James A. Garfield P.T.O. 
2010 Arts Adventures
Class Listing
Hip-Hop Dance
Amanda Grandizio offers an exciting hip- hop class focusing on rhythm and movement that is energetic and interesting. Proper stretching, technique, and different combinations will be taught all the while boosting the students’ self-confidence and motivation. Students will learn to correctly count music, pick up simple choreography
and have an all-around good time!
Amanda Grandizio has been dancing for
twenty-five years. She taught for ten
years at Lisa’s School of Dance. This is
her 2nd year teaching the Hip-Hop class
for the Arts Adventure Program. Last
summer Amanda was the guest choreo-
grapher for the Garrettsville Curtains-Up Theatre production of FAME last summer.
Class dates: Thursdays 3:45 - 4:45 pm
February 25; March 4, 11, 18, 25
Registration deadline is February 5th
Cost: $25.00
Recommended for children in Grades 2-6
Children should wear comfortable, loose
clothes for dancing & moving.
Literature LEAP!
Students will bring the best of children's literature to life through reading and dramatic arts. Our interactive stories include some classics and retold stories, such as:
Where the Wild Things Are, by Maurice Sendak, KingBidgood, by Audrey Wood,
Stone Soup by Jon Muth, The Muffin Man Story, by Literature Leap. The books will be brought to life by using creative drama, creative movement, music, puppetry and props. The students will create puppets and heritage storytelling dolls reflecting
their own family histories.
Robin Echols-Cooper is the president of Literature Leap, inspiring children to read.
She has worked with Prime Time Family Reading on a national level and Books Helping Families on the state Level. Robin is a passionate and gifted educator, performer and storyteller. She enhances literacy by integrating the state content standards with music, storytelling, creative drama, technology, and arts and crafts. She is the recipient of the 2003 Young Audiences Sunshine Award for Arts Excellence, and the 2009 Teach the Teacher award for Lake and Geauga County Education for Young Children.
Class dates: Tuesdays 3:45 - 4:45 pm
March 2, 9, 16
The final class will be held on THURSDAY,
March 25th due to a prior performance commitment of the artist.
Registration deadline is February 5th.
Cost: $30.00
Recommended for children in Grades 2-4
Children should wear comfortable, loose
clothes for moving and getting messy while having fun.
Fabric IS Fabulous Fun!
Design and make your own personalized
wall hanging, quilt or pillow for your bedroom that displays your own individual imagination and style. You can appliqué, quilt or use other sewing techniques.
This is guaranteed to be a great arts
workshop for friends to do together!
You’ll learn basic sewing skills from a
gifted and creative textile artist who
LOVES working with kids.
If your family has a sewing machine in
good operating condition, please put
this on your registration form. We
need to find good loaner sewing machines
for the students!
Rita Kilpatrick has lived most of her life in Alliance and enjoys painting, sewing and creating. Rita is a self-taught artist with great ideas perfect for kids! She is a founding partner in Quilters Alliance.
Class dates: Thursdays 3:45 – 5:15 pm
February 18; 25 March 4, 11, 18, 25
Registration deadline is February 5th
Cost: $30.00
Recommended for children in Grades 3-6
Photography: Exploring Creative Images
In this class, students will be introduced
to a variety of techniques used in creating photographic images. We will explore traditional and contemporary methods used in photography.
Week 1 – Students will get hands-on as they dissect a disposable camera to examine its inner workings and get familiar with the darkroom as they create their first photogram.
Week 2 – Students will create photo-montages.
Week 3 – Students will learn about digital photography and how to take, store, download and print their images. The class will learn about Photoshop as an editing tool. (students do not need to have a digital camera)
Week 4 & 5 – Students will manipulate photographs, create self-portraits and embark on two other creative projects.
Kristine Gilmer has taught in the Garrettsville schools for 6 years and currently teaches art in the Middle School. She also teaches photography in the high school. She is a graduate of Kent State University and a member of the Ohio Art Education Association.
Class time: Thursdays 3:45 – 5:15 pm
February 25; March 4, 11, 18, 25
Registration deadline is February 5th
Cost: $30.00
Recommended for children in Grades 3-6
Hands In Clay
A Mud Slinging Extravaganza!
Finally, you can stop telling your kids to
“stay out of the mud!”
Ceramic artist Tracy Shea is thrilled to
explore clay as an artistic medium with your children. Art skills last a lifetime!
She will teach basic hand-forming techniques, introduce the potter’s wheel, and demonstrate to students’ different ways to make basic shapes fantastic through texture, dimension, color, light and shadow. Fun will be the emphasis as Tracy sneaks in doses of creative development, hand-eye coordination and problem-solving.
Tracy will offer a Tuesday class for younger students and a Wednesday class for older students this year. The class for the younger students will be one hour; the class for older students will be an hour and a half.
Tracy Shea has been making pottery since 1982. She fell in love with clay immediately as a youngster. This memory motivates her love of teaching children about this “magic” medium. Tracy studied formal ceramics education at Lakeland CC, Tri-C, and Akron U, but most of her education has been through her studio work and working with fellow
artists. Her functional pottery can be found at Shaker Tree and other craft retailers.
The Valley Art Center in Chagrin Falls also works with Tracy as one of their teachers.
Class dates: Tuesdays 3:45 - 4:45 pm
February 16, 23; March 2, 9, 16, 23
Recommended for children in Grades 2-4
Class dates: Wednesdays 3:45 - 5:15 pm
February 17, 24; March 3, 10, 17, 24
Recommended for children in Grades 4-6
Cost: $30.00 for both classes
Registration deadline is February 5th
Children should wear comfortable, loose
clothes that can get dirty in while having fun.
Drawing – Basics & Beyond
Exploring Materials & Techniques
This visual arts workshop will help students develop skills in drawing from observation, as well as imagination. Drawing as a means of personal expression and communication of ideas will be emphasized.
Week 1: The Alphabet of Shape
We’ll learn how to recognize the five basic elements of shape: 1) The Dot Family; 2) The Circle Family; 3) The Straight Line family; 4) The Curved Line Family; and 5) The Angle Family This will help them learn to see the information they need to recreate the image as a drawing.
Week 2: YOUR Self Portrait, with a Twist!
This week we will discover how to use "The Shape Alphabet" to create design shading, positive and negative space and composition.
Our model this week is YOU! Using your photo, we’ll draw your profile in silhouette, and then progress with additions adding to the overall design.
Week 3: Where Is It?
Can You See In the Dark?
Working with a still life we will explore how changing the size and location of our subject on our paper tells the viewer how close they are to the subject. This is the beginning of understanding perspective. Using different light sources, we’ll see how light defines shape, volume, and textures well as time of day, atmosphere and color.
Week 4: My Home, My Place!
Using a photograph of your house we will examine the basics of two-point perspective and composition. If there is enough time your child will be encouraged to fill in the picture creating an imaginary setting for their house. In other words, where would they like to live - the mountains, on an island?
Week 5: Creature Comforts
Let's examine just what makes different animals look different. This will help us learn how to draw texture, like fur, feathers, or scales! If you have a picture of your pet or favorite animal, have your child bring it with them on this day. Please no stuffed animals.
Robin Anne Payne is currently the Gallery Manager at Vancura Gallery of Fine Art in Middlefield OH. She has taught at The Fairmount Center for the Arts and Art on Wheels. Robin was co-owner of the Full Spectrum art Studio in Burton where she offered a full slate of arts classes.
She is active in the arts community and
Continues to teach and sells her own work.
Class dates: Tuesdays 3:45 – 5:15 pm
February 23; March 2, 9, 16, 23
Recommended for children in Grades 4-6
Registration deadline is February 5th
Cost: $30.00
Children should wear comfortable, loose
clothes that can get dirty while they
fun!
Multi-Media Mania
Enjoy a multitude of materials and a
variety of projects from the artists
Mondrian and Audubon, as well as a paper
Mola wall hanging, then dabble with pastels.
Explore the limitless possibilities pastels, markers, watercolors and acrylic has to
offer. Enjoy painting your own masterpiece
on canvas. There are no mistakes in art, only unlimited possibilities.
Week 1 - Sprinkle Splatter, Stencil Magic
Discover contour drawing and create stencils.
A toothbrush adds fun to our experimental watercolors on textured backgrounds.
Emphasis is on compositional layout for outrageous fun as we build upon our drawing skills with confidence.
Week 2 - Boogie Woogie with Mondrian
We’ll take a look at Piet Mondrian’s paintings while reviewing the elements of color and geometric shapes using acrylic paints on an
8” x 10” canvas. See the world through “new” eyes; review the primary colors and take home a professional looking painting.
Week 3 - Panama Paper Molas
Discover the Kuna culture utilizing repeated shapes in a layered pattern with contrasting colors. Cut positive and negative shapes out of construction paper, add glue, and a little string to make a delightful wall hanging with animal silhouettes.
Week 4 - Acetate Mosaic Windows with Audubon
Apply drawing skills to our natural environment encouraged by the American artist, John Audubon and his study of birds. We’ll use sharpies for definition on clear acetate for a great window decoration.
Week 5 - Animal Pastel Drawing
We’ll concentrate on animal forms and shading to indicate volume and shape, with sweeping lines as well as textured strokes to obtain movement and wind.
Clarissa Jakobsons has her B.F.A. degree in Visual Arts and is a veteran art teacher, and poet. Her work has been exhibited in Ohio and Massachusetts. She teaches Writing, Poetry and Art at Cuyahoga Community College’s Encore Program, conducts private workshops, and creates one-of-a-kind artist's books.
Class dates: Thursdays 3:45 – 5:15 pm
February 18; 25 March 4, 11, 18, 25
Registration deadline is February 5th
Cost: $30.00
Recommended for children in Grades 2 - 4
Children should wear comfortable, loose
clothes that can get dirty while having fun!
Harmonica Happiness
Music in My Pocket
Learn how to play the harmonica and have music with you all the time! Emliss Ricks will share the history, the function, and provide instruction in simple playing of this wonderful instrument. We’ll learn harmonica basics, some simple songs and the class will learn one song to play together as an ensemble.
The harp (another name for the harmonica) is fun and easy to play!
Emliss Ricks is a retired naturalist and a member of the band Northern Portage.
He is a self-taught multi-instrumentalist
with a preference for acoustic music.
In addition to harmonica, he plays guitar, banjo, fiddle, dulcimer, and tin whistle.
Class dates: Tuesdays 3:45 – 4:45 pm
February 23; March 2, 9, 16, 23
Recommended for children in Grades 2-6
Registration deadline is February 5th
Cost: $25.00
Science Adventures & Investigations
Explore motion by racing cars and building marble roller coasters. Investigate snow, ice and water. Observe ooze and learn about chemical and physical changes. Build structures out of paper that can hold heavy objects. Hike to a pond to explore the emergence of slimy creatures in spring. Students will be immersed in things that move, bounce, float, splat, hop, make noise and much more through a variety of inquiry investigations and science explorations. Along the way, we will discover that careful observation and questioning are the keys to understanding, and enjoying, science.
Matt Sorrick is Director of the Center for Science Education at Hiram College. Matt and his science education students will be teaching this class. Hiram's innovative Center for Science Education is a resource used by teachers across the country to promote effective teaching methods in the sciences.
Hiram College offers numerous nature summer camps for students of all ages. www.hiram.edu/summerathiram/nature.html
Class dates: Thursdays 3:45 – 4:45 pm
February 18; 25 March 4, 11, 18, 25
Recommended for children in Grades 1-3
Registration deadline is February 5th
Cost: $30.00
Children should wear comfortable, loose
clothes that can get dirty while they are
having fun!
Chemistry “A La Carte"
Our kitchens are not too different from a chemist's laboratory. Both have a supply of water for making solutions and washing glassware. Both have sources of heat for speeding up chemical reactions and sterilizing equipment. There are also refrigerators for storing substances and slowing down chemical reactions. Measuring equipment necessary for determining the amounts of various substances are found in both.
Cooks in kitchens and chemists in laboratories measure, heat, chill and separate substances in much the same way. What a cook calls table salt is nothing more than sodium chloride to a chemist. These experiments are designed to get students thinking and DOING like chemists in their own kitchens.
This class will be exploring the elements' names and symbols, observing the properties of matter, searching for "clues" that chemical changes have taken place, investigating solutions and discovering the differences between suspensions, colloids and emulsions.
If your idea of FUN is to invent, concoct and create, this is the class for you!
Karen Krenzel, was a science teacher for 32 years in the Cleveland and East Cleveland School Systems. Karen currently is the StarLab Instructor for the middle-school SEMAA Program sponsored by NASA at Cuyahoga Community College.
Class dates: Tuesdays 3:45 – 4:45 pm
February 16, 23; March 2, 9, 16, 23
Recommended for children in Grades 4-6
Registration deadline is February 5th
Cost: $30.00
Children should wear comfortable, loose
clothes that can get dirty while they are
having fun!
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