Artful Storytelling

I was recently so flattered when our 7-year old goddaughter Ainsley visited and before leaving, drew herself into our family tree ~ carefully placing herself under our daughter Krissa. I was touched. She also came to love our two black pugs, Duke and Jester. She loved helping me to feed them and to take them…

Tags: art, artful storytelling, imaginative

Splat Explores the Art of China

Art is a rich part of China’s fascinating history. Abrakadoodle’s mascot Splat, accompanied by co-founders Mary Rogers and Rosemarie Hartnett, visited China this summer in part to help launch Abrakadoodle art programs as part of the company’s international program. Did you know Cloisonné was developed in China? Abrakadoodle teaches the jewelry-making art in its classes…

Tags: Abrakadoodle, ancient art, China, Splat, travel

Sparking Creativity

At Abrakadoodle, each and every visual arts lesson seeks to spark creativity in our students. We believe in process art in which children actively explore art and make decisions that reflect their feelings and imagination. As such, we are keenly interested in current research and messaging from such thought leaders as Dan Pink and others…

My interview with Dan Pink: Dishing on art for kids. By Karin Machusic

He’s an author, educational theorist, business guru, husband and father of two (did I mention he was a White House speechwriter for then Vice President Al Gore?). As I sat in the lobby of our conference hotel at the National Harbor near Washington, DC awaiting Dan Pink’s arrival, I confess to some apprehension mixed with…

Abrakadoodle’s Conference Paints a Colorful Picture of Children’s Art

Abrakadoodle’s 2011 conference kicked off Friday, April 29th with a reception at the Art Whino Gallery located at the National Harbor near Washington, DC. The colorful event, filmed by a local news service on behalf of NBC News, featured live painting on human and man-made canvas by Gary Cole, the world’s fastest face-painter, as well…

Abrakadoodle Summer Camps Are Coming Soon … to some unusual locations

Abrakadoodle-Austin, Texas will be launching a three-year summer camp program with the Umlauf Sculpture Garden. This summer will feature Abrakadoodle’s Garden Art Safari camp, which will be customized to include mini tours of the sculptures and museum grounds to inspire the campers. According to Geraldine Smythe, Director of Abrakadoodle-Austin, “Charles Umlauf did lots of bronzes…

But My Kid is Not the Arty Type!

Overcoming your child’s resistance to try new activities As parents, we may get some push-back from our kids when we sign them up for activities that do not seem to fit with their sense of what they can, should or want to do. Parents and kids alike are sometimes guilty of early typecasting, such as…

Tags: Abrakadoodle, art education, creativity, imagination

Author Archives: «Karin Machusic»