Hear Some Art

Students 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.

Building Community for the Future

“The fascinating part was how CAW adjusted the program in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. CAW’s Teaching Artists were amazing at capturing our kid’s attention even though the classes were online. They developed relationships with our kids virtually. They took all of our stakeholders into account, but they allowed our students to be the orchestrators of the final artwork.” — Melvin Thomas, Climate and Culture Coordinator, PS 72

"Hold On"

How do organizations provide a Public Art Youth Employment program during a quarantine? Creative Art Works and Catholic Charities Alianza collaborated to develop a remote graphic design internship that created after-school jobs to over 40 students from Liberty High School. Interns learned the principles of effective design and how to use photo editing software. For a final project, each intern created posters that answer the question, "What do we want to hold on to from our lives before the pandemic?"

Art and Culture Meet at Crossroads of the World

“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

The Trifecta

According 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.

Sculpture Classes Offer Multiple Perspectives

Sculpture 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.

Open Exploration

“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

Blazing Trails and Leaving Marks

Many people have inscribed farewell notes in their classmates’ yearbooks, but how many people can say they left a positive message that will be seen by hundreds of students for years to come? This spring, Creative Art Works is proud to have helped two groups of students not only set their sights on college, but leave beacons of inspiration writ large for others who would follow their lead.

Why the CASA Initiative Matters

On April 29, 2019, Deputy Director Karen Jolicoeur was delighted to represent Creative Art Works at an oversight hearing of the New York City's City Council’s Committee on Cultural Affairs, Libraries and International Intergroup Relations. The subject at hand was the Cultural After School Adventures (CASA) Initiative, which brings high-quality arts partnerships to New York City public schools, particularly in underserved communities. As Karen makes clear in her brief statement, there are many ancillary benefits to CASA programs.

Make Prints with Foam Plates

As 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!

Developing Character(s)

“Kids at this age are perfectly ready to create stories. Characters spill from their brains. These characters might be the product of an active imagination, or a response to something they read in books or saw on TV, or they may possibly be a way of processing their own personal development.”

— CAW Teaching Artist Ayla Rexroth on student-created cartoon characters in the Cartoon and Anatomy program at Hamilton Grange Middle School.

A Thread Connects Them

“Design is design, whether you are cutting and pasting with paper and scissors or 'cutting and pasting' on a computer. Kids who have a chance to do both make those connections.”

— CAW Teaching Artist Brandi Martin Yu on the common thread between CAW’s Book Arts and Digital Arts after-school programs at PSMS 278 in Manhattan.

Breathing Life into Imaginary Worlds

Creating 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.

A Time and Space to Be a Kid

This fall, Creative Art Works is offering some of New York City’s most vulnerable youth an opportunity to connect with themselves and their community, develop their own voice and, simply enjoy a healthy and creative experience. CAW is providing two after-school art programs to young children and teens living in the Children’s Center, a transitional residence run by the Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) for young people who are awaiting foster care placement.