CAA member Mary Frances Crabtree teaches a weekly class each fall and summer for the Concord Parks and Recreation Department. Drawing and Watercolor Painting is for art students ages 8 to 13.
"I've been teaching this class for about five years. The subject matter is basic in art - drawing and painting landscapes, simple figure drawing, still life with flowers, fruit and cookies (which we eat at class end, of course!), one point perspective, etc. Especially important to the students is how to work with watercolor. I show them how to handle brushwork for a wash, how to do simple color blending, shading, small details with a fine brush." Mary reminds students to remember what they learned in kindergarten...stay inside the lines!
Because the class size is limited to just ten students, Mary can offer individualized tutoring. "It never ceases to amaze me the inherent talent, definitely not learned, just waiting to be brought out - and the motivation a child has to produce a watercolor painting in about an hour! They are so proud of their work and the parents are so delighted with the class and for the opportunity their children have to "do art" that they so want to do. Art class often isn't part of the school curriculum for elementary and middle school students."
Mary also gets a lot of home-schooled students in her classes whose parents say "I can teach my kids most everything in the school curriculum, but not ART!! Thank you, Miss Mary!"
