Oil pastels are NOT simply messy crayons - there's so much more you can do with them! (The photo in the class listing is a 6-year-old student hard at work on one of his oil pastel creations. Look how beautiful it is!)

WHAT IS THIS CLASS?
In this fun four-day camp, young artists will explore and create art from their imagination with a messy and delightful art medium: oil pastels! I emphasize process over product, and we'll be doing a lot of experimentation - my goal is for them to gain familiarity with the medium and its many fun possibilities. 

WHO SHOULD TAKE THIS CLASS?
This is designed for students who are relatively new to oil pastels, or for those kids who use oil pastels as if they were crayons, by drawing a picture and shading with just one color at a time. It could be a fun refresher for those who have used them only a few times. It's beginner-level; we start with basic blending exploration. 

WHAT WILL STUDENTS CREATE?
Please note: I do NOT offer step-by-step guidance to create look-alike artworks - every student's work will be different! Although I will demonstrate techniques for students to practice in class with me, most of their artwork will be completely self-generated based on the themes and techniques of the day, so I can't tell you what specific artworks they'll end up with. I will give them ideas and guidelines, eg asking them to focus on a particular color set or giving them certain restrictions to think about, but if they want to deviate, I'm not going to stop them - I'll all about student-led artwork! What I can tell you is, all their projects will be created with oil pastels! :) 

WHAT IS YOUR TEACHING STYLE?
I teach a very interactive class. I ask students questions and hope for active participation. I demonstrate using a document camera on my hands, and check for comprehension regularly along the way. I try to use stories & analogies to help students remember concepts.

WHAT IS THE CLASS OUTLINE? 
Day 1: Introduction - blending experiments on light paper 
Day 2: Dark paper, blending experimentation
Day 3: Texture experimentation. 
Day 4: Using oil pastels with oil!

WHAT SUPPLIES DO I NEED?
-oil pastels - if you don't already have a set, I recommend Crayola. (Please see notes on supplies...the sets that come as part of those suitcase kids are often pretty substandard and unsatisfying to work with)
-pencil
-white drawing or construction paper, 9x12
-black or very dark construction paper, 9x12
-for day 4: heavyweight watercolor paper (highly recommended), or very heavyweight white paper - but watercolor paper will have the best effect by far. Drawing paper or printer paper won't give you as great a result - oil tends to soak into those.
-paper towels
-toothpicks or something similar with a somewhat pointy or scratchy edge (eg a skewer, a coffee stirrer, a plastic fork)
-q-tips/cotton buds
-a small amount of oil (baby oil, olive oil, any kind of cooking/kitchen oil)

A FEW OUTSCHOOL RULES OF NOTE:
-Although siblings may share a camera, all participating students must be registered individually.
-I must vertify students with cameras on, so please verify your camera is working! In addition, I request that students leave their cameras on during class. I find it very challenging to teach to black boxes with names in them, as I cannot tell how the black boxes are doing with their artwork :)
-I have a limited refund policy in place. I cannot honor last-minute requests for transfers or refunds except in exceptional circumstances.