Fourth grader Allen Dixon shows off his Kandinsky Doodle after class in March 2012

Allen Dixon first enrolled in Abrakadoodle after school art classes in Kindergarten. Five years later, Allen is now a bright, talented fourth grade student celebrating 90 after school classes for which he has unfailingly participated. Abrakadoodle Art Education is sponsored by the PTA of Worthington Elementary School in Ellicott City, Maryland.

“We initially chose Abrakadoodle for Allen because he loves art and drawing and it seemed like a perfect combination to further his skills,” commented Yolanda Sonnier & Sean Dixon, Allen’s parents. “Allen loves art, and so it was without question that he wanted to continue in Abrakadoodle,” Yolanda & Sean remarked. “In addition to Allen’s love for art, the instructors were warm, engaging and the atmosphere encouraged a young artist. Allen also loved the end of class, when each child shared their artwork and their vision.”

“Allen is very talented,” remarked Lisa Marianelli, Program Director, Abrakadoodle of Central Maryland ~ Winner of Best After School Program by Maryland Family 2011 Readers’ Choice. “We have loved his bright, enthusiastic presence in our after school art program, and we were delighted to present his family with a loyalty discount for Allen’s ongoing participation.”

“As parents we are proud of Allen and his participation in Abrakadoodle,” said Yolanda & Sean. “Allen has honed his art skills through his participation in Abrakadoodle, which has boosted his confidence. The information about the different artists, types of art and the era of each artist taught in Abrakadoodle is amazing and information we didn’t learn ourselves until Art Appreciation classes in collage. Abrakadoodle has furthered Allen’s confidence and art knowledge beyond our expectations.”

Original art by Troy, age 9 of Grand Rapids, Michigan

Want your child’s creativity to soar? Art can transport your child to new heights of creative innovation. Rev up your child’s imagination by tapping into your child’s interests and dreams. Equipped with safe, abundant art supplies, your child can take the pilot’s seat in revealing his or her goals, dreams and passions.

Abrakadoodle’s Kids’ Imagination Project brought thousands of pieces of original children’s art creations to us from around the world. What a joy to see children’s creativity take flight!

Jets in flight by Vared, age 10 of Detroit, Michigan

Give your child wings by encouraging individual expression through art!

Speaking of celebrating interests and creativity, join Abrakadoodle on Pinterest!

Watercolor by Alexis, age 7 of Virginia for the Kids' Imagination Project

Help your child’s creativity bloom by encouraging original self-expression. Go out into nature with your child and take in all the changes that are taking place ~ the flowers in bloom, the pollinating bees, the bright green leaves and grasses and the fruit ripening on citrus trees.

Suggest that your child take a mental picture, and then provide your child with an array of creative materials to depict a spring scene.

Picasso's Three Musicians courtesy of Moma 2006

The early 1900’s ushered in the new art style of Cubism, which was based upon using geometric shapes to express creative ideas and marked the beginning of the Abstract and Non-objective art styles. Artists broke apart objects, and then analyzed and re-assembled them in an abstracted form. In this way, artists showed multiple viewpoints to represent a subject.

Spanish-born artist Pablo Picasso was a co-founder of this exciting movement, having spent his early years in fine arts training during which he refined his immense talent. Picasso moved to Paris and explored different art theories, techniques and ideas. In addition to painting, Picasso was an accomplished sculptor and printmaker.

Encourage your child to create a piece of art that makes use of shapes. For young children, you may want to have a variety of shapes cut out. Older children will enjoy making and using shapes that range from basic triangles, circles and rectangles to more advanced cubes, cylinders and trapezoids. You might want to make art in collage style, exploring how shapes can be fashioned together in a way that expresses your child’s view of a subject – whether it be a representation of something from nature, planets, animals or any intriguing subject matter. Remember to honor the process of creating art and focus more on your child’s vision and ideas that contributed to his or her artful endeavor. In this way, your child’s imagination can really begin to take shape!

Manet's "The Railroad"

We’ve all heard the modern expression, “get real.” Did you know it had its roots – at least in the art world – in the 1800′s? Traveling back to the mid 1800′s, the artists of the Realist school emerged in France. They wanted to move away from the idealization of a subject, which was widespread among such art movements as Neoclassicism and Romanticism. These artists wanted to show the natural truth of their subject. Realist artists often chose subjects for their art from everyday life around them.

Edouard Manet is a well-known French painter, who was born in 1832 in Paris and was prominent in the Realism movement. He particularly enjoyed creating art based upon his observations of social life and leisure activities in 19th century Paris. His work was characterized by loose brushstrokes and minimal detailing.

Norman Rockwell was famous for bringing the American experience to life through his art

Norman Rockwell is a beloved American illustrator and painter, who was born in the late 1800′s in New York City. Abrakadoodle students enjoy creating art in his realistic, if not idealized style, which depicted a truly American way of life. Rockwell was inspired by the works of Rembrandt and he followed his style by working in Realism while many artists of that time were focused on Abstract art. He created art that is treasured to this day and represented family life, activities such as Boy Scouts and many of his works conveyed good cheer and playfulness.

Children can really enjoy working in the style of realism because it focuses upon everyday life. Sketchbooks are particularly fun for children ages six and up. Encourage them to use their sketchbooks or paper to capture simple drawings of things they see occurring around them, such as mom brushing sister’s hair, a puppy taking a nap or a friend playing a game. By doing so, children capture the essence of realism and have fun recording everyday events. Remember to honor the process of creating art and focus more upon your child’s vision than evaluating the finished project. Promote discussion by saying, “Tell me about your artwork” or “What were you thinking about when you created this picture?” These types of quesitons can help provide insights into your child’s vision or purpose.

Spring is a time to get inspired with arty projects! These adorable hats are made with recycled K-Cups. Get brewing with your child for some springtime fun!

Transform your K-Cups into sweet spring hats!

To make:

1. Clean out a K-Cup and remove filter.
2. Paint the K-Cup with acrylic paint or use as is.
3. Trace a circle on a piece of stiff paper or poster board
   for your rim.  (I traced a roll of masking tape.)
4. Trace the K-Cup in the center of the circle.
5. Cut out the larger circle.  Cut out the smaller interior
   circle by adding about 1/8 inch so that the smaller interior cut out will be
   smaller than the circle made by the K-Cup.
6. Attach the cut out circle rim to the K-Cup using tape.
7. Decorate your K-Cup with tape, paper, ribbon, flowers, feathers, or
   other decorations.

Thanks to Mary Rogers for her whimsical art!

We all have wild dreams from time to time. One of mine was riding a huge dolphin out in the middle of the ocean. Surrealism is a wonderful art form that shows things we know but are depicted in ways that we wouldn’t find in everyday life – much like the landscape of a dream! French artist Henri Rousseau has a piece of art I like very much, which reminds me of my dream, because it shows a man riding a tiger – not a very likely real life scenario!

Abrakadoodle art students love learning about the fantastical art of surrealism and using their imaginations to create original artwork. Another famous artist we teach in our program, known for his extraordinarily imaginative creations, is Spanish artist Salvador Dali. Don’t you love how this ship is powered by butterflies instead of traditional sails? Check out the scale of the butterflies, too – wonderfully immense!

Challenge your child to create a piece of art based upon a dream or a fanciful idea that makes an everyday item stand out in an unusual way. Give your child’s imagination wings!