Tag Archives: Abrakadoodle

Art for Kids is a Tasty Treat

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Tasty art by Mauja, age 12 of Detroit, Michigan

Art is such a fun way for children to express ideas from their imaginations. Sometimes your child will ask, “What should I draw?” Challenge your child to draw something they really such as ice cream sundaes or playing the guitar! Encourage your child to depict an image that is full of detail, using colors that your child loves.

Before your child sets to work, you may wish to discuss the possible form and structure for subject of the piece, so that your child can tap her mind’s eye to determine how the art can take shape. Talk about it! The ground squirrel that has captured your child’s fancy has almond shaped eyes. What might that look like? How about those tiny triangle shaped ears? Are its legs short or long? Describe its tail. Confidence grows as your child can envision how his idea will materialize.

Music-inspired montage by Claudia, age 13 of Detroit, MI

Older children may enjoy weaving a favorite image into a unique art form, such as abstract art in which a composition integrates form, color and line. Abstract art is not realistic but often uses symbolism. Younger children might enjoy using a favorite image in a creative collage that can make use of texture, objects from nature and related photos or magazine clippings. Ask questions about your child’s finished product and keep the creative juices flowing!

Capturing Child-Like Wonder: Naïve/Primitive Art

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"Leo the Lion" by Sophie Harding

I find that Naïve Art is big on charm. The “Primitive” part of the art is appealing, with its simple lines; strong colors; flat subjects and two dimensions.  Don’t be fooled, though, into thinking that this child-like magic is in any way simplistic. Abrakadoodle incorporates this wonderful art style into our instructional programs for children.

Our students love exploring Naïve art by Sophie Harding, a multi-talented artist from Southern England. She paints, illustrates children’s books, as well as designs textiles. Her Primitive Art is absolutely endearing, featuring such child favorites as jungle and farm animals, fairies, bugs, dinosaurs and much more! By using simple shapes, vivid colors and imagination, Abrakadoodle artists can create their own treasured art in her style!

Henri Rousseau loved to create jungle scenes

Abrakadoodle students also delight in the art of Henri Rousseau, the self-taught French painter who created whimsical jungle scenes, even though he never actually traveled to a jungle! Rousseau did observe plant and animal life, however, and he was able to draw upon his vivid imagination to produce colorful creations that inspire a sense of wonder.

Encourage your child to make art in the Primitive style. How about a creative critter? For younger children, you can start with a stencil of shapes. Choose a favorite animal, and then talk about the shapes that your child can use to create it. Start with the head and then draw the body and appendages. Use a pencil, so that your young artist can edit his/her work, as all artists do. Once the animal is made, ask your child how it can be embellished. Does it need whiskers or stripes or a tail? Next, add to its surroundings. Would flowers or trees or hills or plants add to the scene? Finally, add color! Have your child discuss his/her artwork. Cultivate creativity and nurture your child’s adventures in self-expression!

Art Helps Kids Access the Sun, Moon, Stars

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Original art by Nia, age 9 of Michigan

We all want to help our children reach for the stars and shoot for the moon! Art is such a wonderful way for kids to express themselves, while developing such important skills as creativity and problem-solving. Art – whether in creation or appreciation – entails learning to see, interpret and understand. Children can translate their internal vision or depict images based upon external sources of inspiration, both of which provide young artists with material to draw upon and feed into their art practice.

Original art by Shantrice, age 13 of Michigan who write of her art, “Darkness falls; light revolves”

Explore your child’s unique view! Provide your child with some basic supplies, such as blank paper, pencils, markers and crayons. Strike up a conversation about the stars, moon, planets, as well as our sun and sky. Connect with your child’s natural enthusiasm and clever ideas by encouraging him/her to create art that captures these unique imaginings.

Abrakadoodle Students Score in Creativity Testing

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Abrakadoodle students develop important creativity skills!

Abrakadoodle conducted research during the 2011-2012 school year to determine if students exhibited gains when participating in the Abrakadoodle Art Education Program. Abrakadoodle provides a total art curriculum, art instruction conducted by an Abrakadoodle trained teacher and art materials at charter schools and private schools around the country. Students who were new to the Abrakadoodle program were tested in the fall and then again after participating in the Abrakadoodle program for seven months. The Educational Resource Group administered the Torrance® Tests of Creative Thinking. Fifty-two (52) second and fifth grade students from diverse backgrounds took part.

Overall grade scores for the entire group increased by 7 percentage points, as the scores related to the national averages.  Most dramatic results were apparent among the fifth grade students, who had scored significantly below the national averages in the pretest. In addition to the Abrakadoodle Art in Our World Curriculum and Education Program, fifth graders had participated in Abrakadoodle’s Creativity Boost™ Exercises.

The highly reliable Torrance® Tests of Creative Thinking TTCT are the most widely used tests of their kind.  Students in this study participated in the Figural TTCT Forms A and B: Thinking Creatively with Pictures, which includes exercises to assess five characteristics related to creative thinking. Scoring was based upon grade-related norms.  The TTCT is most widely used to determine eligibility for talented and gifted programs. Normative data has been gathered from more than 55,000 students in the US and Canada. The test has been offered in more than 35 countries.

According to Mary C. Rogers, MA.ED, CEO and Co-founder of Abrakadoodle, “We know that student creative abilities decrease as they move through the grades.  We are encouraged by preliminary results that may indicate that students who participate in Abrakadoodle’s quality art education programs can slow and even reverse that trend. We anticipate conducting further research to more fully assess the effects of our program on student creativity.  Part of what makes our art education program unique is our devotion to creativity skills development, which is an important component of our Art in Our World Curriculum and Education Program.”

 

Abrakadoodle Participates in VetFran Independence Day Press Conference

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Rosemarie Hartnett of Abrakadoodle expressed her support for the VetFran initiative at the National Press Club

Abrakadoodle today joined with the International Franchise Association (IFA), U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), as well as SIGNARAMA for a VetFran Independence Day press conference at the National Press Club in Washington, DC. Launch events at 12 other American cities highlighted concerns about veteran unemployment and encouraged the hiring of veterans. It also profiled business ownership through franchising as a great fit for veterans who return with great leadership skills and a deep commitment to operational excellence. Available through the campaign is a VetFran Toolkit designed to foster access to franchise opportunities for U.S. veterans and military spouses. Coming soon is a Veterans Mentor Network.

Formerly in the U.S. Army, April Jackson is now rocking Oklahoma City with her Abrakadoodle franchise.

April Rose Jackson, a U.S. Army vet, joined Abrakadoodle in 2012. She  discovered the art education franchise while deployed in the Middle East, having read a cover story about Abrakadoodle in Black Enterprise Magazine. Amid rocket fire and the challenges of war, April planned for her new enterprise over nearly three years. She viewed franchising not just as a job but as a whole new life adventure. Today, April shared her story at one of the launch events hosted by FASTSIGNS in Dallas, Texas!

Pointillism: Making Art with Dots

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A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, by Georges Seurat, 1884

Pointillism is such an intriguing painting technique, which was developed by Georges Seurat and Paul Signac in the 1880s and featured dots of pure color applied in patterns to form an image. Would you believe that art critics of that time period derided this art and coined the name Pointillism to mock it? Now, this art technique is widely celebrated and Abrakadoodle students love to learn how to create art in this distinctive way.

As opposed to mixing paints from a palette, Pointillism assembles paint spots in bright hues of color such as green, orange and purple. Kids like looking at paintings created in this style because when you look at the painting up close, it looks like a series of
dots. When you look at the painting from a distance, you can see a picture. Also, colors change as you move further away from the painting. Up close, dots in blue and yellow may appear to be green when you move further away. The eye plays a trick on us called “optical mixing.” Kids find this type of painting magical.

Few artists practice the technique of Pointillism today because it is very labor intensive. Seurat’s “A Sunday in the Park” took him about two years to finish and contains over
three-million dots!

Children can have a blast creating their own artwork with colorful dots!

Encourage your child to make a point of trying Pointillism at home:

  1. Assemble some art materials – paper, pencils, watercolor, small paint brushes, markers or crayons
  2. Your child might have an idea in his or her hear or can choose inspiration from a favorite pet, flower or object or even a shape. Younger children may want to trace the outline of an object.
  3. Start by making an outline of your desired image and notice its shape
  4. Explore and experiment with dots of color – to show off the light, use white dots mixed with bright colors, and for shadows, use darker color dots mixed with bright colors
  5. Patterns will help to create interest, but remember there is no right or wrong way to make art – enjoy the process … that’s the point: to encourage a lifetime of fun with art!

 

Abrakadoodle Celebrates 10 Years in Creative Art Education

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Abrakadoodle celebrates creativity at its 10th annual conference!

Abrakadoodle art education directors from nationwide, as well as master licensees from Singapore and China, joined co-founder hosts Mary Rogers and Rosemarie Hartnett, as well as headquarters staff for a celebratory conference at the National Harbor located near Washington, DC. From its beginnings in 2002 with 11 students at the McLean Community Center in Northern Virginia, Abrakadoodle has created a monumental mosaic of creative art programs that has reached nearly 1,000,000 children worldwide!

Creativity was on display from start to finish at Abrakadoodle’s conference. Staff and attendees came costumed as an artist or a piece of artwork for the welcoming cruise along the scenic Potomac River. Pam Rautmann, who serves Southeastern Wisconsin, won the prize for best costume representing an artist. She was a shoe-in as Frida Kahlo! Which two artists were most represented at conference? Salvador Dali, the surrealist painter and Jackson Pollock an abstract expressionist known for his unique drip style of painting. The prize for best costume representing a piece of art went to Geraldine Smythe, director of Abrakadoodle-Austin, TX and her lead teacher Letty Bouchon, who fashioned colorful head-to-toe costumes based upon artist Natasha Wescoat’s famous jeweled trees.

All About Abrakadoodle: Check out a one-and-a-half minute short history of Abrakadoodle as told through pictures!

Several Abrakadoodle Artists of Distinction donated art for the celebratory conference

KUDOS!!

Special thanks to our Abrakadoodle Artists of Distinction for their generous donations, as well as our supportive conference sponsors: Warren Lewis of Akerman, Senterfitt, LLP, Washington, DC; Joe Bell, Bell & Frech, LLC, Brookeville, MD; Mary Moore, Constant Contact, Waltham, MA; Amit Pamecha, FranConnect, Reston, VA; Peter McCann, Ideal Images, Omaha, NE; Mark Mahoney, JackRabbit Technologies, Cornelius, NC; Dan Wolanski, Mag Knight, Inc, Snohomish, WA; Dan Johnson/Amy Klotz, Nasco, Fort Atkinson, and Chris Mada, S&S Worldwide, Colchester, CT.

Art Nouveau: A Swirling Style with Lasting Impact

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Abrakadoodle's version of Klimt's "Tree of Life"

Abrakadoodle art students love to creat art in the style of 19th century artist Gustav Klimt of Vienna, Austria. He was the founder of the Art Nouveau movement in Austria, which came to be called the Vienna Secession. His art featured lots of patterns, and he loved to paint pictures of trees, flowers and nature using swirls, curvy lines and lovely colors. Shown right is an Abrakadoodle version of Klimt’s “Tree of Life” artwork.

Art Nouveau came into popularity in the late 1800′s and early 1900′s and was distinguished by dynamic, flowing lines and the use of often intricate patterns. Art Nouveau used new materials, machine surfaces and abstraction. The Art Nouveau style is said to be a forerunner of such innovative 20th century movements as expressionism, cubism, surrealism and art deco.

Making arty letters is a fun activity for kids!

Try making an Art Nouveau design at home! All you need is some sturdy art paper, a pencil, crayons, markers or paints. A simple yet fun idea is to start with your child’s first initial of his or her name. For young children, you can use a stencil or trace the letter. Older children will enjoy creating their own — perhaps a big bubble letter or a swirling script style letter. From there, your child can add swirls, curved lines or patterns to give the letter a special design. The possibilities are endless for adding favorite flowers or animals or polka dots in whatever colors your child chooses. They may even like to add some embellishments, such as glitter or pom-poms that you have on hand. Let your child’s imagination flow!

Abrakadoodle welcomes veterans to its franchise team

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April & Isaac bring a love of art, children and education to their new Abrakadoodle location in Oklahoma City

Three years ago while serving in Iraq, April Rose read a cover story about the Abrakadoodle art education franchise in Black Enterprise magazine that fueled her desire to pursue an artful future following her deployment. Hunkered down in a bunker amid rocket fire, she and her future husband imagined their new lives as arty entrepreneurs. According to April, she and Isaac talked about their plans for establshing their Abrakadoodle franchise every night. They are now launching their dream with award-winning Abrakadoodle and will be engaging children with creativity-boosting art classes, camps, parties and face-painting through its mobile art programs.

“We are so excited about how our program is going to transform children’s lives in a positive way through the magic of creating art,” said April Rose Jackson, Education Director of Abrakadoodle-Oklahoma City. “We had to work togehter a lot, which gives us an advantage as we launch our Abrakadoodle enterprise,” Isaac noted of their Middle East deployment in U.S. Army logistics.

“The Jackson’s have been the picture of patience these past few years,” commented Rosemarie Hartnett, CFE, President & Co-Founder of Abrakadoodle, Inc. “We feel extremely fortunate to welcome these two enthusiastic, dedicated individuals to our Abrakadoodle franchise team. As industrious veterans who have served our country well, Isaac and April Rose bring not only an amazing work ethic but also a passion for art and education. This will be a great asset as they build their program at schools and sites throughout Oklahoma City.”

April and Isaac met in 2009 while serving in Iraq, and then married in a suprise destination wedding Isaac planned in the Cayman Islands in January 2010. With a degree in graphic design from Jackson State, April also brings a passion for scrapbooking (she has her own blog: The Purple Scrapbook) and comes from a long line of creative family members. Additionally, April’s mother was a grade school teacher for over 15 years before her death in 2000. Isaac has a degree in finance and plans to complement April’s skills by handling the accounting, product inventory and financial aspects of the business. Isaac’s mom is a school teacher in the Oklahoma Public School system, affording both he and April a special knowledge of the education industry. They both refer to the military as “family” and feel well-equipped to work within Abrakadoodle’s franchise family.

 

 

 

Fauvism: It’s all about the color

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Woman with a Hat by Henri Matisse

We are all drawn to color but none more so than the Fauvists of the early 1900′s, who created art that focused more on powerful colors than on the subjects of their artworks. In French, fauves translates to “wild beasts.” Many believe that fauvism grew out of the impressionism movement. The fauvists used wild brush strokes, intense colors and abstraction. Henri Matisse is a favorite artist featured in Abrakadoodle’s art program for children. His work, “Women with a Hat” (right) is said to have given rise to the Fauvism movement. Matisse simply loved art and over his life he experimented with many styles, ending his career with wonderful paper cutouts, which students in Abrakadoodle art classes love to explore. Our students create original, Matisse-inspired artworks from their own imaginations.

Colorful landscape by Andre Derain

Andre Derain was another French artist, who was a leading painter with the Fauves. Derain became friends with Matisse. He once said, “The colors were even dynamite cartridges to us.” His artwork featured bright, flat colors with spontaneous brush strokes. He often painted landscapes.

Encourage your child to create a piece of art that is very colorful. You might add to the creative adventure by saying, “If you could make your tan colored dog or cat a color, what color or colors would you choose?” Let your child’s little inner color beast out for some arty fun!