1. What I did for the first time in 2020:
Thanks to isolation I started to do a new and cool format of workshops - Art picnics!
For kids and adults! We didn't have a choice because of the quarantine and it turned out just great. 2020 gave us new opportunities.
My friend @kategalich gave me this idea and we started painting outside with kids in June. I set up easels for kids outside in a park, provide refreshments and teach a lesson. We are nicely spaced apart and it's wonderful to be outdoors in nature and fresh air. The kids enjoy this format and have fun doing art! Below you can see a collage of my students' works and the different mediums we worked in - pastel and watercolour.
As a token of my gratitude for suggesting to host art classes outside and giving me the inspiration for Art picnics, I gifted Katya this pastel tulip painting.
Also I want to say big thank you to @mforouza, who recommended me the beautiful park in Kitchener-Waterloo Pioneers Memorial Tower to run my Art picnics. And @cakeoclockkw who created very pretty and delicious desserts with colors matching our paintings.
Thank you so much for your support!
As a result, in 2020 I hosted:
19 Art picnics in total
10 workshops with adults
9 workshops with kids
2 parks in Kitchener and Guelph
6 desserts made by @cakeoclockkw
Attending an Art picnic is a great activity to do with your kids and it's a great way to help them express their awesome creativity!
2. What I did for the first time in 2020:
I also ran private classes for adults in Russian! I have been teaching adults and seniors in English for 4 years - at Continuing education UGDSB and for the City of Guelph. However I haven't done private classes for adults before. That's why I was happy when we organized a small group with Russian speaking ladies in Kitchener. Russian is my first language and I enjoy teaching in it and connecting with the Russian community in Canada.
Thank you so much Olga Slonytska for this idea! She was the first student for this class. Also she practices pastel painting a lot and gets amazing results! Olga supplements my classes with consistent art practice at home and it's a great way to improve your skill. I presented her my small pastel picture to express my gratitude.
3. What I did for the first time in 2020:
I also organized Art classes for kids in Russian in Kitchener! Actually it's been my dream from the beginning of my teaching career - to organize groups in Russian in order to keep and improve the Russian language for kids. I tried to do that in Guelph but unfortunately we don't have many Russian speaking kids here. That's why I am very happy to organize classes for kids in Russian in Kitchener. I was lucky to find a good space in downtown Kitchener for our classes - 44 Gaukel street!
I finished our fall session and did 21 classes with 24 children in total! Thank you kids and parents for participating! Below you can see a collage of the children's works.
I hope we can continue these art classes for kids and private classes for adults soon after the lockdown is finished.
I am also ready to open new art groups in English. Let me know if you are interested!