Summer Art Courses are here!
What is The Dancing Cat Art Achool?
The Dancing Cat Art School is an online art school created by Rhode Island School of Design graduates and husband and wife team Jamie and Tom.
Who can enroll for courses?
How many students are in each class?
What do I need to enroll?
Why should I take this course?
How are courses structured?
What if I can't finish an assigment or course?
How are courses developed?
How much time will each assignment take?
What is an artistic voice?
*The Dancing Cat Art School is an online art school created by Rhode Island School of Design graduates and husband and wife team Jamie and Tom. After living between Martha's Vineyard and NYC for several years we found ourselves artistically isolated and in need of a community in which we could share and express our art. Tom read about Etsy in an article in the NY Times and we decided to open an online shop to sell our fine art and prints. The Dancing Cat was born in December 2009, our first sale in time for Christmas.
It was from there our online art community grew and in 2010 we decided to expand our love of art and art making by creating online art courses, with weekly assignments aimed at creative thinking and examining new practice. This led to a collaboration with blogger and illustrator Amy Ng of Pikaland, creating what later became known as Pikaland Bootcamp, with courses ranging from overcoming ones fears about making work, to how to market your art online and visual journaling.
Our goal has always been to provide a core understanding and basis for what makes a work of art strong and visually engaging. From this foundation the goal is self discovery and uncovering ones artistic voice, in otherwords what makes you and your art unique.
Now more than ever with so much focus on the finished product ie an object and selling one's work, the core understanding and joy of making art is lost. Our courses are aimed at putting the joy back in making. To not only help you uncover what it is you want to say with your art but to enjoy the process. Inspiration is all around you sometimes all it takes is a relaxtion of pace and an opening of one's eyes.
We're always developing new and engaging courses, our most recent have included Painting the Winter Landscape (in Oils), Exploring the 5 Senses, and a 3 day art trip to NYC this past Spring.
As professional artists with world study ranging from Australia to The Hermitage in St. Petersburg Russia, and Rome we feel we have something genuinely unique and of value to offer to our students.
| Mixed Media, Collage, and Time |
| Course dates: February 20th- March 18th, 2011 |
Courese Description: Often the most exciting way to start afresh is to work in a new medium. It's easy to get jaded or disillusuioned about one's own work by consistently working the same way. This course is aimed at breaking habits or ways of seeing your art by introducing the element of collage! Students will be asked to explore new possibilities in making by using found materials ie paper cutouts, sewing patterns, pages from books or musical sheets etc. and learn to become creative soucers realizing subject material is literally all around you! In addition we'll use the element of time as a subject matter and theme for each weeks assignment. With topics ranging from time of day, time of year, time period, and considering what makes a work of art timeless, wth numerous examples from past and current artists to guide us along and inspire new ideas! You can be a collage makin pro or a complete beginner, this course is really for anyone looking to freshen up their artistic approach, get new ideas and really just stop thinking and get making! Sound like this course is for you? Enroll right here! |
| Course fee: $35/wk ($140 for 4 wks) |
| The Art of The Bicycle |
| Course dates: July 12th- August 7th |
July always means one thing around here- Tour de France! THE most epic three week professional cycling race of the year! With brightly colored cyclists speeding through the French countryside and scaling Alpine passes (where once only mountain goats roamed!) achieveing feats of superhuman strength and mental stamina! July seems like the perfect time to pay hommage to the thing that started it all- the bicycle! This 4 week course will re-explore the fanaticism and intial joy the bike brought to it's riders by exploring our own modern love and use of the bike in art. From drawing to painting, pattern and print, weekly assignments will use the bicycle as subject, explroing both it's formal and functional beauty. We'll also look at how the bike has been used in art throughout histroy, most notably in recent culture. This course is for anyone who loves bikes, whether from an aesthetic, atheletic or emotional view point, grab your pens and paper, lets go for a ride! Sound like this course is for you? Enroll right here! |
| Course Fee USD$180 (4 weeks) |
| Find out more about The Dancing Cat Art School |
| Bon Apetito- Cooking and Art |
| Course dates: August 9th- September 5th |
Art and life are never seperate. More specifically art and food are never seperate. Since the beginnig artists have been portraying their favorite edibles- From the cave paintings of animals in Chauvet France to the Dutch silll lifes of rotting fruit, Roy Lichtenstein's buttered toast and Warhol's canned tomato soups. Whether we're intrinsically attracted to food for it's sensory output, (not only sight, but smell, taste, touch etc.) or use it as a cultural signifer (such as Warhol's canned soup, perhaps suggessting even with different labels we all come in the same packaging..) or Manet's racey Picnic scene (L'dejeuner sur l'herbe), Will Cotton's cotton candy women, Wayne Thiebaud's rows of cakes etc. Something about food inspires and ignites. A symbol with all kinds of cultural references, meanings and gravitas. In this 4 week intensive course we'll use food as our subject of choice not only referencing past and current artists to inspire new works of art but literally getting in the kitchen and cooking receipes inspired by the art we view and make!~ Don't worry you don't have to be an excellent chef to participate (and we won't be cooking every week), cooking can be as complex or as simple as you'd like- peanut butter and jelly to leg of lamb and red velvet cake! The idea is to get you thinking about art with new sensory input. Not only visually portraying what you eat but sensing it as well. Sound like this course is for you? Enroll right here! |
| Course fee USD$180 (4 weeks) |
| Find out more about The Dancing Cat Art School |
NEW in 2012
NYC Fall Art Trip 2011
*The Dancing Cat Art School is an online art school created by Rhode Island School of Design graduates and husband and wife team Jamie and Tom. Find out more.
Jamie, it was such a fabulous adventure!!! Thank you again SO much, to both you & Tom. I learned an incredible amount and have come away from this course feeling rejuvenated and inspired. I would certainly participate in the course again, especially the NYC portion. It was such a privilege to be introduced to the city by you guys and be able to listen to your insights & thoughts. I relished every single conversation (I realize that might sound silly, but I learned so much!) and came away feeling like a new person. Thank you so very much for everything... I really can't express how beneficial this course was for me. I have loads of new ideas for finding inspiration around me now, too ;) And it was such a treat meeting you in person! :)
Love,
Tabitha
NYC Art Trip : Sept. 29- Oct. 2, 2011
Course fee USD$360/ 3 week online art course and 4 day guided art tour of NYC
Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine and at last you create what you will.
-George Bernard Shaw
I'm willing us all to meet in NYC this Fall!
Dates are here!
Online Course dates: Sept 19- Oct 9, 2011
4 Day Meet up in NYC will be September 29- October 2, 2011
Introducing a new 3 week online art course and art trip to NYC!
This course is aimed at self discovery and developing your own personal style by using your surroundings as a source of inspiration! Weekly assignments will encourage exploration of your natural surroundings and how you can use these to kick start your creative inclinations! In addition we'll meet in NYC for a jam packed 4 day art scavenger hunt, using the city and it's cultural offerings as a source of inspiration and actual source for art making! Including a group dinner, walking tours of contemporary art galleries, 1 major museum/exhibition visit, and cultural event such as the ballet or musical performance at Lincoln Center! Our trip will be sandwiched into the middle of our course so some assignments will be focused on what we see and do in the city! (Including finding, drawing from and being inspired by 1 work of art from the Met..!) and the discussions and art making will continue online after the trip.
FAQ's
This course is open to fine artists of all levels and mediums, from painters, photographers, sculptures, makers!
**Please note travel expenses, lodging, and all other costs are not included in the course fee! You must provide your own funding for all events so plan ahead!**
**View photos and find out more about our first NYC Art Trip which took place this past Spring!
Find out more about your guides and instructors Jamie and Tom!
And feel free to contact us if you need further info! hmstrjam@gmail.com
See you in NYC!!
The Art of Walking
Course dates: Oct 17- Nov. 13, 2011
Course Description: Whether your walking your dog, walking outside to enjoy the outdoors, or walking barefoot on the beach, your legs and feet were meant for more than just hanging off your office chair! Walking and art are meditative and unseperably intertwined. Some of times great creatives were also ardent walkers, from JMW Turner to Henry David Thoreau, walking and the act of creation seem to have a link. Rhythmic movement and engagment with your surroundings puts one's head in the present, a quite serendiptious place to be. Yesterday's dead and tomorrow not yet born so put on your shoes and pick up your pencil, we're heading outside!
For this new Fall course we'll explore walking and the outdoors as a source of inspiration and starting point for the creation of new work. Using one's natural surroundings, both urban and rural, you'll be asked to head outdoors, go for walks both locally and afar to discover new ways of seeing your natural environment through your art.Weekly assignments will explore life drawing, landscape painting, collage, and the art of walking itself. With weekly assignments, peer feedback and support, instructor critiques, and numerous examples from artists and authors who have explored walking in their art to guide us as we go along.
*This is a 4 week course open to all artists at any level or medium. Course emphasis is on creative thinking and learning how to see.
Animals in Art Course Dates: March 26th- May 6th, 2012
Course Description: Animals have always been a key theme and subject matter in art, from cave paintings to Audobon's birds, animals have fascinated and captured the artist eye since the beginning. The connection we feel towards animals, whether as companions, or on a spiritual or humourous level is expressed through our art.
In this 6 week intesive course we'll explore how animals have been used in art throughout history, exploring past artists as well as current examples, including children's books, to better understand and realize how animals can be used to express our artistic voice. Each week we'll explore a new animal and new assignment that will challenge how we draw and see animals in art, from life drawing to mythical creatures discover your inner animal!
Materials: Computer, digital camera, art materials are up to you, small notebook reccommended for sketching
Requirements: Time, commitment (to both your assignments and fellow classmates) This course is open to artists of any level and medium.
Course Fee: $40/wk ($240 for 6 wks)
Course Dates: Nov 21- Dec 31 (6wks)
Course Description: Winter is the perfect time to exlpore new ways of making art! Last Winter we taught the technically intense course, Painting the Winter Landscape in Oils, this Winter we're tackling Abstract Art!
In this 6 wk course we'll explore how images, objects, and the natural world can inspire the creation of abstract art, learning how to express our emotions and ideas through shapes, colors, compositions and forms. With examples from both past and contemporary artists to guide us and exercises focused on learning how to see non-figuratively we'll develop and strengthen a new voice of self expression.
Materials: Computer, digital camera, art making materials will be specified for each weeks assignment and may include ink, gouache, acrylic paints, pen, pencils, paper etc.
Requirements: Time, commitment (to both your assignments and fellow classmates) This course is open to artists of any level and medium. Note you don't have to be an abstract artist to take this course! In fact it will help develop your figurative hand by working in a new direction. Consider this course a liberation of hand and thought and be prepared to challenge ideas of what art should be and what art can become.
Coures Fee: $40/wk ($240 for 6 weeks)
Course requirements:
Suggessted Reading Material for our course:
In the meantime get inspired and check out the work of Dancing Cat Alumni in our student gallery!
Course Dates: Oct. 3 - Nov. 13 (6 wks)
Jamie's Winter Challenge! 2 Works of Art in 6 weeks
Course dates: Dec 5, 2011- Jan 15, 2012 (6wks)
Course Description: In this 6 week course we'll create only 2 works of art. Using 2 large thick sheets of paper we'll add to, edit, and remove elements from our works each week- working within and using the same work of art! With emphasis on medium and technique as well as subject and idea we'll push our work further than we've ever thought possible! Instead of just scratching the surface of an idea we'll jump in and explore it to the fullest extent! Some of the best works of art we've seen our students create are the ones they work at, invest in and explore, pushing for new discovery and meaning. There is a sense of accomplishment, a living within your work and therefore life brought to your piece in your continual attention, struggle and discovery!
Inspired by artists like De Kooning, Picasso, Wyeth, and Raucshenburg ... who continually pushed their work within the same composition to discover new meaning we'll explore the same within our own work and explore examples throughout art history, current and past, to guide us.
Materials: Mediums will include, charcoal, collage, acrylics, eraser, and 2 large thick sheets of paper (type will be specified in the course)* You will need a digital camera to document your progress each week and to share your work in class. Remember you are going to be working on the same 2 pieces of work for 6 weeks there will be as much adding to as there is removing from your works of art! Subject matter will be up to you and emphasis on gathering source material and composition will be paramount.
Actions in this course: Drawing, painting, gluing, erasing, tearing, smearing, sourcing, imagining...
*Note the sheets of paper are going to be large and you will need space where you can work standing up and have the work hung on a wall or on an easel or board.
Course Fee: 60/wk ($360 for 6 wks)
NEW!
Sense of Place
Course Dates: January 23- February 19, 2012 (4 wks)
Course Description: In this 4 week course we'll explore our everyday surroundings to better understand our natural environment and it's inspiration in our art! From the interiors of your bedroom to the world outside your door, we'll look at both external and internal emotions that accompany the physciality of existence. With 1 new assignment each week, this course is open to all artists looking for new sources of inspiration and fresh ideas and ways of seeing your art! (See course outline)
Materials: Medium is up to you, although pencil paper, ink, charcoal , paint etc. is encouraged. Suggesstions will be made for each weeks assigment. A small notebook is encouraged for exploration and a computer, scanner or digital camera is necessary for uploading and sharing your work! Our classroom setting is accessible 24/7 so you can upload and share works in progress, sketches and ideas throughout the week. Our classes are structured as open forums where a dialogue is created with teacher and peer feedback aimed at helping you discover what it is you'd like to see in your art and how you can best achieve it! Assignments in this course are specifically designed to explore new ideas, get you out of a rut and start making art again! You should be able to leave this course inspired and full of new ideas and directions in art making! (I would definitely encourage pairing this course with our following collage course if possible!)
Requirements: Time, commitment (to both your assignments and fellow classmates) This course is open to artists of any level and medium.
Coures Fee: $35/wk ($140 for 4 weeks)
New! Movie Club (Enrollment Ongoing)
Join the new Dancing Cat Movie Club where we'll watch one new movie every month and create a new work of art based on that movie! We'll choose one topic or theme based on the movie viewed, such as tilte, character, place, plot etc. to explore in our art. Medium and material is up to you, from pen and paper, photogrpahy or sculpture feel free to experiment and explore new ways of working in your art! We'll have a 24/7 accessible classroom setting in which to share, post works in progress and comment on each others works. You'll get critical feedback and insight from us and your peers, plenty of time in which to work (Only 1 movie a month) and freedom to explore new themes or ideas in your art! Our first movie selection starts January 2012!
$60/month (or less if you sign up for more than 1 month now!)
*Please note you can join the club and enroll at any time!
*Note viewing of each film is on your own. We will be using both old and new films!
Dates: Open Enrollment (this course is currently taught on an individual basis and can be taken at any time!)
Course Fee: $160
Just as a writer must learn and discover how to use the right words to express his emotions, the artist must find the right visual elements to communicate his meaning. Think what a thick black line expresses as compared to a thin light one or what a tiny miniature portrait expresses as opposed to one that fills up an entire wall.
What you say means something different when you speak softly almost at a whisper, as compared to speaking loudly or shouting across the room. In this 4 week course we’ll discover how to speak softly and how to speak loudly in our art, building a visual vocabulary that will allow us to communicate more effectively and discover new ways of speaking visually!
Each week we’ll explore one new element in our art discovering how we can use it to shape new meaning. With weekly individual critiques and examples from existing art to guide us. Subject matter will be your choice. This course is open to all artists at any level or medium looking to discover or refine new ways of self expression.
Course Outline:
Week 1: Shape
Week 2: Size
Week 3: Pattern
Week 4: Light/Dark
What do I need to take this course: Time! Use this opportunity as the chance to get creating again on a regular basis! Set aside specific time and dedication to your art. Computer, art materials, and commitment.
How does it work?: Each week there is a new assignment- posted on Monday and expected to be completed by the following Sunday. Assignments are structured with numerous visual examples, advice and insight into each weeks topic. Students are encouraged to discuss and share ideas and sketches throughout the week with final teacher critiques given on Sunday.
Who can take this coures?: This course is open to artists at any level and medium, from artists looking for new ideas and source material, to beginners just looking for a place to start. This is a great opportunity to receive insightful, critical feedback on your work that you can't get anywhere else! Also the chance to have fun with your work and enjoy the process without the pressure of having to sell or market yourself to an audience. Break through the barrier of what art should be and discover what art can be :D
About your Teachers:
Jamie and Tom are graudates of The Rhode Island Shcool of Design and have studied art around the world from The Hermitage in St. Petersburg Russia to Rome, Italy and The Sydney College of Arts. With an accute visual sense, highly trained eye and vast knowledge of art history, both past and present, we are your most skilled and knowledgable guides to self-expression. We love looking at and making art! Art is a process, our goal as your teacher is to impart our passion and joy for creation with the skill, focus and a clarity that allows you to discover the strength of your own artistic voice!
*It should be noted (!) we've been creating, writing, and fine tuning online art courses for the past three years both here at The Dancing Cat Art School and at Camp Pikaland. With courses such as 'Painting the Winter Landscape in Oils' to 'Exploring the 5 Senses', our experience working with students has allowed us to refine and really uncover the core ideas and themes that help our students grow!
View work from our past students in The Dancing Cat Alumni Gallery to get inspired!
Back to Basics- 4 Weeks
Course Fee: $160 ($40/week)
Goal: Discovering your voice as an artist and how you can develop and strengthen your visual vocabulary using composition, material, subject, and emotion.
Week 1: The Quick Sketch. Focus on hand-eye coordination. Learning to let go and not only see your subject but also feel it (and what that means). Emphasis on self expression and mark making. Discussion: Emotion vs. Technique. Materials: Charcoal, gouache, acrylic paint and collage, Fine Art Paper.
Week 2: How to See. Focus: What makes a composition strong vs weak. How can I strengthen my own work? Emphasis on compoitional elements such as shape, size, color, and spacial arrangement. Materials: Photographs, magazine clippings, graphite, paper, glue.
Week 3: Discovering New Source Material. Focus: Discovering what inspires me! Looking at objects and subjects in your everyday life that give you inspiration. Discussion: What do I love and why? What do I fear, what do I hate etc. Materials: Digital Camera, music, food, song lyrics, books, art history and social media.
Week 4: Medium vs. Message: Focus: How does my medium (ie paint, paper, pencil etc.) express what it is I'm trying to say? How can I improve this or make a more impacting statement with my art using my materials. Emphasis on experiment and play. Materials: TBD! (To Be Determined)
Oct 15- Nov 11, 2012
NEW 4 week online art course aimed at self discovery and discovering what it is that you want to say with your art! With weekly assignments aimed at creative thinking and discovering what it is that makes you and your work distincitly you- we'll explore what makes a strong composition, what we can use for source material that already surrounds us, what inspires us
Finding Your Artistic Voice
Open Enrolllment
NEW 4 Week Online Art Course aimed at discovering what makes a composition strong and engaging and how you can use this to create your own strong and engaging works of art, discover what inspires you, and what it is you ultimatley enjoy creating or want to express with your art!
Great course for artists at any level, whether you're just starting or have been drawing and painting for years, this course is about exploration, discovering new ideas and play!
In this 4 week course we'll:
This course is currently taught on an individual basis and you can enroll at any time!
Have more questions? Find out more about The Dancing Cat Art School and how our courses work here!
We've been teaching online art courses for the past 3 yrs.and have worked with students around the world! View some of the work and be inspired by what past student have created here!