ArtFEST 23 | Whittier Art

It's here! ArtFEST 2023 is a great opportunity for young students to grow and expand their knowledge of the diverse approaches to the arts. The Whittier school is offering several classes in various art forms that will meet once a week for four weeks. Please review options below and determine which looks like the most fun to join!

Artists will plan (4) 1 hour sessions- sessions should be age-appropriate for Whittier students. Each week students will be expected to be creating, practicing, or learning some new technique or skill. Each class will be limited to 20 students so register early.

Each art class will have at least one Whittier staff member as a helper or instructor.

Visual art sectionals will display their artwork in the library or hallway and will have up to 4 selected students talk about what their art class learned/created and where to find their art displayed. The artwork will be up by the Wednesday before the event on June 2nd.

Performance classes will have a scheduled performance for up to 5 minutes at the event.

1. Circus

With 406 Cirque

The word Circus often refers to a specific type of activities: trapeze, clowns, jugglers, etc. At 406Cirque we want to use the word Cirque as a reminder of what circus was once: THE NEW . . . We invite artists to come up with highly visual, poetic and thought provoking performances that can transcend ages and cultures. For us, circus is about gathering together to celebrate the ephemeral. We are inspired by reinventing traditional forms of circus arts, but our vision goes far beyond it: We place the focus on the act of being on stage fully present, of expanding our presence and sharing our passion with the world.

2. Bug Art

With Gary Cunningham

Bug art uses paint, oil pastels, and cut paper. Very cool art!

3. Drawing/Painting

With Melissa Summerfield

Instruction in drawing and painting using: Sharpie, crayon, oil pastel and watercolor. Students will expand their skills using multiple mediums and approached to drawing, painting and creating.

4. Fiber Arts

With Bozeman Weavers' Guild, Laura Heck

Learn techniques in weaving, knitting and felting. This art form as a rich history and will enlighten young minds to a very fun and functional form of creativity that has fulfilled lives and families for thousands of years.

5. Gelli Printing Plates

With Rachel Ingle

Gel printing is a monoprinting technique with a gel printing plate. A gel printing plate, sometimes called a gelli plate, is a sort of soft and sticky plate made out of a polymer material. Monoprinting is a printing technique with which you can only create one print. This is the opposite of for example a rubber stamp, with which you can reproduce an image over and over again. With a monoprint you can never reproduce the exact same image twice, hence the name monoprint.

6. Graphic Design/Yearbook

With Brie Thompson

Create a yearbook for the 2022/2023 school year. You will be gathering and taking photos, laying out pages digitally and writing the unique story of what the Whittier School experience is all about through the eyes of students and faculty alike.

7. Large Scale Painting/Installation

With Laurel Mikolon

Paint a collaborative, large scale installation piece to be installed at school. Take photos of all Whittier students with the installation (photography portion may be paired with Yearbook class)

8. Musical

With Sara Crogan

It's always fun when Sara touches anything, we can't wait to see K and 1st graders put on a "quick" musical directed by her!

9. Neurographic Art

With Andrea Mchael

Neurographic art creates a mindful, meditative, yet aware state through the creation of new neural connections. The word neurographic encompasses two concepts within it: neuro, referring to brain cells and connections between them and the body, and graphic, as in depictions of images, shapes and ideas in art. Neurographic art allows for vast creative freedom, free of inhibition and positive changes due to its simple but positively impactful technique that requires no previous art experience or age limit.

10. Paper Stained Glass Window

With Sarah Washko

Learn about the history of stained glass while making your own paper window. Using shape and color you will create a tissue paper stained glass background. Next you will draw a nature scene that inspires you, on a transparent sheet. The transparent sheet will act as a pane in your window over the colored background. The colored tissue paper background and pane will be framed in a cathedral style window. Hang in a window for a fun decoration or on a wall to make an imaginary window.

11. Puppet Making and Performance

With Elizabeth Kennedy

Make puppets and then write and produce a puppet show. Let the creativity begin with a "hands on" approach to the process of creating and bringing characters to life in front of your very eyes.

12. Sculpture

With Dave Malone

Sculpture is 3-d artwork created by shaping or combining materials. We'll be working with cardboard, paint, wood and concrete to create small sculptural pieces. Once constructed we will be discussing the attributes of 3-d design such as scale, balance, shape, weight, etc.

13. Sewing / Monster Pillow Making

With Angela Yonke

Learn how to make monster pocket pillows! Angela will be teaching students basic sewing skills using fabric scraps in this fun and easy craft project. These pillows are perfect for keeping lost teeth, small treasures and secrets. Angela is an artist and teacher who has taught art and sewing for 17 years to students of all ages.

14. Transformed Art

With Pat Hamlin, Bozeman Art Museum

Create WOW art with existing art pieces and non-traditional items which challenge students to think "outside the box" as they build and rethink the process of art.

15. TiaKwanDo

With Mark Austin

Taekwondo is a systematic and scientific Korean traditional martial art, that teaches more than physical fighting skills. It is a discipline that shows ways of enhancing our spirit and life through training our body and mind.