Fall Class Schedule Announced

We've had a great summer with our art workshops here at PONSHOP.  This summer alone, we've had over sixty students in our studio doing a variety of activities.  Thanks to all of our students and parents for making the past three months so memorable.

We're excited to offer up our Fall Class Schedule which includes the following workshops:

Intro to Street Art, Skate to Create, Kids' Drawing, Adult Mixed Media, Adult Clay, Ice Resin Bracelet, Altered Spoon Ornaments, Intro to Plush Making, Intro to Sewing, and PONSHOP Academy - a special six week workshop for children who are serious about exploring a variety of media, from sculpture and clay to painting and mixed media.

View the Fall 2014 Class Schedule Here

Registration is Now Open!  Simply call us at the shop (540) 656-2215 to register today.

Register Now for Spring and Summer Classes at PONSHOP

This spring and summer, PONSHOP is offering workshops for children and adults in: Ceramics, Skateboard Graphics, Street Art, Collage and more!  We now offer classes in Video and Film Making, Jewelry Design, and Stitching plush toys! New this season is a Clay and Paint Combo Workshop on April 22 and August 18. Get the best of both Art Worlds with PONSHOP owners Scarlett and Gabriel Pons in this exclusive double-header class. If you've already taken a series of classes with us and want to continue your project, simply take an additional class and pay per session.

Our Summer Camp Format of consecutive daily classes begins June 24 with Skate to Create.  Below are examples from our student workshops.

Children learn the basics of hand-building techniques in Children's Clay taught by PONSHOP owner, Scarlett Pons ($75 for three 1-hour sessions)

Creature Feature, taught by Leslie Brier, incorporates collage techniques and found objects  create a creature sculpture that expresses their style.

Skate to Create is one of the most popular classes and with good reason - where else can you custom paint your own skateboard deck? ($100 for three 1.5-hour sessions)

Make your own "Snuggle Monster" with Ashleigh Burbidge this spring and summer.  Students learn basic needle threading and stitching to make their own cute creature ($30 for one 1.5 hour session).

You don't have to have any experience for our Adult Stencil and Mixed Media Class.  Students learn collage and stencil techniques in casual evening sessions ($90 for three 1.5 hour classes)

You can view more photos from our past Summer Class Sessions Here.

Click Here for our full schedule and Registration Form.

Student Work 2013: Kids Collage and Mixed Media

Do not believe the misconception that if you cannot draw, then you are not artistic! In three 1.5 hour classes, students were introduced to various techniques, including collage, stenciling, ink, and more. From developing beginning ideas to executing mixed media artwork, instructor Gabriel Pons, guided students in strengthening the connection between the creative mind and hand. Students completed this course with a finished piece on canvas.

Come join us at the PONSHOP with your ideas and we will supply all materials and instruction. Click Here to view our current class schedule.  For further questions, contact PONSHOP.

2013 Summer Classes Announced

We are excited to announce our 2013 summer class schedule. Between three artists (Gabriel Pons, Scarlett Pons, and Leslie Brier) teaching in a wide variety of media, we offer so much more than a conventional art class. In a series of three 1-1.5 hour long sessions we expand outside of “traditional” artwork, focusing on working with a wide range of media from clay to spray paint to recycled everyday objects. Students can explore their creativity while creating a unique work of art and getting to know other students who share their interests. Each series of classes is priced at $100 or less and includes the materials students will need.  View our current class schedule Here.  Below is a sample of some classes offered:

Adult Clay Class (Instructor: Scarlett Pons) Students use a variety of hand building techniques for sculptural or functional pieces.

Children's Clay Class (Instructor: Scarlett Pons) Kid's learn a variety of hand-building techniques with clay.

Children's Drawing Workshop (Instructor: Gabriel Pons) Using pencils, markers, and more, kid's explore drawing as a way of seeing their world.

Skate to Create (Instructor: Gabriel Pons) Design and Paint your own skateboard deck using stencils and spray paint.

Intro to Street Art (Instructor: Gabriel Pons)  Students create large format graphics using stencils, spray paint, markers and more.

Adult Stencil and Mixed Media (Instructor: Gabriel Pons) learn a variety of media techniques using collage, acrylic and paper stencils.

My Recycled Room (Instructor: Leslie Brier): Students can transform excess junk and clutter into fun works of art to decorate their own space.

Creature Feature (Instructor: Leslie Brier): Applying collage techniques to found objects allows students to create a creature sculpture that expresses their style and creativity.

Steampunk Art Doll (Instructor: Leslie Brier): Use a wooden drawing model and some found objects or hardware to create an artistic steampunk styled figure.

Mixing the Media Class February 2012

February 2012 kicked off another fun session of Mixing the Media. In three 1.5 hour sessions students explored collage and acrylic painting to create their own mixed media scenes on canvas. Below are some pics of the student work. Congrats guys!

For more information about PONSHOP classes click here.

PONSHOP Tutorials: Working With Wheat Paste

As response to the questions brought up in our "Intro to Street Art", "Mixing the Media" and "Adult Mixed Media" classes - we've put together this two-part tutorial on how to make and apply wheat paste when doing paper posters and collage:

httpv://youtu.be/lAJGeai0Z-g

Part 1:  Wheat Paste recipe and cooking

1 part flour to 4 parts water (This demonstration uses 1cup of white flour with 4 cups of water)

In a small pot, whisk together flour and water with wire wisk.

Bring mixture to a slow boil (med-high heat for 5-8 minutes) until mixture has a gluey gravy-like consistency.

Remove from heat - you can add 1/4 cup of sugar or white glue to make the mixture even more tenacious (sticky)

Wheat Paste can be refrigerated to stay "fresh" longer.  Consistency may change (it will get thinner), however, the paste still works.  Be mindful that wheat paste will spoil in time especially if kept at or above room temperature.

httpv://youtu.be/CYBpB0iMbLU

Part 2: Applying Wheat Paste with paper posters

Use a wide brush to apply the paste to the intended surface or substrate.  Apply a thin layer the approximate area of the poster.

Apply a thin layer of wheat paste to the back of the paper poster.

Press center of the poster against the wall and begin brushing the poster from the center out to the edges with your brush.

When the paste is still wet (and the paper is still malleable) you can peel and reposition if  the paper has trapped too much air)

Finally brush a thin layer over the entire poster and especially the edges.

Adult Mixed Media Workshop: September 2010

This was one of the first adult mixed media classes held at the new PONSHOP location and I was really happy to work with such motivated and enthusiastic students. Using a variety of media including acrylic, paper collage, and stencils, they took on their own projects in a studio environment.

Shellie translated a graphite sketch of a cityscape into a mixed media collage.

Donna was interested in layering paper collage as a background and then drawing and cutting her own stencil form.

Shellie's work in progress (24"x24")

Donna used two layers of stencils as well as acrylic paint to complete her piece.

PONSHOP offers classes in Ceramics, Mixed Media, Street Art, Architecture, and Skateboard Design for children as well as Ceramics and Drawing for adults. Our classes run throughout the summer and through the fall. For a current class schedule, Click Here.

Mixing the Media: August 2010

The "Mixing the Media" workshop combined several different methods to create a work of art. Students practiced graphite drawing, acrylic painting and some spray paint methods to achieve their desired images.

Ty created a background using spray paint and then applied his illustration using glue and wheat paste.

Avianna painted her farm scene using acrylic paints and later placed her cow figure in the scene.

Congrats to the students for a job well done!

PONSHOP offers classes in Ceramics, Mixed Media, Street Art, Architecture, and Skateboard Design for children as well as Ceramics and Drawing for adults. Our classes run throughout the summer and through the fall. For a current class schedule, Click Here.

June Student Work: Mixing The Media

Avianna did a "Mixing the Media Workshop" with me back in June. She is into dragons so I helped her make a stencil of her favorite dragon design.

She then did collage on a canvas panel and hit it with acrylic paint...

Her last day was spraying the dragon stencil on her board, but she also an opportunity to explore spray paint on her collage background.

Nice Work!

"Mixing the Media": June 2009

June 2009: Grace participated in the "Mixing The Media" workshop and, within 3 sessions, created some great mixed media pieces. In this class, students are encouraged to create a "landscape" of imagery with found images and text. The student then interacts with the collage using painting and drawing. Below are some images from the final class. Good Job Grace! (click images to enlarge)

Grace used magazine clippings, acrylic paint, and stencils to construct her piece.

She also did a stencil piece on wood with her favorite song lyrics written in the background.

Her Stencil was derived from a series of drawing exercises we did during the first class.

Click Here for a complete PONSHOP class schedule.

Mixing The Media: August 2008

In the "Mixing The Media" workshop, students combined scraps of paper, acrylic paint, spray paint and stencils to create their compositions. Grace and Jeff were excellent students and methodically layered their boards with images,color, and form until complete.

Grace used xerox copies of earlier sketches as well as magazine clippings and some stock stencils in her collage.

Jeff brought his own artillery of stencils to the class and used them to adorn the perimeter of his collage. We concentrated on creating a "space" for the figures in the foreground, using layers of gesso and spraypaint over the newsprint text.

As a quick painting exercise, Grace painted a 6"x6" wood block portrait of her dog Farrah.

Thanks to all students that participated in this summer's workshops.
For a current PONSHOP Class schedule, click here.