for pre-school, elementary, high school age and adults
PRIVATE OR GROUP LESSONS AVAILABLE BY APPOINTMENT : ART and SEWING
An art experience here or there can be great fun. But real progress with art principles requires a time commitment just like music lessons. This is your opportunity to have lessons with a specialized art educator. You choose your area of interest to study.
All abilities, children and adults welcome.
Schedule PRIVATE lessons at your choice: one time, once a month, twice a month or once a week. Or join in our group classes by age.
During the holidays, lessons can be scheduled for consecutive days and for longer hours.
Call to arrange a time that fits your schedule.
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Why is art often considered a fringe benefit of education or recreation time?
Over 30 years ago, when I was working on my Master's in Art Education, studies were coming out proving the benefits to the brain that occur with experiences in the arts. Unfortunately, California's education system has been extremely slow to acknowledge these facts and support more arts education. Classroom teachers, school principals and administrators in our county are often uneducated about the real values. When I taught art as a guest in public schools, the classroom teachers would often tell the students that if they did not behave they would sit out and not participate. Can you imagine a teacher saying that if a guest was in the classroom to teach science? My art lesson was an opportunity to expand the mind, use neglected parts of the brain, solve problems, think outside the box, explore, and then discuss and share. Why would you not require every student to participate?
Why would you not want your child to grow through the unique brain advantages provided by art experiences?
Davis Publications, one of the companies that provides text books for education, states that "... visual arts education has been shown to pay off in a variety of direct and indirect ways, including improved reading, writing, and STEM scores; ... and accelerated student creativity, innovation, problem-solving, communication, and collaboration—all skills valued by the most competitive industries in today’s economy. The positive impact of a visual arts education on these critical areas has been demonstrated in numerous rigorous scientifically based studies." *
*https://www.davisart.com/sites/default/assets/File/benefits-of-a-k-12-visual-arts-education.pdf
Do you need a place to teach, guide and encourage you? Where you are allowed to get messy and learn new ideas for art explorations? Then come join us in our art studio and see what you can create. Lessons vary and may include guided lessons, personal expression, and techniques in paints, pastels, collage materials, weaving, beads, pompoms, pipe cleaners, recycled materials, and natural materials. Teacher has a Master of Arts degree in art education and years of teaching art in Stanislaus County schools, TK through college.
Group and Special Classes
Three group art classes are available:
Brain Boosting Art for Academic Growth
Get your hands into a variety of art materials as you experiment and explore with art. Lessons begin with inspirational books, artists and artworks plus instruction in use of the day's techniques and materials. Then you might follow the instructor's model to help you create your own artwork. Or sometimes you may explore creating your own ideas with the materials for the day. All materials included.
Ages 7 - 12
$60 per month for four 60 minute sessions (minimum of 3 students).
4:00 - 5:00 pm on Mondays from January through May 15, 2026
Call to make a reservation.
Brain Boosting Art for Creativity and Problem Solving
Learn about art history, design, and more as you improve your skills to draw, paint, and sculpt. Also participate in some art games. Sessions vary. All materials included.
Ages 12- 18
$70 per month for four 70 minute sessions (minimum of 3 students).
4:00 - 5:10 pm from January through May 2026
Call to make a reservation.
Art Exploration for ages 4-7
$55 per month for four 45 minute sessions (minimum of 3 students)
Call to get on a list, or get some friends together to make up a class.
Call and leave a message with name and phone number to reserve a space, 209-551-2308.
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PRIVATE PERSONALIZED ART LESSONS
For growth in art, it is best to work in one medium (paint, pencil, pastels, printmaking, clay and so forth) over multiple lessons to gain skill in the use of those materials. It is recommended to choose one area for a series of lessons.
Lesson Options
AGES 5 and UP: Affordability lesson--Come for 30 minutes to learn skills and start a project that you will finish on your own time at home for $25 including materials. Add a sibling for just $5 more.
OR
AGES 7 and UP: Come enjoy your personalized private lesson for just $40 with an entire hour to be taught, coached, and supported. Add a sibling for just $5 more. All materials included.
Purchase a discount package of 4 private lessons for $140.
Semi-Private Lessons
Bring a friend and split the cost of a private lesson plus $5!
Some suggested areas of ART study:
BEGINNERS
Intro to Tempera Paints--brush techniques, opaque and translucent (wash), color mixing
Intro to Drawing--learn about line, drawing cartoon faces with expression, looking at simple shapes, and drawing what you see
Intro to Printmaking--simple shapes make wonderful designs that even the youngest can do
Chalk and Oil Pastels--create vibrant pictures quickly, very satisfying for the young up to the oldest artist
Collage--good for learning design principles and observation skills, and also fun for even the youngest
Air Dry Clay--bas-relief faces; pinch pots; simple creatures; bas-relief scenes; three-dimensional form NOTE: Lessons in clay require an additional materials fee
Modern Art Designs--great for young children and up to adult ages who have a fear of representational art (those who say they can't draw a straight line or are afraid that what they draw does not look like what they think it should)
Tin Foil and Recycled Materials in 3-D--great for trying out three dimensional work without the added expense of clay. Learn to use an armature and engineering principles that provide stability.
INTERMEDIATE AND ADVANCED
Intermediate levels progress to work in areas of composition design including planning foreground and background, thinking about size relationships, color choices with a purpose, visual rhythm, center of interest and so forth.
Intermediate to advanced levels are available in all of the media above. Plus the following are suitable:
Fun with Design--learn what makes parts of a picture or design "pop" and catch the eye.
Exploring Optical Illusions--great fun and students learn about light, sight and the visual world
Drawing in Detail--improve your drawing skills by learning to look very carefully and adding details to your pictures
Drawing in 3-Dimensions--learn about the illusions to create a 3-D world on a 2-D paper
Drawing the body in motion--one of the most difficult things for students to do, but I have a secret that really helps them loosen up
Portraiture--work in varied media for different ways to portray the face and body from simple abstract to more realistic
Painting Landscapes--learn different brush techniques and how to plan the different parts of your composition for interesting effects
Painting Still Lifes--learn to look carefully and paint what you see while using your "artistic license" for a creative composition
Fabric arts--learning to weave or sew.
Communication--learn to plan a composition like a poster that really appeals to the viewer and says what you want them to understand--GREAT FOR STUDENTS RUNNING FOR SCHOOL OFFICE
Art Appreciation--learn from great artists to inspire you in your own works!
Have other ideas? Just ask about the possibilities...
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Special ART Classes
Parent/Young Child -- Group Art Exploration
This is an opportunity for young ones to explore art materials with the help of a teenage sibling, parent or grandparent.
Parents learn how to motivate and encourage creativity.
Ages 4 - 6
$15 per child for parent/child group of 3 families -- per 45-60 minute session (depending on attention span). Add a sibling for $5 more.
Scheduled as we create a group. Group starts when enough students enroll.
Reservations Required so call to get on the interest list now.
TODDLER and PARENT
Get your hands into fun materials with your own half hour art explorations for parent and child. Scheduled privately.
Ages 2-4
$25. Add a sibling for $5 more.
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Discount for additional sibling of similar age and interest sharing lessons and for couples sharing lessons
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Private and Group Sewing
Click the three line menu button to the left at the top of this page for a side bar menu to go to the sewing page
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CLOSED SUNDAYS
ALL SERVICES ARE BY APPOINTMENT ONLY
Please call weekdays between 10 am and 5:00 pm
Saturdays from 10 am to 3 pm
Located in northeast Modesto, horseback riding and/or art lessons are available at your convenience, mornings, afternoon, or Saturdays. Call Cheryl at (209) 551-2308 to schedule.
Art Media
Tempera Paint,
Clay,
Chalk,
Pastels,
Pencil,
Crayons,
Markers,
Printmaking,
Collage,
Papermaking,
and other creative ideas
Project theme ideas:
Cartooning
People in Motion
Faces with Expression
Winter Scenes
Seascapes
Desert Scenes
Landscapes
Animals
Flowers
Printing without a press
Optical Illusions
Weaving
Papier Mache
3-D Constructions
Air Dry Clay
Polymer Clay
Jewelry Beading
Chalk Pastels
Oil Pastels
Stamping
Salt Dough
Collage
Cardboard
Recycled Art
Communication
Unusual Perscpectives
Foam
Painting an Abstract
Op Art
Perspective
Color
Crafts
Artists
Masks
Pottery
Poster Design
Design Principles
Tesselations
Underwater Scenes
Food
Jungle
Trees
Mountains
Native Arts
Art History
Mixed Media
Candles
Handmade Paper
Fantasy
Illustration
Booklets
Painted Bottle Vases
Metal Embossing
Sculpture
Tempera Paints
Kinder Crafts
Pre-School Experiences
Watercolors
Oil Painting
Sand Art
Resists
Block Printing
Drawing in 3-D
Christmas
Tissue Paper
Paper in 3-D
Tesselations
Stained-glass cookies
Food Art
Symmetry
.
Other local resources for children's art:
Mistlin Art Gallery
Chartreuse Muse
The Dragonfly
Stuff and Things Art Studio - Riverbank
Happy Artists, Children's Creative Studio - Escalon
Cheryl Brown (209) 551-2308 art4u.chb@gmail.com Located in NE Modesto, CA