Bringing History Alive through Art!

As part of their cool summer program, Chesapeake Academy private school in Springfield, Virginia, organized a special field trip and seven kids came to my first free workshop called “Bringing History Alive through Art!” As I have my studio in the middle of a historic area, Old Town Alexandria, it was a perfect location for the project.  These kids were great!  What artists! Here are a couple of photos of them at work on the street and then a final group photo with their completed house portraits!

Ian Marburger & Kurtis St. Thomas sketch out their house portrait

Jessica Edwards stands in front of the Old Town building she painted

. From left to right: Charlay Timms, Alise Timms, Kenneth St. Thomas, Kurtis St. Thomas (in front), Thema Jackson, Ian Marburger and Jessica Edwards.

Here’s some info on this wonderful school: Chesapeake Academy is a private school of general education from pre-K to 12K. It was established in Virginia in 1978 and has operated in Springfield since 1989. It is an Applied Scholastics school that uses the study technology of educator and humanitarian L. Ron Hubbard. Through teaching students how to study and apply what they have learned, Chesapeake students routinely test above grade level in reading and math. 

Leisa

 

Launching an Online Forum for Children and Art!

Working with children in the field of art is always an inspirational endeavor.  Quite often, however, when young artists complete works of art they don’t have a forum to show their art on a broad scale and let the world know how talented they are!

That’s why I created this blog; and I hereby dedicate it to the children of the world and encourage them to create art.  After all, it is their creation that will bring about a brighter future for everyone.

This blog was conceived at a painting session and free art lesson I conducted on the lawn of the State Capitol building in Sacramento, California, USA.  As you can see from this article in the Capitol Weekly the purpose of the event was to protest the slashing of school art funding and promote the responsibility of artists and parents to fill the void.  Below are photos taken at the event.

Leisa and Sarah

Leisa and Angela

My Message to Young Artists:

If you are between the ages of 3 and 15 years old and would like your artwork to be part of this online gallery, scan each piece of art or take a close-up digital photo and email it to me at leisa@leisacollins.com. You must also include the following information so it can be included with your work:

a)  Your full name

b)  Your age

c)  The city, state and country that you live in

I look forward to seeing YOUR creations and including them in this special online gallery for young artists!

I am proud to present the two works below by aspiring young artists from the Sacramento area who took part in the free art lesson at the State Capitol.  These works of art are the very first exhibits to be placed in our online gallery for kids.

Sarah Benessini, 10 years old, Sacramento CA

Angela Miller, 10 years old, Sacramento CA

Share this blog with your friends and family, young and old, to give an opportunity for other young artists to display their works through this online gallery as well as more kids art projects to come.

Leisa Collins

www.leisacollins.com