Artist and Educator Amanda Vella will lead a series of activities for children during the Winooski Pop-up Gallery District on Saturdays at 1PM. All activities are presented for FREE thanks to the generosity of our Kids Activities sponsors The Casey Family Center and Creative Habitat and to art educator Amanda Vella, who is donating her time. Winooski Deli & Market is donating snacks for the kids.
Vella recently completed the Vermont PreK-12 Art Licensure program at St. Michael’s College while pursuing a Master’s degree in Education with a focus on the arts. She is a strong advocate for arts in education and a passionate believer that art has a unique ability to teach invaluable life skills.
“Education in the arts leads to meaningful experiences of self discovery, improvisation, problem solving and inquisition,” said Vella. “The arts engage us in reflection and encourage us to develop our own personal vision.”
As an artist, Vella works primarily with oils on canvas and creates painterly images that are concerned with color, texture, and light. “My paintings are always inspired by a visual experience and, in most cases, they are painted from life, whether I’m standing in a field, or a living room, or even simply looking out a window. However, it is not my intention to copy a scene to canvas, rather it is to develop a practice in seeing—an experience and appreciation of the present moment. As a result, my images tend to colorfully teeter between representation and abstraction.”
Kids Activities will take place every Saturday starting June 23rd and continuing through August 4th.
HOW TO SIGN UP
Signing up is easy! You can use the form HERE to RSVP to a Kids Activity or you may email the information to jenna@winooskiwelcomecenter.com or you can call 802-399-2670 during business hours. Please let us know if your child has any special needs or food allergies.
All activities take place at the Winooski Welcome Center, 41 Main Street.
All activities are presented for FREE thanks to the generosity of our Kids Activities sponsors The Casey Family Center and Creative Habitat and to art educator Amanda Vella, who is donating her time.
SCHEDULE OF ACTIVITIES
Art Tour for Kids
June 23rd, 1PM
“Which one of these paintings would you like to have in your house?” or “Which of these paintings do you think belongs in a museum?” or “Which of these paintings makes you feel the happiest?” These are the sort of questions kids will answer on this fun & lively Art Tour for Kids
Creating Compositions
June 30, 1PM
In this workshop kids will have the opportunity to explore composition as an element of art. Using construction paper, scissors, and glue, participants will practice arranging colors and shapes to create satisfying compositions.
Let’s Get Familiar with Watercolor!
July 14, 1PM
Discover watercolor’s personality in this workshop exploring simple techniques such as the application of gradient and flat washes. Kids will experiment with mark-making, adding ink accents, and even incorporating other media such as colored pencil. Improvisation and experimentation will be our focus.
Collage Making for Kids
July 21, 1PM
In this workshop, kids will explore cutting and pasting images to assemble collages. They will learn about selecting images and composition. This workshop will be led by collage artist Ben Depelteau from Montreal, editor of Kolaj Magazine.
Art and Words
July 28th, 1PM
In this workshop kids will engage in the creative process through experimenting with words. Short activities surrounding word play and poetry will result in a final collaged art piece that speaks both visually and literally.
Crazy Collaboration
August 4th, 1PM
This workshop is about working together! Drawing inspiration from artwork in the nearby galleries, kids will work cooperatively to create a large scale painting. This piece of collaborative artwork will be displayed at the Pop-Up Gallery District for the public to enjoy.
