More Under the Sea this week

We are really enjoying the thrill these children get after they place their finished sea animals in the boxes. As you can see they are all hard at work assembling their pieces.

Under The Sea

Our theme this week is "Under the Sea" and the children will work together to create their community sea boxes. Our first group were Magical Explorations and ranged in age from 3 to 4 years old.

Less than two weeks old!

Today we were greeted by our youngest visitor. Less than two weeks old, Baby A. slept the whole time while his brother enjoyed his morning class.


















Painting is always something that parents love to get into themselves. We are happy to provide weekend classes so parents have special time to spend with their children.

Let them play!

Things are looking good at the studio. Lot's of little ones busy creating and interacting with one another. The parents are as wonderful as the children and our staff is really loving their jobs.

We've started offering classes for older children now so I'll post some pictures of their projects once I have a chance.

Trees and more trees!

One of our artists, Husan-Hsiu has been busy painting trees on our walls. Elizabeth another one of our artists had the idea of adding real tree scrubs (that she brings from home!) to the painting. We have started to add artwork from the children on to the trees. As you can see we have a few very pretty birds and some leaves that my son Cyrus loves to collect.

I've also added a few more pictures of the studio as it is becoming decorated with the children's artwork. We hope to have our multi-media projector hooked up soon so that we can play nature movies while the children create.

Shapes!

This week it's all about shapes, where they can be found and how they are used. We started with flash cards that had pictures of everyday things and had the children tell us what shape it was. From there it was off to the different stations, stamping with shapes, painting with shapes, making shapes from clay and finding shapes in the beans! We also placed shapes at the bottom of our water table and had the children add things that were similar in shape.

Color Everywhere!

The second week at Magical Minds Studio was all about color. We started off with colored fabric and a book, My Many Colored Days, by Dr. Sues. The children dyed water, mix color paints, made secondary colored clay by mixing primary colors together. Needless to say they had a colorful experience. Most of the children related to how color made them feel and gravitated toward a specific color.

It's all about Texture!

Classes started this week and the topic is texture. Our art facilitators made the most beautiful rice display. They dyed portions of the rice different colors and mixed it all together. The children LOVED it! Then they were on to making collage pieces and more. Next week will be about color...stay tuned.

We Open!!!!

(William Cote - exhausted after the party).

What a crazy few weeks it has been. The studio is complete for the most part, with just some art to put on the walls and a few odds and ends here and there (we forgot to purchase a mop!) We start classes this Wednesday.

Today we celebrated our dear friend Mei-Li’s 3rd birthday. What a way to break us in, we had over 40 guests and all the children were busy working. It was dream come true to watch them go from station to station, creating, doing, exploring. It’s exactly what Magical Minds Studio is all about. Our lead facilitator, Elizabeth was a lifesaver too, what a great job she did demonstrating, supervising and cleaning. We hope to have her around for a very long time.

A special thanks to my friends Krista and John Mikos for having their daughter, Mei-Li’s birthday at our studio. We appreciate the support and care from our friends. Speaking of friends, with all the motivation and support we’ve received it's made us realize what a special community we have here in Oak Park. We have dear friends, priceless friends, we love you all like family and are so glad to have you all in our lives.

Special thanks to our family, especially my in-laws who spent hours cleaning up our 55 page business plan and helping us setup Quick Books. For all those encouraging words and research articles on how important art is for young minds.

But most of all I want to thank my husband Tom. Without him Magical Minds Studio would have never come to life. He took my vision and used his skills to make it a reality for all to enjoy. He never ceases to amaze me with his craft and passion for getting things done the right way.

Here are the pictures from the party...I'm going to finally get a good night's sleep!

Our Staff

Some of you are wondering who will be leading our Magical Minds Studio classes So for inquiring minds, I am happy to present....

Elizabeth Fotopoulos - Lead Facilitator:
Elizabeth received her degree in Art Education and Art History from Purdue University in Indiana. Prior to that she attended College of DuPage where she studied Science. She has worked with Purdue’s Gifted Education program as a summer counsel and teachers assistant.

Currently Elizabeth is a part-time drawing instructor for Young Rembrandt’s here in Illinois which she enjoys deeply!

“Being raised by a mother who draws and paints, a father who is a skilled carpenter and a grandmother who attended the School of the Art Institute as a young woman, one can say I never went a day without some sort of art being involved in my life. When I'm not teaching I can be found working on my marbling, woodcuts, or paintings and sometimes even a little knitting!”

During my student teaching at Purdue I found my love for teaching young children therefore I am excited to be apart of the Magical Minds team!

Lauren Anderson - Art Facilitator:
A native of Chesapeake, Virginia Lauren ventured to Chicago to attend the School of the Art Institute, where she received her BFA, specializing in Print Media.

The following summer she was a fellow at Ox-Bow Summer School of Art in Saugatuck, Michigan. After her time in Michigan Lauren returned to the Chicago and decided to make the Windy City her home. Currently she creates prints and objects, displaying her work at events in and around Chicago.

Lauren’s passion for working with children comes from her love of art and introducing new and different techniques to young minds.

Hsuan-Hsiu Hung - Art Facilitator:
Hsuan-Hsiu journeyed to the United States from Taiwan. She attended the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and received her BFA specializing in painting, ceramics, sculpture and drawing. Recently she has moved to Oak Park so she can be closer to her work at Magical Minds Studio.

Hsuan-Hsiu has instructed young students on various artistic mediums including art books. In addition to working with children, she has experience working with developmentally disabled adults in a community art program where she served as an artist mentor.

“I love working in the creative environment! I think children are inspirational. And to be in a role where I help them grow through art-making is just wonderful. I have a lot of experience teaching and working with people in the art field. I am very passionate and patient in teaching; it has brought so much joy to me as well. I appreciate a place like Magical Minds Studio for providing children the opportunity to explore and I believe I have much to give to your community.”