Mindfulness Monday – May 18

This Monday, we’re bringing you another dose of Mindfulness… Mindfulness is the practice of focusing on the present moment while calmly observing your thoughts and feelings. Here at the Museum, Art Educator Amy Korpieski and Curator of Education Annette Eshelman use mindfulness techniques in their educational practices to help visitors of all ages experience meaningful moments in the galleries. While we are not able to physically be in the galleries, we wanted to bring the gallery to you as we present this opportunity to practice some mindfulness.

The image here is Gustavus Frankenstein’s DAM ON BUCK CREEK, SPRINGFIELD, OHIO, oil on canvas, 17 x 25,” c1890, a gift of the Estate of Bardarah McCandless.

Click to go to the video »

Drawing the Collection-Lesson 6: Color

We’re changing it up a bit with this Friday’s drawing lesson by focusing on color! Complementary colors are any colors that sit opposite each other on the color wheel. When placed next to each other, complementary colors create a contrasting and vibrant effect.

Click here for a downloadable PDF of this lesson »

The Trail Gallery – Updated

We’ve updated our Trail Gallery with some new pieces! While we’re closed to the public, you can still see art in our new “gallery.” Just visit the trail that runs between the Museum and Buck Creek to see art on display in the staff office windows.

We’ll rotate these exhibitions often while we are closed to the public.

Enjoy art while practicing safe physical distancing at SMoA’s Trail Gallery!

Sewing at Home

The art quilt exhibition, Color Improvisation 2, has been inspiring! Sewing is an art form that is fun for all ages, but can be difficult for young children. Here are some ideas for sewing art at home:

Cut yarn into short lengths for sewing.

Gather papers and light cardboard to sew on. Punch holes for very young children, older children will be able to push a blunt needle through. Craft stores carry plastic canvas in grids, like the sample in the photograph, which are easy to use when cut down to size.

Yarn needles are blunt ended and great for small fingers. If you do not have a yarn needle try poking yarn through the holes with a chopstick.

Try stitches of different lengths and going in different directions. Use stitches to put together torn or cut paper pieces. Enjoy different colors and textures of yarn, or dental floss, or string, or grass!

Artist Takeover Tuesday, May 12

We are continuing our Instagram Artist Takeover Tuesday with Dee Strozdas! Each Tuesday, we’ll give our Instagram over to a local artist where we follow them throughout the day. Dee is a stained glass artist that specializes in stained glass work and lampwork beads.

Click here to learn more about Dee and her process »

Mindfulness Monday May 11

Here is another opportunity to practice Mindfulness this Monday! Mindfulness is the practice of focusing on the present moment while calmly observing your thoughts and feelings.

Here at the Museum, Art Educator Amy Korpieski and Curator of Education Annette Eshelman use mindfulness techniques in their educational practices to help visitors of all ages experience meaningful moments in the galleries. While we are not able to physically be in the galleries, we wanted to bring the gallery to you as we present this opportunity to practice some mindfulness.

The pastoral image is Henry Ossawa Tanner’s ADIRONDACK LANDSCAPE, 1886, oil on canvas from 1886.

Click here for the video »

Drawing the Collection-Lesson Four: Balance and Harmony

Happy Friday! This week’s drawing lesson asks you to ponder balance and harmony when creating a drawing. Harmony creates a bridge that connects disparate elements through a common attribute, whether its texture, tone, shape, or line.

Click here for a downloadable PDF of this lesson »

Art at Cedarville

It’s no secret that 2020 has been rough on graduates, so we wanted to highlight some of the amazing art that local graduates have produced as part of their thesis. Please click the link below to see the work of Cedarville student art Senior Exhibition!

Open the gallery here »

Foil Painting

Here is another fun art-making activity that the whole family can enjoy! Using different surfaces can make painting a whole new adventure, especially for children. Try painting on foil from your kitchen drawer – finger-paints, tempera, wall paint, and acrylic all work really well because they are thick. The paint moves differently on foil, and fingers or cotton swabs leave lines letting the silver of the foil show through. Brushes can easily tear the foil, cotton swabs make a perfect tool for painting on foil.

Watercolors move nicely on foil, and because there is no absorption it can be fun to move the paint puddles by blowing on it with a straw. To “capture” a watercolor on foil painting, try laying a piece of paper on top to pick up the paint.

If you do try these out, we would love to see your results! Share them with us in the comments or tag us using @smoa_ohio, #momentsforjoy.

Instagram Artist Takeover Tuesday

In case you haven’t noticed, we’re big fans of alliteration here at SMoA, so we are calling this Artist Takeover Tuesday! Each Tuesday, we’ll give our Instagram over to a local artist where we follow them throughout their day. First up is one of our own teaching artists, Kelley Booze!

Click here to view our Instagram »