There’s nothing like a visit to a local art museum for a kid who likes, even loves, art. I know because I was that kid, then a teen, who’d walk through the museum in awe of the paintings on those walls hoping one day to paint something of significance.
To be escorted around the Memorial Art Gallery by instructors who want to communicate their unique love of art is a singular opportunity. Kids in and around Rochester who take classes at MAG’s Creative Workshop have that chance.
I spoke to three MAG Creative Workshop instructors—Amy Jarnagin Fisher, Faith Gruver, and Ben Leyer—to ask them how they turn kids on to art.
Their answer was, in each case, the same. Kids who take classes at MAG’s Creative Workshop are already turned on to art. Some develop an interest in art because there is an artist or art lover in the family.
Amy Jarnagin Fisher instructs the summer camp program at MAG. “Art Day School is an art teacher’s dream come true. During day school, the museum’s entire collection is accessible. Each year, we explore different themes. One year, we looked at mythology from around the world. We learned about dragons, Norse beasts, maritime lore, and gargoyles seen in French architecture. For another theme, we explored humor in art: the use of irony, juxtaposition, scale.”
Amy Fisher’s students’ animal art
Fisher says she is amazed at the passion and focus of the kids she instructs.
“These kids are enlivened by history and culture when they view works in the museum. They look forward to museum visits then are equally engaged when they return to the studio,” she says.
Her younger students’ imaginations are sparked by suits of armor, mummies, an ancient piece of bread, and musical instruments in the museum’s collection. Teens are enamored with a painting entitled, “The Collector,” depicting a curiosity shop painted in trompe-l’oeil effect.
“The museum provides inspiration that opens kids’ minds to thinking more creatively,” she says.
When it comes down to it, art is for everyone. If no one gives a kid the tools, they may not realize that art is accessible.
Fisher teaches kids six to twelve years old. Creating a safe space where students can be creative is her key to keeping kids involved.
Amy Fisher’s students’ soft sculptures
“I try to establish a warm environment by being friendly and outgoing toward everyone. Most of these kids are excited that they’ve found a place to explore their art. A gifted kid will usually ask you what they can do to make their work better,” she says.
Fisher prefers to teach students classical techniques of observational drawing. She believes this method allows her students to fine-tune drawing skills.
“With careful observation, they will be able to draw anything even when they are no longer in my class,” she says.
Instructors like Faith Gruver remember coming to the museum when they were kids. And that experience left a lasting impression.
“I have wanted to teach drawing and painting at MAG since I was a child. I loved coming to the museum when I was young. When the opportunity to intern, assistant teach, and then teach here arose, I was thrilled,” she says.
A freelance illustrator and instructor of both kids and adults, Gruver—who teaches drawing and painting—believes that once a kid begins creating art, intuition takes over.
Faith Gruver’s student’s bear painting
“I sit down and ask my students what interests them. They often answer either sports, animals, or nature. I remind them, ‘We’re not real school, this is supposed to be fun.’ When discussing a student’s work, I always ask what they like about something they’ve drawn or painted. Only then do we talk about what they want to change or improve upon,” she says.
According to Gruver, her students gravitate toward modern and pop art because of each style’s bright, bold and colorful approach.
“Kids are smarter than we give them credit for. They know what they like. There’s a hallway at MAG filled with modern art that the kids love. The museum allows them to see how art morphs and changes,” Gruver says.
Ben Leyer, instructor of cartooning, drawing skills, and a drawing and painting studio for teens, wanted to be an animator when he was young.
“Drawing Saturday morning cartoons was all I ever wanted to do,” he says. After studying illustration, he discovered that commercial illustration was not quite what he’d expected.
It’s his love of cartooning that Leyer communicates to his students, ages seven to nine, in Cartoon Basics.
“Most of my cartooning students have been exposed to art. They love to draw at home but haven’t had much formal training. The point of cartooning is to tell a story with characters that are expressive, in an environment that advances the story. Some kids would rather create the story, others love to create characters,” he says.
“We tell stories out loud in class. I ask them to make silly faces in a mirror to explore different expressions. I tell my students to put away their No. 2 pencils. We introduce kids to drawing pencils: 2H, HB, 2B, 4B. When a cartoon is fully developed, some students go on to use marker, Sharpie, or ink.”
Ben Leyer’s student’s Jackal-headed pot
According to Leyer, by the end of each class, he runs out of wall space to display what kids have drawn.
Leyer’s Drawing Basics class begins with an exploration of simple shapes.
“I tell my kids, ‘We all knew how to draw when we were young,’ a house was a rectangle with a triangle for a roof. We eventually move on to larger forms, then explore shadow and texture,” he says.
Leyer insists that teens, in his drawing and painting studio, stand at easels so they can step back from their paintings.
“Once a student is comfortable with the basics of drawing, I begin to teach composition, warm and cool colors, and some of the principles of painting. We start with a dialogue. I place the materials in front of them, and say, for example, paint a landscape. They are free to interpret what that means to them.”
“For the most part, our students are here for specialized instruction with the idea that they will be pursuing art as a profession,” notes Leyer, on the faculty at MAG for two years. “I try to meet a student at their level.”
The museum plays an integral part in Leyer’s instruction. “These kids love the museum and always want to stay longer. The older students go to the Impressionist Room and also appreciate American art. Younger kids are drawn to the Egyptian collection. The youngest gravitate toward a multi-media robot made of rectangles and circles.
When asked why they teach art to kids, all three instructors expressed a desire to share their love of art.
According to Amy Fisher, it’s about sharing joy. “The art world brings me so much joy. I’m a great art advocate. I want to share that joy with others. Art is for all of us.”
Faith Gruver likes watching kids discover that they can make art. “It’s so rewarding to watch someone learn to love and enjoy art. Art can have this ethereal, elusive guise to it. When it comes down to it, art is for everyone. If no one gives a kid the tools, they may not realize that art is accessible.”
Ben Leyer says teaching kids is refreshing. “I’ve found that when I spend time with people my own age, they’re jaded; the world has already gotten to them. Kids have a different outlook on life. They ask questions like: ‘Why can’t I paint a gigantic drawing even though I have an inch of crayon left?’ I guess I teach to bring some of that excitement and magic back into the world.”
