our natural woodland habitat and the creek that supports our local wildlife and native plants. Students kept nature journals, where they took notes about adaption and habitat, took samples of creek water to observe under a microscope, and helped with the raising of tree frogs found as polliwogs in the creek (and released the last day of camp as fully formed young frogs).

All students this summer enjoyed hanging out with Picasso, our mini-mule; Harry Potter and Mr. Weasley, our alpacas; Kandinsky, our rescue goat; and Chelsea, our young German Shepherd. Students especially loved spending time with our free range chickens, a variety of Polish and Brahmans. I doubt there is another summer camp around where you learn charcoal drawing and acrylic painting technique while holding a chicken.

And finally, thank you to all the wonderful Art Farm parents who keep coming back and who tell other families about our unique art, nature, and natural sciences program. It is mostly through your word-of-mouth that makes what we do here possible.

Art Farm is now preparing classes for the coming fall (to be announced). In the meantime, we continue with our Saturday morning art class for elementary and middle school students (10:30 AM to Noon). If you are a scouting group, a school, or a parent looking for a great birthday party venue, please note that groups start signing up early for limited time slots. If you would like more information about outings, email the director at: director@CarlsbadArtFarm.com.

If you would like to keep up with Art Farm offerings, subscribe to this blog for weekly posts.

Molasses the Desert Tortoise Visits Art Farm

2010-08-04T07:22:00.000-07:00

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.

One Last Chance for Summer Camp this Season

2010-08-02T18:23:00.000-07:00

We are nearing the end of another great summer camp season at Art Farm with one more session to go starting next week on Aug. 9. There are still a few spaces left. To enroll visit our website, click on the camp tab, and scroll down to the bottom for enrollment forms. Or call 760-688-6147.

At right is a wonderful charcoal drawing of a baboon by Sarah Bauer, who is entering Grade 6 this fall. She attended camp last week.

Students in drawing class learn to use value (lights and darks) and look for shapes within the animal. This is different and much more sophisticated then simply drawing the contour of an object and then filling in the color. Charcoal is a wonderful medium for young students as it forces them to get away from hard-line drawing in favor of a style that has a more "painterly" feel. The smudginess combined with line drawing is what gives it life. Here the drawing is on a "toned" paper, meaning it has a color, in this case a sort of felt gray. The nice quality of the paper -- which grabs the charcoal and allows the paper texture to become an important element in the drawing -- also helps students be more successful.

Perhaps we'll see you this summer. If not, visit our blog often to see offerings during the school year for young students and adults. Currently, we offer our ongoing Saturday morning art class for students in Grades 2 through 8.

Flying Squirrel Visits Carlsbad Art Farm

2010-07-09T06:45:00.000-07:00

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

2010-07-06T10:05:00.000-07:00

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.

Science Lab Students Taking Notes on Adaptation

2010-06-30T13:59:00.000-07:00

Art Farm is a living classroom in so many aspects. Summer camp students work in outdoor studios, where they interact with our farm animals while learning to draw and paint them. We make nature journals unlike any others, and art boxes based on the assemblage tradition first introduced by Joseph Cornell in the early 20th Century.

New this year is the Art Farm Science Lab, taught by biologist Jennifer Stowe. Our science lab makes brilliant use of our natural riparian habitat -- and its year-round running creek -- to introduce students to hands-on natural science disciplines, including the importance of keeping a naturalist's journal for chronicling their discoveries. Today, these students, who will be entering Grade 4 this fall, hiked down our trail, journals in hand, with Jennifer on a "Scientific Scavenger Hunt". Their assignment was to (1) find 10 examples of plants or animals changing the environment, and (2) to find 10 things in the environment that would harm the habitat if they were removed and to list why. The students were so engaged in their work that several dropped their journals into the creek while trying to get a better view. Earlier this week, they all took water samples from the creek to view under a microscope.

Following lunch, this same class studied the horse sketching book of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec to see how artists develop their sketching skills. So many times students see only finished work in museums, which can be daunting to the beginning artist. It is empowering for them to see that even the greatest artists had to work out exactly how to draw a horse through constant trial-and-error. Working off sheets depicting anatomy and bone structure of the horse, these students practiced charcoal drawing skills in preparation for doing a finished study by camp week's end.

Art Farm Summer Camps that are still open for enrollment this season are Sessions 7, 8, and 9, beginning the last week in July and continuing through mid-August. For information, enrollment forms, and session dates, visit our website and click the "Camp" tab. If you would like to make a reservation today, email the director at director@carlsbadartfarm.com. Specify what session date you would like to reserve and we will get back to you shortly. Camp is open to students entering Grades 2 through 8 this fall. Classes are grouped by age and are age appropriate.

Art Farm Camp Sessions Update

2010-06-23T06:57:00.000-07:00

Art Farm Summer Camp 2010 morning into afternoon sessions that are now closed are as follows:

Session 4 (July 5-9)
Session 5 (July 12-16)
Session 6 (July 19-23)

All late afternoon sessions (2 PM to 5 PM)

There is still time to enroll in all other sessions including Session 3, beginning next week, Monday, June 28. Sessions are one week and continue through mid-August. For information and enrollment forms, visit our website and click on the "Camp" tab.

Art Farm Enrollment Continues as Summer Season Begins

2010-06-15T07:32:00.000-07:00

Our first summer camp session is off to a great start this week with lunch-time hikes down to the creek with alpacas Harry Potter and Mr. Weasley; getting to know our 44 baby chicks; a goat washing lesson; ice cream making; science and nature journaling classes with Jennifer Stowe (see previous post below to learn more about Jennifer); drawing and painting classes with our talented instructor Kris Finch; and multi-media class with Perrin, Art Farm's director and owner.

To answer your many questions: Yes, there is still time to enroll at Art Farm this summer. We enroll all summer on a space-available basis. When Sessions are full we post that information immediately on this blog. At this time Session Two is nearly full. Other classes are filling quickly. If you want to reserve a date, email us at director@CarlsbadArtFarm.com or call 760-688-6147. Tell us what session you want to reserve, and for how many students. We will get back to you very shortly with a confirmation email. We can hold your reservation for a few days pending arrival of your registration papers and payment (see our website under the "Camp" tab for camp dates and to download registration papers).

We offer nine week-long sessions each summer. Sessions are open to students entering Grades 2-8 in the fall. Sessions are 9 AM to 1 PM. On Fridays, at 1 PM, we have our popular All Camp Family BBQ featuring Jumbo Hebrew National Hotdogs and veggie burgers. Yum, yum!

Don't let your art and animal-loving nature enthusiast get left standing in the barn this summer. Enroll today.

Art Farm Summer Camp Kicks-off in One Week

2010-06-06T12:47:00.000-07:00

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.

Natural Science Studies Coming to Art Farm this Summer

2010-06-02T10:51:00.000-07:00

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.

Carlsbad Art Farm is a Parents Pick Nominee

2010-06-02T07:08:00.000-07:00

Well, almost. Actually we have been nominated to be nominated for a Nickelodeon ParentsConnect Parents' Pick Award as a desirable venue for kids in San Diego County. We're not sure who threw their hat into the ring for us with this nomination, but thank you! We are up against better funded name-brand nominees such as Chucky Cheese, so we appreciate every vote.

To vote for Art Farm (and time is running out, so now would be a good time) simply click on the link to our website, scroll to the bottom of the home page, and click on the logo that looks exactly like the one posted here. Hopefully this won't be a deal breaker, but they do ask you to register with Parents' Connect. You can always register, vote, and then unregister. Annoying, I know, but on the flip side you can be part of a grassroots campaign to put an independent, high-quality, childrens' art school up against the Goliath of shlocky kids venues.

Summer Camp enrollment is ongoing and will continue through the summer. For more information click the "Camp" Tab on our website.

Chickens in the Land of Oz

2010-05-25T11:57:00.000-07:00

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.

Requiem for a Dog

2010-05-20T07:26:00.000-07:00

Our family at Art Farm lost a great dog this week. Hilda, our gentle and ever vigilant guardian of children, died from a sudden onset of seizures which led to a heart attack. Despite the best efforts of the ER vet who attended to her, she did not make it. Hilda was just six years old. Why this happened in an otherwise healthy dog is unknown, other than the fact that certain breeds of dog are known to be at risk for seizure disorders at Hilda's age.

Hilda was an intelligent dog of great dignity. Even here, dressed in a tutu and feathered purple headband by our daughter Emerson, left, and her cousin, Bey, she manages to maintain her noble bearing.

At Art Farm, Hilda was beloved by the many students who came for summer camp and classes. Even children who came here with a fear of dogs (and Hilda was a large dog at more than 80 pounds) couldn't resist her charms, and through her overcame their fear. Just last Saturday night, she was featured in a Girl Scout skit during a campfire. The scouts, our daughter's troop, was here for a camp-out. As always, Hilda was game for whatever young people had in store for her.

From earliest puppyhood, Hilda was a self-appointed guardian of children. As a puppy, we took her to our daughter's nursery school every day so the children could pet her and thus condition her to be gentle with them. Hilda took her puppy classes and then obedience training classes at the excellent Hidden Valley Obedience Club in Escondido. The club is a cooperative of experienced dog enthusiasts who work with owners and their pets at a nominal cost. It was a bit of a drive for us from Carlsbad, but well worth it because a well trained dog is both a responsible and joyful approach to dog ownership.

Art Farm, which is also our personal home, is dog heaven. Our dogs have free run of the 10-acres, and there are always people here to play with them. Hilda and our miniature mule, Picasso, who is also free to wander about our property, made endearing, if unlikely, companions. Mules very often don't like dogs, but this pair played together as if they were the same species.

Hilda was a very special dog, and her leaving us so suddenly and so relatively young has left a hole in our hearts. Many tears have been shed. Our daughter has lost a special friend, one that has been with her since kindergarten. A dog that guarded her at sleep and at play. A dog that always knew when we would be coming home across the bridge after school and waited for us. When it was time to retrieve Hilda's body from the vet and bring her home for burial under an old oak tree, Emerson, who is just 11, insisted on coming with me. She is brave that way. As we turned into an otherwise empty parking lot, we saw a brand new, slobber-free, bright green tennis ball just sitting there as if waiting for us. Hilda LOVED green tennis balls. It made us smile to see that tennis ball. I told Emerson that perhaps it was a sign. Perhaps, when dogs die and go to that great dog park in the sky, they drop tennis balls to earth to let their owners know they have their wings, and that they are OK.

Rest in peace dear Hilda.

Harry Says Hello to Girl Scout at Art Farm Campout

2010-05-17T13:06:00.000-07:00

Our Art Farm alpacas, Harry Potter and Mr. Weasley, are now sporting their summer haircuts, courtesy of Jaimie Rios, our delightful shearer from Calexico. Jaimie, who shears sheep for a living, is kind enough to come all the way to Carlsbad just for this annual event. Harry positively detests getting his hair cut and created quite the fuss. To answer a commonly asked question, yes, Alpacas do spit. But generally they do not spit at people unless provoked. Even then it's usually more of a sputtering, as if the animal has allergies and is sneezing. Harry felt that being hogtied for a haircut was sufficient provocation for much more voracious spitting and so he spit at yours truly with great vigor several times.

But generally, Harry much prefers to give out kisses. Here he is greeting a local girl scout who attended a campout at Art Farm this past weekend. The girls had fun walking the alpacas around Art Farm on leads. The girls were also thrilled with the arrival of 45 day-old baby chicks on Saturday (more on that in the next post!) This troop of scouts also had their bridging ceremony to become cadet scouts on our wood bridge, traversing our creek.

Enrollments continue for Summer Camp and Saturday morning art classes at Art Farm. For more information and forms, visit us at www.carlsbadartfarm.com.

Art Farm at Carlsbad Beach Fest

2010-05-04T18:58:00.000-07:00

Art Farm was pleased to be invited to participate this year in the 3rd Annual Carlsbad Beach Fest at Frazee Beach. The event took place this past Saturday. We had a great time helping kids (and quite a few adults!) make art using recycled metal bottle caps. It seemed like the perfect project for a day devoted to environmental awareness and beach clean-up.

Pictured right are me, Perrin Weston Coman, and one of my Art Farm aides, Kayli, who is taking AP art classes at Carlsbad High School.

Carlsbad Beach Fest's main goal is to support and promote the stewardship and protection of our beaches, the marine environment, and coastal waterways. Beach Fest is organized by the local State Parks office. As a participant, I was very impressed by their staff and volunteers. Kudos to them!

Our summer camp enrollments are continuing. Our week-long day camps begin June 14 and continue through mid-August. For more information about how to enroll read the previous posting on this blog and visit our website.

We are having a busy week at Art Farm. Students from Del Mar Hills Nursery School visited us today to make nature journals and spend time with our animals and more are on the way tomorrow. On Friday, a local girl scout troop will be spending the afternoon with us. For updates on Art Farm, we recommend subscribing to this blog. We post once or twice a week.

Carlsbad Art Farm Summer Camp Registration Ongoing

2010-04-23T16:46:00.000-07:00

This post is an Art Farm Summer Camp FAQ, so here goes:

Q: How do I register my child for camp? A: Easy! Visit our website at www.CarlsbadArtFarm.com; click on the "Camp" tab; scroll down to the bottom and download the registration form.

Q: When do camps begin and how long are they? A: Camps are one week and we have two sessions daily to choose from (9 AM - 1 PM and 2 PM to 5 PM). Dates and times (plus a whole bunch of other information) are posted at our website. Camps begin June 14 and continue weekly through mid-August.

Q: Is there still room in the session of my choice? A: When sessions fill, we will immediately post that information on this blog. Unless otherwise stated here, there is still room in the session of your choice. Traditionally, our heaviest enrollment period begins in late April and continues throughout the summer. If your camper wants to attend with friends, we recommend enrolling early to be sure there is space for your group.

Q: Is there an age requirement for attending camp? A: Students must be entering Grades 2 through 8 in fall 2010 to attend?

Q: Are younger kids in separate classes than older students? A: Absolutely! Art Farm's outdoor studio classrooms on 10-acres allow us to conduct three classes simultaneously in small groups. While older students are taking painting class, a middle-range group might be taking drawing, while the youngest group is working on a multimedia project. These groups rotate throughout the camp day so that the art instructor can teach according to the age-level of his or her group.

Q: I have a middle-schooler. Will there be other middle school students in my child's session? A: As we get closer to the first day of camp we will be able to answer that question better. You may always ask by emailing me (Perrin Weston Coman) at director@CarlsbadArtFarm.com. We have had many middle-school students come with friends and they have a blast.

Q: What is that large-eyed animal staring out at me from this post? A: That's Hairy Potter, one of our resident alpacas. He can't wait to see you this summer!

Spring Chicks Coming to Art Farm

2010-04-20T08:51:00.000-07:00

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.

Close Encounters of the Fuzzy Wuzzy Kind

2010-03-15T10:09:00.000-07:00

Pictured here is a 3-Day-old Olde English Miniature Babydoll Southdown sheep bred at Sugarsweet Farm in Olivenhein. This little fella visited our art students at Art Farm on Saturday, where he followed them around as best he could, given that he's still learning to work those legs. He was beyond cute.

Babydolls are a miniature breed with sweet temperaments and faces that look like they are always smiling. They are hardy and make great little lawnmowers. Hobby farmers like them because they handily keep the weeds down without being tall enough to strip leaves and low-hanging fruit out of trees.

A reminder that Art Farm will be participating at Kid's Day at the Flower Fields on March 27, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. This is a free event. Art Farm will have a booth with an art project, as well as registration forms for summer camp and other information about Art Farm. We will also have a raffle. The winner wins a certificate good for a one-week session at Carlsbad Art Farm Summer Camp. Tickets are $1. We hope to see you there!

Registration for Summer Camp is now open. For information and registration forms, visit our website. For our latest postings and information about classes, seminars, camps, Open House events and other Art Farm news, we recommend subscribing to this blog as a follower.

Art Farm's Coming to Flower Fields March 27

2010-03-02T08:14:00.000-08:00

Mark your calendars! Carlsbad Art Farm is joining the fun at Kid's Days at The Flower Fields in Carlsbad on Saturday, March 27. The event is 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Look for our booth where students can learn how to make pictures from die-cut paper leaves in the images of animals and birds. Once you get the idea, you can collect and press your own leaves to make fantastic creatures.

We will also have information and registration materials for the 2010 Art Farm Summer Camp season beginning June 14 and continuing through mid-August. We will be raffling off a certificate worth $315 good for a one-week session during the 2010 Summer Camp season. Students must be entering grades 2 -8 next fall to attend camp. Sorry, no exceptions.

Summer Camp enrollment is now open for a unique experience your young artist won't forget. Don't let that kid get left standing in the barn this summer. Early registration is recommended. To register online today, visit our website at CarlsbadArtFarm.com and click on the "Camp" tab.

Harry Takes in the Rain

2010-02-28T09:32:00.001-08:00

Here's is one of Art Farm's alpacas, Harry Potter, after the rains yesterday afternoon. Beneath all the hair, Harry is dry and warm. He has a shelter, but he doesn't mind getting wet. Beneath all the fur, Harry is less than 100 pounds. Come May, he and his buddy, Mr. Weasley, will be due for their annual sheering.

Harry is a very friendly alpaca, curious about people. If you stand still and bow down to his level, he will sniff very delicately all about your face. It tickles!

Alpacas are very hardy and easy to care for, but they can live up to 25-years so it is not a pet one should acquire without thinking about the long-term care requirements. Also, they need a companion animal of their own kind to stay healthy and happy. As for diet, they eat orchard hay supplemented with llama pellets (a nutritionally balanced feed), and as a treat some Alfamo, which is shredded alfalfa soaked in molasses.

Harry, like our other farm animals, earn his keep as models for student art work.

American Kestral Visits Art Farm

2010-02-25T07:26:00.000-08:00

Perhaps the most colorful raptor in the world, the American Kestrel (Falco sparverius) is the most common falcon in North America. It is found from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, and in towns as well as wild lands. The Kestrel pictured here during a recent visit to Art Farm was visiting from Sky Hunters Raptor Education & Rehabilitation in Alpine, CA. Sky Hunters is a non-profit that rehabilitates injured and orphaned raptors of all kinds.

The male Kestrel's wings are blue-gray with black spots. The tail is reddish-brown (or rufous-colored) on the back with a broad black subterminal band and a white or rufous tip. The tail is white underneath with a few incomplete black bars. The back and rump is an orange to rufous, with a variable amount of black barring. Underparts are pale buff to orange, with variable amount of black spotting, especially along the sides. The crown (top of the head) is blue-gray with some orange. Buffy spots with dark centers are on either side of nape (back of head), making "eyespots" visible from behind. The female Kestrel's wings are rufous barred with black. The tail is rufous with black bands and the underparts are creamy to buff, heavily streaked with brown. The back is rufous with heavy dark barring. The crown is gray and the legs yellow.

Based on these descriptions, can you identify the gender of this Kestrel?

Art Farm Now Enrolling for Summer Camp 2010

2010-02-04T07:35:00.000-08:00

Carlsbad Art Farm is now enrolling students for Summer Camp 2010. Enrollment is on a first-come, first-serve basis.

New this year, we are now offering two sessions daily to accommodate more students while keeping our class sizes small. All information, schedules, and registration materials are available for download on our website.

Also new are Saturday morning classes at Art Farm for students currently enrolled in grades 2 through 8. Information about all programs are listed under our website "Programs" tab.

For an invitation to our upcoming BBQ open-house you must be on our e-mail sign-up list, also available on our website. Don't get left standing in the barn: sign-up now.

We are looking very forward to another busy camp season this summer thanks to the overwhelmingly positive response from families to our program during the previous several summers. If you have never heard of Art Farm, that's because we mostly advertise word-of-mouth. If you have an art and animal-loving nature enthusiast in your home, it's hard to beat Art Farm for a unique summer camp experience.

Live From Carlsbad Art Farm: A Rainy Day Feeding Time

2010-01-21T11:23:00.000-08:00

Hello Art Farm Fans!

Like the rest of you in San Diego County we are getting drenched in rain. But rain or shine, animals want their breakfast. So here, for your viewing pleasure, are some of our critters: Picasso the miniature mule, Kandinsky the rescue goat, Harry Potter and Mr. Weasely the alpacas, and a variety of chickens.

This machinery you see to the right is an antique spray rig. In the animal pen is what's left of an 1800s buckboard. People who have been to Art Farm wonder how we get in and out during storms as the dirt country access road becomes flooded by our normally sleepy little creek (during storms, it quicky morphs into the Rio Grande). We have an alternate access road closed to the public that we use when it gets too wet to come in on Sunny Creek Road.

Enjoy the clip! For information about our new Saturday drawing and painting classes for students in grades 2 through 8, contact us at director@carlsbadartfarm.com. Stay dry and enjoy the storm.

Coming Soon: Saturday Art Classes at Carlsbad Art Farm

2009-12-04T17:06:00.000-08:00

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

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

2009-11-24T08:18:00.000-08:00

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.

Halloween Fun 2009

2009-11-02T13:39:00.000-08:00

I'm trying to remember all the costumes my 10-year-old daughter, Emerson, has donned. I know the first was a pumpkin, when she was 8-months old. This was followed by a fuzzy bumble bee ensemble with bouncing antanae (she looked a bit like John Belucci in his bumble bee costume, only far cuter). Then came: a witch, a werewolf, Princess Jasmine, Hedwig the Harry Potter owl (not necessarily in that order). This year she was an "Evil Fairy", pictured here with her good friend, Sarah the Ghoul. This leaves four costumes I can't recall. We really do forget!

Happy Halloween: Tim Burton's Classic Frankenstein Spoof

2009-10-31T11:55:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween Everyone!

For those of you who have never seen Director Tim Burton's ("Edward Scissorhands", "The Nightmare Before Christmas", "Beetlejuice) 1984 short film "Frankenweenie", this might be the perfect Halloween treat.

The story follows the 1931 James Whale horror classic, with the twist that a young boy named Victor brings his dog, Sparky, back to life after an unfortunate incident in which Sparky is run over by a car (implied, not graphic; my 10-year old watched this film no problem and I'm picky about her seeing graphic violence on film. Also, it has a happy ending, Tim Burton style).

Produced by Disney Pictures, Frankenweenie was Burton's first film. The film, shot in glorious black-and-white is a parody/homage of the original "Frankenstein". Disney apparently fired Burton after it saw the film for wasting company resources and making a film too scary for young audiences (according to Wikipedia). Burton, of course, went on to become a much celebrated director and now Disney has hired him to remake the film as a 3-D stop-motion feature length film. Such is the life of an artist.

The 25-minute film features an early performance by Shelly Duvall, among other actors. You can see the entire short on youtube in 3-parts by Googling "Frankenweenie youtube". Watch the one that is in 3-parts.

If your a fan of classic James Whale horror films and/or a Burton fan, this is a real treat. If not, then just skip it.

Upcoming Composition for Artists Seminar: Nov. 21 & 22

2009-10-20T06:43:00.000-07:00

Many artists - both amateur and professional - have difficulty with composition. In painting with any degree of sophistication, composition prioritizes everything from the most important to the least important elements in the work of art. In studio art, in animation, graphic novels or children's books, composition is content. The ability to compose a picture that really communicates an artist's feelings and intentions is the essential element separating the beginner from more advanced and professional artists.

This intensive, 2-Day, 18-hour Art Farm seminar on Saturday & Sunday, Nov. 21 & 22, with noted Art Center Professor Will Weston will help any visual artist with reasonable drawing skills. Using landscape as a starting point, this intensive and engaging seminar addresses issues faced when composing pictures by combining lively lectures, presentations, and demonstrations with drawing exercises that break down the three essential stages of composition.

Students will learn to create pictures with applications to studio art and illustration including landscape painting, composing for animation, children's books, and graphic novels. Examples of all are presented 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 will enable students to continue learning after the seminar.

Registration, Dates, location and Fees
When: Nov. 21 & 22, 9:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. daily
Where: Carlsbad Art Farm in Coastal Carlsbad. Directions provided at time of registration
Who: Adults. Reasonable drawing skills are suggested.
Fee: $249/includes $100 non-refundable deposit at time of reservation. Class is limited to 20.
Discounts: A 10 % discount is available to currently enrolled students with valid student I.D.
To register: Contact director@carlsbadartfarm.com or call 760-688-6147.

About the Instructor:
Will Weston the worked for many studios including Disney Feature and Television Animation, Nickelodeon, Warner Bros., and Sony Pictures. Will is a professor at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, where he teaches life drawing, landscape composition, visual development for animation, and traditional and digital painting. Will is a gifted instructor known for his information-packed classes and workshops where he imparts information in a clear and user-friendly way. For more information visit WillWestonStudio.com.

About Carlsbad Art Farm: Art Farm is located on 10-acres of beautiful, creek-side property in Coastal Carlsbad, north San Diego County. It is open to children and adults for ongoing lessons, seminars, and workshops. For most current information, visit this blog frequently or sign-up for the email list. For general information and visuals of Art Farm, visit our website at CarlsbadArtFarm.com.

Art Farm Camp Opens for Encinitas School District Holiday

2009-10-15T10:46:00.000-07:00

Hello Encinitas Parents! Welcome to the wonderful world of Carlsbad Art Farm.

Several of you have contacted Art Farm to see if we can run camps during the two-week school break starting next Monday. The answer is, Yes, we'd be delighted. The biggest problem at our end is that the Encinitas School District doesn't allow for profit businesses to reach parents through the school, so it's difficult for Art Farm to get the word out.

Our requirement to run camp is a minimum enrollment of 12 students. If you are interested, and know other parents who might be interested, we need to get people enrolled this week. For more information, contact Perrin Coman, director and owner of art farm, at: director@carlsbadartfarm.com or call 760-688-6147. Our website is currently being updated, but we recommend you visit to get an overview. Reviewing earlier posts at this blog from summer camp will provide great visuals of what camp looks like.

We can offer two one-week sessions at a special rate of $300 weekly. Discounts apply for multiple siblings. Students must currently be enrolled in second-grade or older. We recognize that these are hard financial times, so we can work with parents somewhat who can't afford full tuition. It's an honor system so please don't ask for a discount unless it really is a hardship.

Camp hours are 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday. We can offer an extended day for for an additional fee. At Art Farm, we teach children how to draw and paint, make nature journals and animal soap (we have fun with many projects) in our outdoor studios on our private 10-acre woodland property in Carlsbad. We use live animal models and our beautiful habitat as sources of inspiration.

Law & Order: Special Doggy Crimes Unit

2009-10-06T09:27:00.000-07:00

Here we feature our very own Hilda - protectress of all children and fuzzy green tennis balls - solving a crime scene in our drive way! (click image for larger view).

Hilda thinks the chickens may have done it; or perhaps the alpacas. Our mule, Picasso, could account for his whereabouts during the time-frame when the dastardly deed took place (he was guarding his hay rations from Kandinski, the goat).

Actually, this is a chalk outline of Hilda herself made while she was sleeping. The real crime is she was caught napping while she was on sentry duty. She'll be entering a flea bargain (feel free to groan at puns) with the mitigating circumstance that it was pretty darn hot that day and a nap was in order. As I'm the judge and jury on such matters - and a strong supporters of naps for everyone - Hilda's case was dismissed as a travesty of justice against all nappers.

Snakes are Cool!

2009-10-01T08:40:00.000-07:00

Here's out daughter, Emerson, with a young Chocolate Banded California King Snake, we caught out back yesterday. Our dog, Skyler, found him slithering along and started furiously sniffing and wagging his stump of a tail. I put my booted foot lightly but firmly on the nape of the snake's neck (if snakes can be said to have "napes") while Emerson fetched her Dad, who came back with gloves. King snakes are harmless unless you happen to be a rodent (which is why we like King Snakes in the country). King Snakes also eat rattlesnakes.

Emerson named this one "Granger", after Hermione in the Harry Potter series. We kept him for the night and released him this morning into the hole of a very unfortunate gopher. I recall catching gopher snakes when I was kid on the farm, and that my dad was very fond of the snakes for the reason that they went after gophers.

By way of strong disclaimer: We don't recommend that kids go out and catch snakes in the backyard. SoCal is rattlesnake country and all snakes can bite (hence the large yellow heavy leather gloves). In the case of a King Snake, he might think your pinky finger is a feeder mouse. We knew what this fella was before we caught him.

Composition for Artists Seminar at Art Farm

2009-09-28T13:05:00.000-07:00

Composition for Artists is an intensive 2-Day, 18-hour seminar with feature animation designer & Art Center Professor Will Weston (click on image for larger view).

When: Saturday & Sunday, Nov. 21 & 22.
Hours: 9:30 a.m. - 6:30 p.m. each day.
Who: This seminar will benefit landscape painters, film and animation artists, graphic novelists, children's book illustrators and others. Reasonable drawing skills are suggested.
Fee: $249/$100 non-refundable deposit holds reservation. Includes hand-outs and other materials.
Enroll Early: Class size is limited to 20!
Registration and Questions: Contact director@carlsbadartfarm.com

About the Seminar: Many artists have difficulty with composition. This intensive and engaging seminar addresses issues faced when composing pictures by combining lively lectures, presentations, and demonstrations with drawing exercises that breakdown the three essential stages of picture composition. Instructor Will Weston notes that: "Composition prioritizes everything in painting from the most important to the least important elements. In art, composition is content, and the essential element separating the beginner from more advanced or professional artists."

About the Instructor: Will Weston is a highly experienced professional artist and art instructor. He has worked in feature animation for Disney Feature and Television Animation, Nickelodeon, Warner Bros., and Sony Pictures. Prior to his animation work, he worked nationally in advertising and editorial illustration.

While solidly grounded in traditional art and illustration technique, Will is equally at home with digital drawing and painting. He is a full-time professor at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA, and is the Entertainment Arts Advisor to its Illustration Department. He teaches seminars to professionals and graduate students at various locations, including the USC Graduate School of Animation and the Animation Guild.

Will's extensive teaching experience allows him to understand a broad range of student needs and different learning styles, delivering effective instruction in an engaging manner. Balancing that is the real-world professional background that he brings to the classroom and studio, helping to prepare students for the challenges of today’s dynamic and rapidly changing work environment. For more information on this artist, visit: WillWestonStudio.com

Kris Finch Drawing and Painting Workshop Oct. 12

2009-09-28T12:28:00.000-07:00

Kris Finch, one of our painting instructors at Art Farm, hosts a monthly oil painting and drawing class for adults at the San Diego Art Department, 3830 Ray Street, in San Diego. The fee is $25 per session.

His next class is Oct. 12, 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Kris is a gifted instructor. The class is appropriate to every skill level, from the tentative beginner to experienced artists. I can't say enough good things about his approach to teaching. He really gets results.

For more information, contact me at director@carlsbadartfarm.com or contact Kris directly at kfinchart@gmail.com.

Follow the Youtube link below to see a wonderful drawing demonstration by Kris. Turn up the volume because the music is lovely.

KFinchArt Portait Drawing - Google Search

Coming Soon to Carlsbad Art Farm

2009-09-15T10:03:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-15T11:13:00.000-07:00

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!

Happy Campers Point the Way to Art Farm

2009-08-02T09:37:00.000-07:00

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.

Art Farm Nature Journaling at Barlow Horse Ranch

2009-07-30T11:41:00.000-07:00

Carlsbad Art Farm students had a great time this week visiting the Barlow Horse Ranch and sketching in their nature journals. Here students check out a Texas longhorn, who, in turn, seemed to like checking them out. The impression was he doesn't often get to model for young artists.

Students also sketched a couple of mini-donkeys named Luigi and Mario and Toby, a huge draft horse (I guess that they are huge goes without saying, but it really is impressive to stand hoof-to-toe with one of these gentle giants).

For more information about Carlsbad Art Farm or two enroll in our two remaining camp sessions of the summer, visit our website at CarlsbadArtFarm.com and click on the "Camp" tab.

A Mule With a Hankering for Sunflowers

2009-07-27T17:23:00.000-07:00

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.

Can You find the Hidden Animals?

2009-07-15T15:31:00.000-07:00

Pictured here are Carlsbad Art Farm Session 5 Campers, all ready for their close-up, except Kandinsky the goat who insisted on facing the other way. It just goes to show that you can lead a goat to a photo shoot, but you can't make her pose (click for larger view).

The little fellow on the far right is a miniature mule (his mother was a pony and his father was a small donkey). The animal with the long neck to the left of the mule is Mr. Weasely, one of our alpacas, and just right of center is Hilda, our German Shepherd and self-appointed guardian of all children.

Campers are learning lots of great new art techniques this week in acrylic, charcoal, and watercolor. They have made their nature journals, are working on artist's trading cards, making soap, and generally having a grand old time being around animals in nature for a week.

If you haven't visited our website at CarlsbadArtFarm.com then take a look now. For camp information and forms, click on the "Camp" tab. We have just four more weekly summer sessions before we wrap it up for the summer. There is limited available space remaining in all sessions. We hope to see you here soon!

Designer Dad Makes Monsterous School Lunches

2009-07-11T19:39:00.001-07:00

English Designer Jon Hicks knows how to make a kid look forward to lunch. Imagine opening your lunch box everyday and discovering a new monster along side the P& J sammie.

Starting last May, Hicks has daily penned whimsical monster cards for this son Daniel's lunch boxes. He then posts his illustrations at danielsmonster.tumblr.com. Take a look.

Hicks notes he's, "Not totally sure why I started this, but (Daniel) enjoyed the first one, and it’s become a ritual. Every morning when making his lunch, I give myself 5 minutes to draw a monster on paper from one of those memo pad things, give it a name and quickly photograph it with the iPhone.

"Sometimes they come out OK, sometimes they’re not so great. The important thing is seeing his reaction at the end of the day."

It's wonderful for kids to see parents being creative, making it a part of the fabric of life. As Hicks notes, sometimes they're good and sometimes not, but that's hardly the point. What's wonderful is the sense of fun communicated visually. It's something shared, daily, between parent and child.

One thing I run up against time and again with young artists is a fear of somehow drawing a bad picture. I think this is something telegraphed to them every time a parent says, "Oh, I can't draw!" instead of simply doing it. At some time in our childhoods most of us love to draw and then, somehow, fell out of the habit. It's a reversible loss.

Which Way is it to Carlsbad Art Farm?

2009-07-10T15:42:00.000-07:00

Session Four campers at Art Farm concluded their week today with a group portrait (click to enlarge) and our weekly Friday All Camp BBQ. This photo was taken by Art Farm Camp Aide April Mitchell.

Pictured here with students are Hilda, the dog posing in front, and Kandinsky, the $20 Art Farm rescue goat. Kandy came from the local animal shelter a year ago in May after she was found wandering around a county road without any identification. She landed on her feet (as goats do) at Art Farm, where she works as an art model when not getting into mischief.

Kandy is part Nubian goat. We're not sure what the other part is. She shares her corral with Picasso, a miniature mule, which is next door to the alpaca paddock. She is a very endearing animal and we are on the lookout for a companion goat with whom she might like to share a corral.

Session Five at Art Farm is now full. We still have limited space in Sessions Six through Nine, continuing into mid-August. Camp sessions are one week. Hours are from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday. For more information, access our website at CarlsbadArtFarm.com and click on the "Camp" tab. Enrollment and other forms are available for download at the bottom of the camp tab.

Medicine Horse Visits Art Farm

2009-07-09T10:36:00.000-07:00

Campers at Carlsbad Art Farm this week were delighted by a surprise visit from Boy Scout, a paint "Medicine Horse". Scout (click on image to enlarge) is 16-hands and about seven-years old. His owner, Tim Barlow, at far right, owns the Barlow Ranch just down the road from Art Farm. Scout LOVES apples slices and had a great time eating them as they were offered by students.

Boy Scout, and his little sister, Girl Scout, come from a 180-year-old horse ranch in Plano, Texas, that specializes in Medicine horses that are a cross between an American Quarter Horse and an Appaloosa.

So what is a "Medicine Horse?"

In an article titled "The Spirit or Medicine Horse", by Nancy Falley of Lockhart, Texas, originally published in the Spring 2003 issue of Caution: Horses, Falley writes:

"Many Native American tribes and families held certain horses in high regard as Spirit or Medicine horses. The designation was made for horses with unusual markings. These horses could range from appaloosas with a 'bearpaw' or ‘handprint' marking in its spotting to paints or pintos with an unusually shaped spot or spots (Medicine Hat or War Bonnet markings were highly prized) to the solid colored animal with an unusual facial marking. Many so-called Spirit or Medicine horses also had blue eyes which were often called Sky-eyes or Heaven-eyes and added to the mystique which surrounded them.

The term Spirit or Medicine horse could also be placed on a more 'normally' marked horse who had shown its owner some unusual talent or power, such as alerting its rider to danger that the rider/owner hadn't discerned or being able to find game.

Warriors and Shamans as well as other members of the tribe or family valued these Spirit or Medicine horses very highly and believed that the good fortune of their people depended in some part on keeping these animals in their possession. Since horse stealing was considered an honored profession among early Native Americans, it was these particular horses that an enemy warrior or tribe might go after. If they could get away undetected with the valued horse, they were considered to have good medicine' and the theft earned the respect of both their tribes and the enemy from whom the animal had been stolen. Of course, it was then the former owner's turn to try and regain his stolen property.

Today Spirit or Medicine marked horses still appear in the various color breeds, as well as the solid colored breeds. The American Indian Horse Registry (AIHR) welcomes these unusually colored horses without discrimination. They may be a combination of appaloosa and paint or pinto or an outcrop from a solid colored breed. Some Indian Horse breeders work very hard to breed these features into their lines, but nature is still the boss and most deliberate breeding programs fail due to the very nature of the elusive coloration."

For Whom the Carlsbad Art Farm Bell Tolls

2009-06-30T15:32:00.000-07:00

We have just completed Session Two at Carlsbad Art Farm. Pictured here are campers and staff under the school bell (originally from my husband's family farm in Michigan). Click on image to enlarge.

It was a great week! Students kept busy making and filling nature journals, making animal soap, learning acyclic, charcoal, and pen-and-ink watercolor techniques.

They observed nature and animals, which they used to create art. Some guest models this week included "Lizzy" an extra jumbo-sized San Diego Alligator lizard and Molasses, a species of endangered dessert tortoise.

Picasso, our miniature mule, posed handsomely. Kandinsky, our $20 rescue goat, was, as usual, a delightful goofball (she ate my demonstration drawing, much to the amusement of my students). Our alpacas, Harry Potter and Mr. Weasely, allowed their fuzzy necks to be hugged as they were led about on leashes. Hilda, the camp dog, kept kids entertained as she continues to dig her ever-growing tunnel beneath a fallen tree stump. We're not sure where she's going.

Then there are the free-range chickens that wander through camp looking for bugs and worms. Students enjoy finding their eggs. Big favorites are Maude, Feathers, Patriot, and Egg Nog.

Our weekly Friday All Camp BBQ in the woods, to which we invite family, siblings and friends, was a big success. We cooked 65 giant hotdogs, 18 veggie burgers, and 80 ears of corn. Campers helped with the setting of tables. Parents had a chance to hangout at the campsite where they could admire their children's art and simply enjoy the beautiful setting.

Camps continue all summer into mid-August. All information is available online at our website under the "Camp" tab. Scroll to the bottom to find enrollment and other required forms. The enrollment form includes session dates. For mid-season session availability, email the director Perrin Weston (that would be me) at director@carlsbadartfarm.com.

Do They Spit?

2009-06-18T18:49:00.000-07:00

This is the number one question we get asked about our alpacas at Art Farm. Alpacas and their distant and much larger cousins, Llamas, seem to have a reputation for spitting.

The answer is yes they do on occasion spit, but not usually at humans. Spitting is an alpaca's only natural defense (believe it or not), so generally they only spit if they feel threatened.

One of the alpacas did once spit at our goat, Kandinsky, but the goat was asking for it. She kept getting in the face of Harry Potter, the light colored little fella to the right, so Harry let Kandinsky have it in the face with a great huge wad of green, digested orchard hay. Kandy looked enormously surprised and humiliated and backed off immediately.

Mostly, alpacas are sweet and somewhat shy creatures that are easily halter trained. Their fur is as soft as it looks. They have huge eyes and very long lashes. They do not have hooves. Their feet are much like a dog's, with pads on the bottom and large toenails. They are camelids. Their natural habitat is in the Andes.

These two, Harry Potter (so named because he has a tuft of fur on his forehead that resembles a lightening bolt), and Mr. Weasely, the brown one, are about 80 to 100 pounds beneath all the fuzz.

Chickens For Art's Sake

2009-06-17T17:08:00.000-07:00

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.

Getting Ready for Campers at Carlsbad Art Farm

2009-06-09T07:54:00.000-07:00

With summer sessions starting next week, we are in full preparation mode here at Carlsbad Art Farm. That means getting our animal models ready for their close-ups, mowing many acres of weeds, setting up our outdoor studios, trimming some huge palm trees, and going over our art supplies order.

Enrollment for Art Farm continues throughout the summer. For session dates and enrollment forms, visit CarlsbadArtFarm.com and click the "Camp" tab.

Pictured here are some campers from last summer learning how artists go about drawing an animal - from initial sketch to finished drawing. We start by teaching basic animal structure. Once they understand that most mammals have the same basic bone structure with variations, it's a small step to being able to draw most any animal.

We use a lot of charcoal for drawing. It's smudgyness gets children away from a fear of getting a line wrong. Sometimes we get children who are absolutely wedded to their erasers. They will draw a line, fret that its not perfect, erase it, try again, fret, erase it, try again, fret . . . you get the idea. One way we deal with this is by taking away the erasers until the drawing is nearly finished. Charcoal is an imprecise medium. Lines can be sharp or blurred, light or very dark. Using charcoal, children begin to appreciate that making a likeness of an animal -- or any other object -- is not about technical perfection but about capturing it's essence. Charcoal drawings have a sense of movement, a quality that is ideal for drawing animals, trees with fluttering leaves, passing clouds, etc.

The class pictured here shows children working on "art horses". These are benches with a vertical board at the end on which they can lean their drawing boards (sort of like an easel you can sit on). This allows them to observe the model while drawing with correct form.

The sheep makes a good live model because it is busy grazing and tends not to move much. Drawing live animals requires close observation because the animal will move so you must hold a memory of a pose. Repeated attempts to draw the live animal enforce this memory.

A good place to practice drawing exotic animals is the zoo or wild animal park. Next time you take your child artist to the zoo, bring along a good-quality sketch pad and some soft lead art pencils (3B or 4B). Show your child that you are not fearful of making mistakes (even if you are!) by bringing along a pad and pencils for yourself. Know ahead of time which animals you want to draw to avoid the, "What do you want to draw?" "I don't know," merry-go-round. The idea is to go with a sense of purpose and to hit the ground running.

The petting zoo is a good place to draw because the animals are close up. Your child's attempts at drawing will be positively reinforced by other zoo guests who are charmed by the sight of a child drawing with a parent (and by other children who are slightly jealous that they didn't bring drawing supplies).

Carlsbad Art Farm Summer Camp Enrollment Update

2009-05-20T12:33:00.000-07:00

Greetings Campers!

Enrollment for weekly summer day camps starting June 15 and continuing through Aug. 14 is in full swing.

The only requirement to attend is that students be entering 2nd grade through 8th grade staring in fall 2009.

Art Farm is located on 10 rural acres just minutes away from The Village of Carlsbad and the I-5 freeway. We teach children how to draw, paint, otherwise make art through direct observation of live animals and the surrounding natural landscape.

Above right is one of our featured models from last year's summer camp. Other animal models included mules, horses, roosters and chickens, goats, dogs, and baby doll lambs. This summer we have added two young alpacas to the line-up.

We are getting many inquiries at our website asking about available sessions or if we are still enrolling. The answer is most sessions still have some available spots. We are still enrolling but starting now sessions start filling quickly. We do continue to take enrollments through the summer camp season if space is available. Enrollment information and forms are available for download at our website under the Camp Tab.

So what makes Carlsbad Art Farm different? Art Farm campers take a step back to in time to a place where the 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.

At Art Farm, campers work in small groups organized by age and led by artists who guide them in authentic art techniques, all while working in outdoor studios and interacting with animals. Our instructors are supported by aides and, together, they ensure that each student has their full attention every day. At the end of the week, campers leave with new skills that they can use long after they leave Art Farm – or which inspire them to return for more sessions.

At the end of their week, even campers who thought they couldn’t “do” art learn that visual expression is within their reach, and is fun!

Teaching art is our mission, but Art Farm embraces much more. Aides and teachers are engaging and kid friendly. We allow plenty of time to horse around with old friends, make new friends, greet animals, hunt for chicken eggs, and to simply run around. Kids get to be kids and enjoy the pleasures of country living. We're pretty certain that there isn't another art camp comparable to Art Farm in all of San Diego County.

We only have so many space available, so don't get left standing in the barn! Enroll today and join the fun.

Sketching in Nature Blog

2009-05-14T10:04:00.001-07:00

Sketching in Nature is an international network of artists from all over the world "working from the best teacher there is -- nature!

This is a wonderful blog with links to other blogs by nature artists who keep detailed field journals of their observations. The blog lists artists by name and by subject matter. For example, this is a field note page concerning a piliated wood pecker posted by Artist Cathy Johnson in Missouri. Artists use their field journals to keep verbal and visual notes of their subject to be used in later drawings, paintings, sculpture or whatever medium they work in.

Think of it as a visual diary. In this sample, for example, Johnson has sketched the head of a female piliated wood pecker that is paired with written notations about the length of its beak, its coloring, etc.

Young artists should be encouraged to keep field journals the way young writers might keep a journal of their daily lives and ponderings.

A sampling of subjects listed at Sketching in Nature includes: botanical art, bald eagles, acorns, Australia, Italy, mushrooms, fossils, bugs, and skies. This is by no means an exhaustive list. To check out Sketching in Nature follow this link.Then go out and get yourself a pocket-sized sketch book and start sketching!

Alpacas Have Arrived at Art Farm

2009-05-11T17:51:00.000-07:00

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.

Why I Miss Chalkboards in the Smartboard Era

2009-05-04T16:30:00.000-07:00

This is a still from a new "chalk animated" music video directed by Australians Lucinda Schreiber and Yanni Kronenberg. The video illustrates "Autumn Story" from The Bowery, the debut album of the Australian indie band Firekites.

To create the video, which took about six months, Schreiber and Kornenberg drew nearly 2000 images on a series of blackboards. As you watch the video, simple line drawings of humans, birds, fish, and more keep morphing into new images as they magically leap from one chalk board to the next, leaving behind ghosts of their own partially erased images. As the video ends, the camera draws away from the images to reveal a small circle of mismatched blackboards in an ordinary little room.

As mentioned in previous posts, a Smartboard is a wonderful teaching tool. But this video makes a case for blackboards and messy chalk in the classroom, or perhaps along a school yard wall. The janitors may not like the dust, but I remember how much I liked drawing on big blackboards as a kid. They just called out to me to pick up some chalk and make art. Smartboards really don't.

To see "Autumn Story" follow this link:

irekites - AUTUMN STORY - Chalk animated music video directed by Lucinda Schreiber and Yanni Kronenberg.

Cats: Learning to Draw from Life and By Example

2009-05-01T13:16:00.001-07:00

If you are a young artist with a cat in the house your in luck. Cats make great models! They have lovely curves and, unlike many other animals, they nap frequently. The naps give you time to draw without the animal changing position.

In fact, cats make such great models that they have served as artists' Muses for as long as their have been domestic cats and artists.

A great way to learn how to draw a cat is to study and copy drawings made by other artists. French graphic artist Theophile-Alexandre Steinlen (1859-1923) is particularly noted for his cat drawings. Pictured here are two Steinlen sketches of napping cats on toned paper, one done in charcoal and the second in pencil. Notice the lovely line quality of the drawings. Also notice how he suggests features with simple marks of the pencil, such as the eyes and noses, and uses squiggly marks to render volume and shade. With the charcoal drawing, pay attention to how he uses values (areas of dark to light) to draw the cats as well as the texture and direction of his lines. To see more Steinlen cats, visit the Steinlen website .

Also recommended is "Steinlen Cats", a publication of the Dover Art Library, available for $5.95 through Amazon.com or BarnesNobel.com. If you really study these cat drawings and try to duplicate them (make sure to get a good quality charcoal paper if you work in that medium, and try it on toned paper such as the warm tan color Steinlen uses here) you can't help but improve.

And again, if you have access to a live cat, so much the better. Study Steinlen, and then work from the live model. In time and with practice, something will click. Suddenly your hand will seem to know what to do almost before you have even thought about it, and when that moment comes it will feel like magic.

Alpacas Coming To Carlsbad Art Farm

2009-04-26T19:48:00.000-07:00

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.

Interactive Art Game Explores Art During the Renaissance

2009-04-24T08:43:00.000-07:00

The Renaissance Connection is an educational tool developed for the Allentown Art Museum's interactive educational web site. With the simple click of a mouse button, players travel 500 years into the past to discover many Renaissance innovations revealed through the Allentown Art Museum's Samuel H. Kress Collection of European art.

Be a patron of the arts. Design your own innovation. Investigate Renaissance artworks in depth. Discover how past innovations inform life today. And more, all enhanced with quirky visuals, irreverent humor, and engaging interactivity that reveal the ways that Renaissance life and culture resemble our own.

This site also features free lesson plans for teachers in the middle school grades. Using Renaissance innovations, these lessons incorporate language arts, visual arts, social studies, and math.

For example, a math and social studies lesson plan explores how patronage worked during the Renaissance.The interactive "Be a Patron of the Arts" lets players assume the role of a wealthy patron commissioning a self-portrait set to Renaissance music. And as noted, it is done with great humor. To visit the site, click here.

Recycling Calculator is Cool Tool for Kids

2009-04-23T08:32:00.000-07:00

This post isn't really about making art, although it uses graphics to cleverly illustrate how recycling makes a difference. The "Conversionator" is found at the National Recycling Coalition (NRC). The NRC is a national non-profit advocacy group with members that span all aspects of waste reduction, reuse and recycling in North America.

My 10-year-old daughter thinks the interactive Conversionator is very cool and I can see why. It helps illustrate how recycling one family's daily waste products converts into saved trees and cleaner air. Go ahead, give it a try. Just click here.

Where Do Artists in San Diego Get Their Supplies?

2009-04-13T08:42:00.000-07:00

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.

SmartHistory Offers Interactive Art History

2009-04-09T20:04:00.000-07:00

Now here's a website for art history teachers and students to salivate over. SmartHistory, funded by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, is conceived as an interactive Western art history textbook. It is meant to supplement those unwieldy art history textbooks that always seem to be about the size of a major metro phone book, heavy as bricks, and often real snoozers to slog through.

SmartHistory, described as a "multi-media web-book, was founded by Beth Harris and Steven Zucker, both art historians at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Harris is also director of digital learning at MoMA. SmartHistory uses a multi-media timeline along with other interactive features -- such as podcasts, YouTube clips, and Flickr -- to integrate 2,600 years of art and architectural history.

Sampling of works designated by time period are used "to demonstrate the changing role of art in the everyday evolution of human political and social structures". For example, the oil painting above, "Strayed Sheep," (1852), by the English Artist William Holman Hunt, is featured on a video podcast lecture about art during the Industrial Revolution from 1848 to 1907. Harris and Zucker use this and other art works to discuss how artists at this time were breaking away from traditional Academy notions of what subject matter was suitable for art and even from traditional ideas of formal composition. They also discuss meaning: do the sheep without a shepherd represent a breaking away from the Church of England?

Harris and Zucker began SmartHistory in 2005 by creating a blog, featuring free audio guides in the form of podcasts for use at MoMa and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. They then began embedding audio files on their online survey courses. "The response from our students was so positive that we decided to create a multi-media survey of art history web-book," Harris and Zucker note on their website. "We created audios and videos about works of art found in standard art history texts, organized the files stylistically and chronologically, and added text and still images."

We're glad they did. As a supplemental teaching tool, SmartHistory is developing into a brilliant resource for the classroom.

Geordie Millar's Giant Walking Moose

2009-04-03T11:04:00.000-07:00

Wow. I'm stunned. As you may have ascertained by now, I like drawing animals and I like drawings of animals.

Furthermore, I have a lifelong affinity for charcoal. Just love the stuff. I use it in the classroom all the time because I think it helps to loosen up students who are too wedded to the precision of line they get from a pencil (not to mention their over-dependency on erasers). I want students to get their hands dirty, work large, and to risk smudging their paper with unintended marks.

So here I was, fishing around on the Internet, when I came across Canadian Artist Geordie Millar's Walking exhibit, which is a series of 16 huge (average size 60 X 76) charcoal on paper portraits of a single female moose walking, standing, lying down, turning, and so on. It's mesmerizing as a study of an animal and as art. The website set-up to showcase the exhibit is nicely done. Just click on any of the images scrolling by and take some time to appreciate the detail. Then recall that it's done in charcoal.

What I like very much about these drawings, as a teaching tool for young students, is that they show what drawing can be. The analogy I use with students is that learning to draw well is like learning to play an instrument. It takes time, dilligence, discipline and all the rest, but the reward is that with mastery comes very tangible results. But drawing from intense observation is also a form of meditation.

In his Artist's Statement about the "Walking" exhibit, Millar notes, "Are we comfortable around animals in the wild? No. Are they comfortable around us? No. This is one of the beautiful parts of life, simply because these glimpses are so vividly intense. One moose to draw and she's still a mystery to me after all these hours of drawing."

Designing a Book Cover

2009-04-02T09:13:00.000-07:00

The illustration at right is from a tutorial by P.J. Lynch, a highly regarded Irish illustrator of children's books (as well as many other publications). The tutorial, posted at Scamp, an Irish illustrators blogspot, takes you step-by-step through Lynch's process for designing a book cover for an edition of the classic short story, "Gift of the Magi," about a young married couple too poor to buy each other gifts one Christmas. The story is about how they each make a sacrifice to secure a simple gift for each other.

Lynch started by sketching out the images from photographs he had taken of models. He then scanned his drafts into Photoshop and manipulated the composition, noting that he was somewhat new to Photoshop. He also used it as a tool to block in color areas. Later, he used this manipulated draft as a source for his final hand-painted image.

Just as important as the images in his step-by-step tutorial is a close reading of Lynch's text. He talks succinctly about how he uses his models and photographs as source material, but then he talks about how he rearranges elements for best compositional effect.

For example, at one point Lynch moves a bare wood table from the right side of the composition to the left side, noting, "the compositional breakthrough was when I saw that the table with the gift on it could be used as a way to lead the eye in, as well as helping to define the space and telling a little bit about Jim and Della’s impoverished state."

These are complicated concepts for young artists, the idea that composition "leads the eye" through a picture or that simply rearranging elements on the picture plane can somehow provide information about the people in the picture that wasn't there before. But particularly engaged middle school student, and certainly a high school student would benefit from being introduced to these artistic concepts as part of their studio art instruction.

Art Work from Art Farm

2009-03-31T15:20:00.001-07:00

I'm just now starting to sift through three-years worth of student art work with the daunting task of trying to choose what to put on my website gallery. I've photographed so many images. The work posted there will eventually represents a range of ages from students entering second-grade through middle school.

Seen here is a lovely charcoal rendering of a horse by a second-grader. Students at Art Farm work from live animal models in outdoor studios on our 10-acre reserve. By the time this student rendered this horse, she had spent studio time learning how to use charcoal media and studying some basic horse anatomy. Her class was shown a diagram of a horse skeleton, and we went over how the horse moves and why. We watched a short film clip showing a horse in motion, and another illustrating how artists through the ages have depicted horses.

By the time we brought in a live horse to draw, this student was well prepared to tackle her subject. One obstacle to overcome when drawing a live animal is that animal models tend to move. That is why having a good sense of how the animal is put together to begin with helps in the drawing of it.

In our studio classes at Art Farm, students work at special easels called "art horses" (familiar to anyone who has ever gone to an art college or university) which allow them to sit down while drawing from a model. The art horse also allows them to draw at a tilt with a good range of arm and hand motion while closely observing the model. This is incredibly important for many types of drawing.

You can see from this charcoal drawing that there is looseness and charm to the line style and smudging that is moving away from simple contour or "coloring book"-style drawing toward a greater sophistication of expression. Not every line has been erased because it was "imperfect" (in fact I often ban erasers from class). You can see the anatomy under the surface: the bones supporting the animal. There is a sense of volume in the belly. This student has been given a high-grade piece of charcoal paper that allows the texture of the rubbings to take hold on the surface in a way that cheap construction paper cannot. The horse looks alive because the drawing technique is fluid and alive. Also, it has the look of an object rendered from a live model.

This second-grader, like many students her age, was very excited to be taught how to observe an animal like an artist and then how to go about getting it down on paper.

Surfing Links On the Art Farm Blog

2009-03-31T08:16:00.000-07:00

As noted in an earlier post, I divide my blog lists into one suitable for younger artist and a second that comes under a "PG-13" heading, with the commonsense disclaimer that blogs are constantly morphing and parents need to monitor usage as they see fit.

All my listings, whether they come under blogs or links, are here because I believe they are great compendiums of information and creative talent. The links are not separated by age category, so parents may want to visit a site first to see if it is appropriate for any given child.

In listing links and blogs for parents and kids interested in art, my goal is to sift the wheat from the chaff that's floating about on the Internet. Today I hit upon an upstart publishing house, Drawn and Quarterly, that publishes literary comics and graphic novels. It is supported in part by the Canadian government. It's founding publisher, Chris Oliveros, pictured right from the biography page at D & W's website, set out in 1989 to convince the world's top literary comic artists to publish with with D & Q. D& Q also has a blog.

Today, with cartoonists that have been instrumental in defining the literary comics medium for the past twenty years, and a willingness to experiment with formats and concepts, the website notes that "Drawn & Quarterly has become one of the most influential art and literary comics publishers in North America, if not the whole world."

Looking through a few of the artist biographies, this boast seems to have some foundation in fact. To read the artists' biographies, visit the site, click on "artists" and then click on the image of the book sitting on the desk top of each artist. One example is Cartoonist/Illustrator Raymond Briggs who has been writing and drawing children’s books and graphic novels for 40 years. Some of his best-loved books include Father Christmas and The Snowman.

For high school students interested in the art of the literary graphic novel or something much more sophisticated than Manga or superhero-style comics story lines, this is a great site. The quality here is along the lines of Art Spiegleman's Pulitzer Prize-winning "Maus", or the more recent "Persepolis".

A Blog for People Who Like to Draw

2009-03-30T12:41:00.000-07:00

Drawn! is a collaborative weblog for illustrators, artists, cartoonists, and anyone who likes to draw. The blog listings at Drawn! are a treasure-trove of talent. It's addictive. I keep telling myself I'm just going to visit one more blog entry at Drawn! and then go get some "real" work done. Every day there's something new to look at.

I've posted a link to Drawn! under my "PG-13" blog list because this is a blog that has listings with adult themes and content, but Drawn! is also chock-a-block with stuff that is wonderful for young people. So I suggest that parents go to Drawn! and start bookmarking blogs to share with their kids.

One example is the wonderful illustrated literary blog, "Boogie Woogie" (see owls above), maintained by a dad and his kids, listed under my "Blog List for Young Artists." I found this at Drawn!. Not only is Boogie Woogie charming, but the idea itself is one that can be replicated by any family wanting to share family time, books, and art.

Drawn! is also a wonderful resource for art teachers. If you have a Smart Board in your classroom, there are many avenues for using these blogs to supplement instruction.

Blogs for Younger and Older Artists

2009-03-28T10:35:00.000-07:00

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

2009-03-25T09:53:00.000-07:00

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.

Introducing Art Farm Instructor Kris Finch

2009-03-24T09:02:00.000-07:00

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.

Now Showing: The Works of Lori and April Mitchell

2009-03-16T13:42:00.000-07:00

Two Carlsbad Art Farm Summer Camp staffers are currently having shows in coastal San Diego.

Girard Gourmet, at 7837 Girard Ave. in La Jolla, is showcasing the illustration work of Lori Mitchell (see picture at right) now through mid-April. Lori will be teaching drawing, painting, and mosaic art this summer at Art Farm.

Lori's mosaic work is for sale at the wonderful Art N Soul On 101 Gallery at 633 South Coast Highway 101 in Encinitas. Art N Soul features whimsical high-quality arts and crafts for by local artists.

April Mitchell, who is joining Art Farm's staff this summer as a teacher's aide, has work on display through March at The Artist Space at Southfair Gallery, 2010 Jimmy Durante Blvd., in Del Mar, as part of Canyon Crest Academy's Senior senior art show.

Registration Begins March 15th!

2009-03-13T01:06:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone, welcome back to another great year at the Carlsbad Art Farm. Our registration will begin March 15th, so be ready to sign up and get the session you want...it fills up fast!

Stay tuned for more info soon!