Sew Much Love Holiday Edition!

We had a great Sew Much Love Holiday Edition! What a great way to end the year. All of the girls completed many different projects including: I-pad cozies, gingerbread-men ornaments, aprons, and Skoodies (scarf/hoodie). 


It was so much fun to see their creative minds working so hard to figure out what kind of "Skoodie" they wanted to create. 
We wound up with:

• a dolphin
• a fly
• a squirrel
• a polar bear
• a frog
• a monkey and an elephant that had to be finished at home so we didn't get a picture. 

We will be having another Sew Much Love this coming spring! Feel free to email our fashion coordinator at: ajenseninspyrarts@gmail.com or give us a call at the studio for any questions: 562.342.6172.

Favorite moments of 2011

"I loved seeing the girls from the fashion camps with their final products/outfits on and ready for their photo shoot. Getting ready for the fashion show and seeing the girls walk the catwalk was super fun and exciting! So proud of all of them! The best part of the era's camps, for me, was the last day of camp. Kids made abstract as well as representational objects from plastic and other recyclable items, after creating the artworks we walked around the neighborhood finding the best spot to photograph each piece. I loved capturing the students and their artworks. Some in class favorites...the Friday 445 class marching in order during gallery walk, all the "Frida Kahlo" self portraits, Katie and Shelby, the dynamic duo, so intense, so much energy, so much laughter!" 

-Mrs. Briana

"My favorite moments had to be with Gracie in our Sew Much Love program. It was her first time using a sewing machine. She was determined to work hard and do a good job on her pieces. Each class was challenge for her, and she would sometimes get frustrated to the verge of tears thinking she would not have enough time to finish these pieces that were meant as Christmas gifts. The last day cam and Gracie was losing hope. She asked me, "Mr. Marelyn if I don't finish my presents what happens?" She wanted to prepared for the outcome. I told her there is no point in thinking about that because "today is the day, we are making it happen." She smiled and said "today is the day." Her sister finished her projects early and ended up being able to help her out so that she finished every piece. I remember her leaving with a big smile, and a big sense of accomplishment. That day she gave me a Christmas gift; a handmade bracelet with bells on it. She said, "Thank you for being so nice to me." That was my sense of accomplishment."

-Ms. Marelyn




"We had a mummy wrapping race during one of the Summer Camps this year. Students competed in teams of three to see who could cover one of their team mates in the most toilet paper or "wrappings" in a few minutes. My favorite moment of 2011 was the tie breaker... A mummy walk-off!"
-Mr. Sheldon



"2011 was a year full of great memories and experiences. A favorite memory of mine is the pride I felt seeing the happy faces of parents and kids at the summer arts showcase and fashion show, at Lyons Art supply. Lastly, the great addition to the Inspyr Arts family; Baby Ben."
-Mrs. Vicky










 "My favorite moment was during the Summer Camps. We went down to the Colorado Lagoon and painted with water color. I loved sitting down with the kids, and connecting with them. It was nice to watch how they put the world in front of them, down on the paper. It was cool to be able to teach them right there, in person, showing how to see what was literally in front of them. I helped them develop their compositions, their colors, and their perspective to bring what they saw to life!"
 -Mr. Ernie







"I've had so many amazing experiences at Inspyr Arts this year; art and kids will change your outlook on life. I've finally narrowed it down to one experience though. This year Inspyr Arts started the Sew Much Love program. One of our students Lea had attended the Fashion Summer Camp and was eager to start sewing again, joining our new program. With sewing, there are always mistakes made, seams to rip, "oops!" holes to patch up. I remember when Lea first started sewing with us she had many of those experiences. After joining our Fashion Camp, then Sew Much, and then Sew Much Love Holiday Edition I got to see Lea grow and grow. Her last garment she sewed was an amazing "Scoodie" (scarf/hoodie) with the eyes of a frog. All of her lines were straight, she hemmed it beautifully, and really took her time with the piece so that it fit her perfectly. I was so incredibly proud and honored to watch her skills increase and be apart of that growth. I saw how proud she was (she wore everyday to school!) and expressed my joy. She came up to me and said, "you're the best!". What a great way to end the year!"
-Ms. Ade

FACT: WE NEED ART!

Why a child needs art:

• Stimulates and develops the imagination and critical thinking, and refines cognitive and creative skills.
• Has a tremendous impact on the developmental growth of every child and has proven to help level the "learning field" across socio-economic boundaries.
• Strengthens problem-solving and critical-thinking skills, adding to overall academic achievement and school success.
• Develops a sense of craftsmanship, quality task performance, and goal-setting—skills needed to succeed in the classroom and beyond.
• Teaches children life skills such as developing an informed perception; articulating a vision; learning to solve problems and make decisions; building self-confidence and self-discipline; developing the ability to imagine what might be; and accepting responsibility to complete tasks from start to finish.
• Nurtures important values, including team-building skills; respecting alternative viewpoints; and appreciating and being aware of different cultures and traditions.

Source: Americans for the Arts, 2002

Come and experience a free trial class at Inspyr Arts. We are dedicated to the importance of art within every human and the positive impact it has on our community.  

Inspyr Arts is out to encourage all your children to be creative! Here are some fun activities you can do with your child today!

• Grab a mirror, a pencil, an eraser, a piece of paper, a sharpie and whatever coloring supplies you have around (colored pencils, chalk pastels, markers). Have your child sit down in front of the mirror and with the pencil begin to draw his/her face. Encourage them to work from big shapes to small, (head shape first). Once they pencil all the details have them sharpie over their lines, erase their pencil and color away!

• Take your child to a local cafe! Bring along a sketch book, a pencil, maybe some ink pens if you have them. Have them look around and focus on a person in the cafe; try to find someone with a book or in front of their computer so you know they'll be there for a while. Let them draw with loose lines taking in the major shapes, then slowly adding details such as shadows, hair lines, etc. 

Both of these activities are great for self expression in any age! Most of all have fun with them and encourage them to be CREATIVE!

Happy Holidays!

We all want to say Happy Holidays from Inspyr Arts. We hope you have a magical and inspyred time.

Holiday Greeting Postcards!

We're so happy to say Inspyr Arts now has Postcards! Use your child's art masterpieces as a unique holiday greeting.  For only $15.00 a pack of 10 with your choice of 2 designs you can't lose. Additional designs per pack have a $3.00 design fee per extra design. Order before 12/09/11 and recieve $3.00 off each pack!

KISS OF ART!

Inspyr Arts now has a new line of lip balms! We have two flavors: Vibrant Strawberry, and Inspyring Citrus. Moisturize and give the gift of art to a local school! “Kiss of Art” is an Inspyr Arts Program that lets kids use their artwork to inspire others to help in providing free art education in schools. Proceeds of this lip balm purchase will go towards sponsoring free art programs in the community. Each lip balm is $4 each. Kisses to you and yours!

ART SLAM 2011!

If you're looking for a cool thing to do this weekend, and wanting to expose your kids to some art from local long beach artist's please come by Warehouse 1333. Art of Life and Beta Gallery will be presenting 12 of the West's top artists in the ultimate creative showdown of 3 dimensional art! Admission is free. There will be festive food, refreshments, art, and furniture for sale. Part of the proceeds will be going to free art programs in the local schools provided by Inspyr Arts!



Gift Certificates for the Holiday Season!

Looking for something different to give a friend, or family member this Holiday season? At Inspyr Arts we are selling Gift Certificate's to surprise that someone you have in mind with a month free of art lessons. What a unique gift of encouragement for a great price.

The Gift Certificate's come in different prices so depending on the age of your desired friend or family member you can make sure that you are able to cover a full month of free classes. Give us a call at (562) 342-6172 or email us at inspyrarts@gmail.com for more information!

Sew Much Love !

We're so excited to have a new sewing program now running at Inspyr Arts! The name of the program is Sew Much Love, and it is in full swing every Monday night from 6:00-8:00pm. We just finished up our first six week program where the girls got to create their very own Halloween costumes!

We had costumes or all different kinds created. There was Medusa, a World Traveler, a Dinosaur, the Ghost of a Greek God, a Bumble Bee, The Candy Queen, and the ghost of Amelia Earhart

It was so much fun watching these girls learn how to use sewing machines for the first time, or even review the small but important details like how to thread a machine. There's no end to their brilliant creativity and what a great way to see it being explored through the art of sewing.

We're now starting off a new Sew Much Love: the Holiday Edition! In this program the girls will be learning the skills to sew with a machine, follow patterns, sew on snaps, use embroidery thread and needles, and even use binding. We will be making gifts for our families including: I-pod cozies, "Skoodies" (scarves with hoods attached) Clutch purses, Gingerbread man ornaments, and Aprons. What a great way to learn how to sew, but also bless their family members with gifts for the holidays.

For information on our sewing classes feel free to email us at ajenseinspyrarts@gmail.com or, give us a call at (562) 342-6172