Over the course of the pandemic, Creative Art Works distributed over 820 “art-to-go” bags. The bags contained a wealth of art materials to be used during a free remote art-making program, called Community Works: Design + Build, which ran every day during Spring Break. A combination of urban design and mixed media arts, this program invited young people to imagine ways they might improve their own neighborhoods.
Read MoreStudents in Creative Art Works’ Digital Design class at PS/MS 278 took a deep dive into manipulating images and text. Students worked in Pixlr, a free software similar to Adobe Photoshop. Each project focused on a specific aspect of digital design, including collage, masking, and manipulating type. The results were beautiful, surreal, funny, and often thought-provoking. Presented within is a selection of artwork along with some recorded statements by the artists themselves.
Read More“The “Passions Program” is about choice. When I hear students say they’ll take whatever class [Creative Art Works Teaching Artist] Megan teaches, I know she is building solid relationships with our kids.”
– Kimani Davis, Dean of School Culture, School in the Square
Maria Castro is in the seventh grade at Hamilton Grange Middle School and a participant in Creative Art Works in-school digital art program, where she has been creating posters that promote social justice issues that matter to her. Maria says her opinions have been shaped by her family and her teachers, but she has also been influenced by the social upheaval happening around the world in recent years.
Read More“During ‘turn and talk,’ it’s natural for students to share about their cultures. Sometimes it’s just a little thing, like the word for a color in their language. Other times, they might talk about the ways customs and traditions are different in their country, or maybe not too different. They learn a lot from each other.”
— Teaching Artist Fabio Puentes
Read MoreAccording to a study by the Wallace Foundation, middle school students say they want three things from an art program: they want to learn real skills from real teaching artists in a real art space. Last fall, Creative Art Works hit the trifecta at two after-school programs in The Bronx. Students at MS 45 created their own comic book characters in the Cartooning and Anatomy class, while students at IS 254 explored a variety of techniques in a formal drawing class. Both these semester-long programs were taught by CAW Teaching Artists and offered a deep dive into a single subject.
Read More“I like the way I’m growing as a person. I never used to listen to anybody. I never wanted to do what I was supposed to do, but now I understand as you get older, a whole lot of things change. You’ve got to move different.”
– CAW Youth Apprentice Deysean Nesbit
Read MoreCreative Art Works has produced many fine murals in and around Jacob Schiff School Campus which is home to our program partners, Hamilton Grange Middle School and PS 192. CAW murals inside the campus and along 138th Street include Magic with Logic, Dreams of a Creative Revolution, Migrations, and The More You Give the More You Grow. This summer, our Youth Apprentices added a stunning new mural to this impressive collection. Peace of Our Time celebrates the history and cultural diversity of Hamilton Heights and pays homage to the contributions of migrant communities.
Read More“This art is magnificent.…when our families see this art, they too will be positive instead of negative. They too will be hopeful instead of hopeless. Your art is beautiful. You are bringing beauty to our families. Your art is interesting. When they're waiting for their cases to be called, they now have something to contemplate. Your art is inspiring. Your art is thoughtful. Your art says “Yes!”
- Bronx Family Court Judge Karen Lupuloff
Read MoreSculpture is meant to be viewed from all angles. This creates unique challenges for both the artist and the audience. This spring, after-school programs at MS 254 in The Bronx andPS/MS 278 in Manhattan challenged students to expand their definition of what sculpture looks like. The results include abstract sculptures made from nylon stockings, three-dimensional self-portraits, and gigantic household items such as sunglasses, playing cards and headphones.
Read More“Kids at this age can be territorial about art materials. They think in terms of ‘my paper,’ and ‘my paint.’ So, when they are asked to share a single sheet of paper, their instinct is to draw a line down the middle and stick to their side. But when they discover that mixing their colors and joining their lines together can create something unexpected, they warm up to the idea of collaborating.” — Teaching Artist Laura Mychal
Read MoreAs part of our work with schools, we often invite parents to enter more deeply into the learning environment through Family Engagement workshops. These weekend and evening events allow parents to explore art-making firsthand – to experience the curiosity, creativity, and even joy inherent in the process, and to witness it in their children. We can't send a CAW Teaching Artist to your home to lead a Family Engagement workshop, but we can do the next best thing. This week’s blog includes instructions for a simplified printmaking project that you can do at home with your kids. If you enjoy this project, please share your art with us!
Read MoreAlexander Calder is probably best known as the inventor of the “mobile,” a type of kinetic sculpture carefully balanced so it can move freely. Calder’s sculptures can be seen all over the world, but the reason we chose him for inspiration for a stay-at-home project is because he often made art out of things he found around the house or on the street, such as wire, yarn, fabric, recycled cans, and scraps of metal or wood. He often worked with very simple tools or no tools at all. In fact, he made many sculptures out of nothing but some wire using just his hands.
Read MoreWe believe that the life-affirming experience of making art is for everybody and that creating beauty has physical, emotional, and spiritual benefits. So, we are pleased to offer the first in a planned series of home-based art projects for families. This self-portrait project is among our most joyous. It can be adapted for any level, and you probably have most of the materials on hand!
Read MoreGoing back to school to earn your high school diploma can be a struggle; so can wrestling with complex issues of social justice. In a CAW integrated art class at Innovations Diploma Plus High School in Manhattan, students are challenged to do both.
Read MoreCreating a short animated video is a whole lot of fun. It’s also a whole lot of work. Bringing a few seconds of animated video to life requires hours of planning, patience, and persistence. In this Creative Art Works’ after-school program, students learned the many skills needed to bring their creative vision to life.
Read MoreStudents at Hamilton Grange Middle School are studying Greek Myths in their English Language Arts class. While Greek gods had awesome powers they also had human flaws. To better understand how fictional characters can have complex personalities, these same students will be creating their own versions of gods with a mixtures of powers and flaws in a CAW integrated painting and drawing class.
Read More“Migrations” is part of the The Audubon Mural Project, a collaboration between the National Audubon Society and Gitler &_____ Gallery to create murals of North American birds around Washington Heights, where John James Audubon lived during the last years of his life. The project’s goal is to commission artists to paint murals of 314 species of birds which are threatened by a warming climate.
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