PONSHOP Student Work: Intro to Street Art

Below are my "Intro to Street Art" student photos from January through October.  In this series of three 1.5 hour classes, I give students a background in the history of graffiti writing and the current global trend of street art.  Students are then charged to create their own section of a city wall using a variety of media including wheat paste collage, acrylic paint, spray paint, and stencils.  Congratulations to all of our "Intro to Street Art" students.  In fact, I've learned a lot working with all of you.

Street Art/Skate to Create: December 2010

Wrapping up 2010's art workshop series was a great duo of kids with a lot of heart and plenty of enthusiasm for creative work. Rama and Sam did up some stencil designs on a vinyl record and skateboard deck, respectively. They started with idea sketches and then developed full scale stencil patterns for spray painting. Check the images below. Nice work boys!

It took some time getting used the shape of a 12-inch vinyl record as a canvas, but soon enough, Rama (photographed in motion) had a direction.

Sam did several variations of his animated character before cutting the stencils.

"Meatwad get the money see.." 3-Layer stencil action on vinyl record for America's most wanted...

Sam used a 2-layer stencil and plenty of color to render this cartoon character on his skate deck.

PONSHOP offers classes in Ceramics, Mixed Media, Street Art, Architecture, and Skateboard Design for children as well as adults. Our classes are available each and every month of the year. For a current schedule, Click Here.

Summer Workshops: Intro to Street Art (June 2008)

The "Intro to Street Art" June workshop offered students a brief history lesson in graffiti and street art while allowing them to draw, write, spray and collage on their own 48"x24" panel.

Andrew made four stencils and several sketches to compose his piece.

Drew literally attacked the painting with an arsenal of stencils and markers. Simon found an opportunity to make an oversized poster for his band. July will come and go before you know it - so if you'd like to sign up for any of the PONSHOP Art Workshops, click here for a summer schedule.

Summer Workshops: Skate to Create (June 2008)

June ushered in a new batch of students eager to get their summer skateboards painted and ready to ride. Our Skate to Create Workshop challenged kids to generate their own custom skateboard design and execute it using spray paint and stencils. Within the span of three 2-hour classes, they sketched, cut, and painted their own creations on a deck. Good job guys! Below are some snapshots from the final class...(click to enlarge).

Andrew was inspired by the mid-1990s Alien Workshop skateboard graphics...Noah created his own superhero character for his deck.Warner's deck took the "smiley face" and "mr. yuck" symbol to the next level. Paul and Ross took a "Skate to Create" workshop in the beginning of the month. Their hard work and serious attitude (see above) turned out some great designs. Good work!

Thanks to all students and parents for their participation in the PONSHOP workshops. To learn more about the classes we offer, click here. For a full class schedule from LibertyTown Arts Workshop, click here.

Street Art Workshops: April 2008

April's Street Art Workshops were an adventure. My students worked very hard to bring their pieces to life over the three two-hour sessions. Below are some pics of of their work. Good job guys! Tristan had a stack of personal sketches to choose from, but he used his favorite drawings to implement his two final pieces (above).Robert worked on a set of his most sophisticated stencil sets to date. The results were quite good (below):Conor's 24"x48" piece was inspired by an Elliot Smith album cover. He generated a set of 3 stencils to pull this off...

Knick took no time getting down to business. By the second session, he turned a robot doodle into a 20" wide stencil design. (above) Step #1 Draw...

Step #2 (carefully) Cut

Step #3 Spray...

The finished piece.

For more information about PONSHOP classes, view the current PONSHOP Class Schedule.

Sketchbook Workshop with Panta Rhei Project

April 19th, 2008 was a refreshing morning since it included a sketchbook workshop through The Panta Rhei Project.
After a brief presentation of my sketchbook endeavors over the past 15 years, I took several of Fredericksburg's motivated teens around town for some drawing exercises. My instruction encouraged participants to treat the sketchbook as a tool by which they ask questions about their environment. Drawing becomes an interrogative and exploratory exercise rather than a means to a "finished" picture. Below are some samples of the student's work. This workshop was done as a collaboration with The Panta Rhei Project. To learn more about Panta Rhei and view their upcoming calendar of art workshops, Click Here.

PONSHOP visits Fredericksburg Academy

November 16th, 2007. Scarlett Suhy-Pons paid a visit to the art classes of Fredericksburg Academy where she gave a presentation to fourth and fifth grade students about her experience as a ceramic artist. Her talk focused on her interest in the history of pottery and how the art of making pots transcends geographic and cultural boundaries throughout history. Scarlett seeks her inspiration by studying the forms and methods used around the globe.

Historic precedent: Jamon Pottery circa. 10,000 BC

Native American Bowl, 1979
Students then initiated a clay project where they made their own snowflake designs.
October 27th, 2007. Gabriel Pons gave a lecture to students about how his love of skateboarding and art have influenced his career as an artist. He shared with students a selection of his custom painted skateboards as well as his paintings on canvas and spoke about the process he undertakes when developing one of his signature skateboard designs.Skateboarding magazines and deck graphics, album cover artwork, and

comic books fueled his love for drawing and painting.

Fredericksburg Academy Art Instructor Mirinda Reynolds shows students how Pons's compositions are made by layering both found images and paint on canvas.

Students had the opportunity to get creative and develop their own skateboard graphic.

Special thanks to Mirinda Reynolds of Fredericksburg Academy for organizing the monthly "LibertyTown Visiting Artists Program." Her initiative to further integrate local artists with the community benefits both students and the artists. Thanks to all the participating faculty and aides for making these presentations so worthwhile.