Before becoming a professional artist, I was a public school art teacher. I still truly believe education is the most valuable resource we can offer our children / citizens. After leaving teaching I started The Austin Artery in 2013 - 10 years ago! I still love teaching, but after many years of managing several locations of camps and staffing, I have decided to scale back my camps in order to simplify my life.

This summer I will be offering 3 separate camp sessions in my studio (in the Canopy Arts Complex) for a very small group of kids (6 maximum). Kids will need to bring a lunch each day and wear clothes that can get dirty!

This summer I have decided to offer classes / camps that bring my the most joy. So here is my summer line up. Each camp lasts daily from 10 - 2:30.

June 19th - 24th Upcycled Art for ages 7 - 12

This week of camp we will be learning all about the most important step in the Reduce, Reuse and Recycle process. We’ll be making art from reused materials. We’ll make screen print on reclaimed t-shirts, make cardboard relief prints, junk journals, junk drawer mosaics, learn to weave with reclaimed materials, learn about collage, create pinatas and more. We’ll tour some of the artist studios and galleries located right here within the canopy arts complex to search for examples of Upcycling in other artists’ work. We’ll learn about Austin Creative Reuse, our local creative reclamation center, which diverts nearly 1.5 million pounds of materials from the landfill each year. We’ll learn about volunteering, and even complete one volunteer project for their center. Students will have the opportunity to display their art during Open Canopy, our art complexes monthly open studio event.

June 27th - July 30th Screen Printing for Ages 9 - 12

During this week of camp we will begin by screen-printing our very own Austin Artery shirts on up-shirts. We will design discuss design principles, and composition. We will illustrate our own designs using traditional pencils, pen and ink methods. However, Kids are welcome to bring tablets with either Procreate, or Fresco if they would like to design digitally. We’ll visit a local screen printing collective, see how professionals do screen-printing, and watch a demonstration as a professional creates a screen. Each child will receive a screen with one of their designs. We will print on up-cycled t-shirts. The kids can bring tote bags or any other items they would like to print on. Your child will need to bring : A blank screen, a canister of printing ink, and a printing squeegee (I’ll send out an e-mail with links). I will provide t-shirts, t-shirt inserts and gloves. Your child will have the additional opportunity to sell their goods at Open Canopy, our art complex’s monthly open studio from 1 - 4 PM.

July 3rd - July 7th (no camp on the 4th) -Drawing & Painting Realistically

This camp is based on a booked by Betty Edwards Called Drawing from the Right Side of the Brain. This process systematically helped students shift from using their Left side of the brain (the logical and analytical) when drawing to using their right side of the brain (which is more abstract and quiet). We will work from each student’s current individual level (as some have worked through some of this before). We will draw with charcoal, learn grid drawing, and create watercolor paintings as time allows. We will visit local galleries, and practice drawing from life as well.