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Exhibitions in Local Museums During Carlsbad Art Farm Summer Camp Season

By Perrin On May 18, 2012 · Add Comment · In Uncategorized

Summer is a great time to take children to art museums, and San Diego County families have many exhibits from which to choose in the coming months. Here are just a few compiled by Art Farm Summer Camp Director Gaul Culley, representing multiple art forms from Gothic tapestries to a photographic exhibit that focuses on domestic life within the walls we call home, to a magnificent sculptural installation of Zodiac animal heads.

SAN DIEGO MUSEUM OF ART (IN BALBOA PARK)

June 09, 2012 through September 16, 2012

The Invention of Glory: Afonso V and the Pastrana Tapestries

The Pastrana Tapestries, coming to the San Diego Museum of Art, are among the finest surviving Gothic tapestries. The Invention of Glory: Afonso V and the Pastrana Tapestries will feature the recently restored set of four monumental tapestries that commemorate the deeds of Afonso V, King of Portugal.

Woven in the late 1400s, these monumental tapestries, each measuring 12 by 36 feet, depict Afonso V’s conquest in 1471 of the Moroccan cities of Asilah and Tangier, located near the entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar. They are among the rarest and earliest examples of tapestries created to celebrate what were then contemporary events, instead of allegorical or religious subjects. The designer minimized the misery of warfare, reinventing the event with the heroic image of Afonso and the ideals of chivalry in mind. Exquisitely rendered in wool and silk threads by Flemish weavers in Tournai, Belgium, the tapestries teem with vivid and colorful images of knights, ships, and military paraphernalia set against a backdrop of maritime and urban landscapes.

Since the 17th century the tapestries have been the property of the Collegiate Church of Our Lady of the Assumption in Pastrana, Spain, 50 miles east of Madrid. Because of their outstanding quality and historical significance, the Spanish government listed them as cultural patrimony to be safeguarded during the Spanish Civil War. Only one of the four tapestries has previously travelled to the U.S.

The conservation of these tapestries received the European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage/Europa Nostra Awards 2011.

MOPA (MUSEUM OF PHOTOGRAPHIC ARTS IN BALBOA PARK)

THREE STORY HOUSE

12 May, 2012 – 30 Sep, 2012

Drawn from MOPA’s photography collection of more than 7000 images, Three Story House traces how photographers have captured the familiarity of the domestic environment to tell stories of how we live and where we live, as well as transforming it into a creative space to make art. With the inception of photography in 1839, photographers began to explore the importance of domesticity in our everyday lives, offering insight into the home as a nucleus for daily growth and renewal. Like a treasured heirloom, these photographs from MOPA’s collection are a pleasure to share with you here, in our house.

MINGEI MUSEUM (IN BALBOA PARK): NATURE, TRADITION AND INNOVATION

CONTEMPORARY JAPANESE CERAMICS FROM THE COLLECTION OF GORDON BRODFUEHRER

Jun 2, 2012 – Jan 6, 2013

Collection Source: Collection of Gordon Brodfuehrer

This exhibition at the Mingei explores the evolution of contemporary Japanese ceramics through the work of many artists and a variety of forms, from tea bowls and noodle cups to stunning vases and robust platters. Strong and sculptural, these ceramic pieces also reveal an earthy beauty through abstract forms, soft colors and pools of glaze. These organic objects come from kilns throughout the regions of Japan, and their clear connection to nature will be enhanced with large scale photographs of Japanese landscapes and natural elements.

FOLK FESTIVALS AND TRADITIONAL CRAFTS: JAPANESE PRINTS FROM THE COLLECTION OF MAURICE KAWASHIMA

Jun 2, 2012 – Jan 6, 2013

Collection Source: Collection of Maurice Kawashima Location: Balboa Park

This exhibition, also at the Mengei, features prints by two Japanese artists: Yoshitoshi Mori (1898-1992) and Masaaki Tanaka (b. 1947). Both graphic and figurative, they depict cultural festivals, scenes from daily life and archetypal characters such as warriors and actors. Created with stencils, woodblocks and silk screens, the prints will be displayed alongside a selection of beautiful mingei – objects of use – from the Museum’s permanent collection, including a diverse range of historical and contemporary objects: pottery, kimono and other textiles, lacquer, metal, baskets and toys.

STUART COLLECTION, UCSD CAMPUS, LA JOLLA, CA

The Stuart Collection at the University of California, San Diego seeks to enrich the cultural, intellectual, and scholarly life of the UCSD campus and of the San Diego community by building and maintaining a unique collection of site-specific works by leading artists of our time. It has been inventive in both its curatorial point of view and its working processes. The collection results from an innovative partnership between the university and the Stuart Collection. Under an agreement forged in 1982 (and renewed in 2003), the entire campus may be considered as sites for commissioned sculpture. It is further distinguished from a traditional sculpture garden by integration of some of the projects with university buildings. With the enthusiastic cooperation of the UCSD Department of Visual Arts, and financial support from the Stuart Foundation, the Friends of the Stuart Collection, the National Endowment for the Arts, and many other organizations, foundations and individuals, the collection has initiated and completed an impressive range of projects. The selection of artists for commissions is based on the advice of the Stuart Collection Advisory Board, which is composed of art professionals of international stature. Artists are invited to conceive and develop proposals with the assistance of the Stuart Collection staff.

SAN DIEGO MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART: AI WEI WEI: ZODIAC HEADS: CIRCLE OF ANIMALS: GOLD

FEB. 23-JULY 29^TH, 2012

MCASD is honored to present the U.S. museum debut of Ai Weiwei’s topical and sumptuous Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads: Gold (2010). This gallery-sized installation is comprised of twelve animal heads, each depicting a segment of the ancient Chinese zodiac. The recent works by artist and activist Ai Weiwei reference a European version of the Chinese zodiac designed by Italian Jesuit Giuseppe Castiglione. The original sculptures, with their international connections, were built for an elaborate water-clock fountain at the imperial summer home of Emperor Qianlong, just outside of Beijing. In 1860 during the Second Opium War, the imperial gardens were ransacked, displacing the twelve zodiac heads. To this date only seven have been recovered. Continuing his work of re-interpreting cultural objects from his own fantasy and historical knowledge, Ai revisions all twelve zodiac heads. His work comments on the tension between what is “fake,” what is a “copy,” and what may constitute the better of the two.

Ai Weiwei: Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads: Gold is organized by the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego and AW Asia, New York.

Art Farm Summer Camps

For information about Carlsbad Art Farm Summer Camps starting June 11, visit our website. Camps enroll all summer on a space-available basis. Art Farm is located on 10-acres of private woodland habitat in north coastal San Diego County near the Village of Carlsbad. Camp sessions are one-week, Mon-Fri, 9 A.M.-3:30 P.M. Classes are in our outdoor studios, where we teach students to draw and paint from our farm animal models. Programs also include natural science enrichment and an introduction to animal training. Students must be entering Grades 2-8 in the fall to attend. To contact us by email, go to director@CarlsbadArtFarm.com.

Carlsbad Art Farm Welcomes Exotic Animal Trainer to Our Summer Staff

By Perrin On May 16, 2012 · Add Comment · In Uncategorized

We are very excited to welcome Animal Trainer Marilisa Markey to the Carlsbad Art Farm staff for the coming summer camp season. Marilisa, owner of Doggywood Dog Training and Animal Actors in Encinitas, is a highly experienced dog and exotic animal trainer. She will be introducing students to the art of training animals to do tricks. Students will learn technique for clicker training baby chicks, chickens, alpaca, Picasso our mini-mule, our brand new (yet to be named) spotted Mediterranean donkey (see previous post), Nigerian dwarf goats, and more. Art Farm donates many of its farm raised chickens to Art Farm student families at the end of the camp season each August, so if all goes well families may be taking home some very entertaining chickens this year.

Animal Trainer Marilisa Markey and some of her animal friends

Marilisa’s Animal Training Background

Marilisa is a graduate of the Karen Pryor Academy of Dog Trainers. Pryor is one of the most acclaimed positive trainers in the world and her program is highly respected within the Dog Trainers Community. The certification is demanding, time consuming and only a limited number of trainers graduate each year.

While attending San Diego State University, Marilisa was involved in an Eco-tourism/Conservation program entitled “Therapy for a Dying Planet”. One of the program founders, Gary Priest, head of the San Diego Zoo Animal Behavior Department, encouraged Marilisa to apply to the Exotic Animal Training (EATM) program at Moorpark College. This was the start of her professional career as an animal trainer. She completed the two-year course in 1996. The lessons she learned and the hands-on work at the Zoo could never be found anywhere else. But most importantly the positive methods she developed from EATM have become the foundation of her philosophy for working with animals and people. This is where she first studied Karen Pryor’s book “Don’t Shoot the Dog.” Pryor’s theories and scientifically based proven methods are today the standard for exotic and domestic trainers.

A San Diego native, Marilisa had always dreamed of working for the San Diego Zoo, a goal she attained when she went to work in the SD Zoo Animal Behavior Department with Gary Priest. “I loved working there and enjoyed every aspect of the years I spent at the zoo,” Marilisa said. She was primarily a husbandry trainer, consultant to zookeepers, an educator to guests as well as an enrichment expert. She worked zoo-wide with various species but primarily with primates. Her work with primates has prompted her to note: “If I can train a monkey, I can train just about anything.” She would have stayed longer but decided to stay home for a while “and train some new primates, my sons Billy and Boe.”

Since her zoo days, Marilisa has worked as a freelance trainer in the entertainment industry, training all sorts of animals for movie, TV and print production work in the Los Angeles and San Diego areas. She has also taught various dog classes and worked as an educator for wildlife and pet care at schools, public and private events

Needless to say, Marilisa has always had a bond with animals and we look forward to sharing her enthusiasm and experience with Art Farm summer campers. Marilisa currently shares her home with her husband, two sons, 2 dogs, a cat, a pig, 4 chickens, a big African Tortoise, 2 rats, a frog and a couple of fish.

Summer Camp Enrollment

Carlsbad Art Farm summer camps are one week, Monday-Friday, 9 A.M. to 3:30 P.M. Students must be entering Grades 2-8 in fall 2012 to attend. Camps start June 11 and continue through mid-August. Art Farm is located in north coastal San Diego County near the Village of Carlsbad. We continue enrolling throughout summer on a space-available basis. For camp information, rates, dates, and more, visit our registration page today. You may also email director Perrin Weston Coman for information and questions. See you this summer!

Art Farm’s Newest Animal Model Arriving for Summer Camp

Believe it or not, I have wanted a spotted mini-donkey for some time now, so I am so very pleased to announce that this impossibly cute little jenny will be coming to live at Art Farm just in time for summer camp. This sweet little girl with the spectacular ears is about 1.5 years old and was born in Texas. She is very sweet tempered around children, and comes fully loaded with personality.

Also this summer, we are welcoming as an instructor Marilisa Markey, a wonderful local animal trainer who trains animal actors. Marilisa will be working with camp students on basic animal behavior concepts and introducing them to how you go about teaching a variety of animals how to perform simple tricks. Students who really pay attention can then go home and test their new skills on the family dog, cat, rat, etc. Apparently chickens are very trainable with clickers, so staff and students will roll up their sleeves and see what they can teach our resident adult chickens to do. We are also welcoming 25 baby chicks the first week of June — all “exotic layers” in hatchery parlance.

If anyone has a suggestion for a good name for this little girl, please post here. For some reason, the first thing I thought of was “Darlin’ Sportin Jenny”, because “Spotted Jenny”, reminded me of “Sportin’ Jenny”, from the old Irish folk ballad, “Gillgarry Mountain”. My mom used to play folk ballads for me and my younger sister on her acoustic guitar, many of them having to do with desperados of old, and this was one of them. My mom is the farthest thing from a desperado I can imagine (she also could play and sing all the songs from “The Sound of Music”), but we so enjoyed afternoons with her belting out these songs. To this day I love folk ballads. There are many versions to the “Gillgary Mountain” ballad, but these below are what I remember:

I have been a rover, I have been a bold deceiver
And now I earn my livin' with my pistol and my rapier
I don't know what I've stolen, but 'twould make a pretty penny
And now I've lost it all to my darlin' sportin' Jenny
Musha rig um du rum da
Whack fol the daddy-o
Whack fol the daddy-o
There's whiskey in the jar

I robbed Colonel Farrell up on Gilgarry Mountain
I took the gold to Jenny just to help me with the countin'
But Jenny called the guards, Lord, I've never saw so many
I almost lost my freedom with my darlin' sportin' Jenny
Musha rig um du rum da
Whack fol the daddy-o
Whack fol the daddy-o
There's whiskey in the jar

I'd like to find me brother, he's the one that's in the army
I don't know where he's stationed, be it Cork or in Kilarney
Together we'd go rovin' o'er the mountains of Kilkenny
I'd swear he'd treat me fairer than my darlin' sportin' Jenny
Musha rig um du rum da
Whack fol the daddy-o
Whack fol the daddy-o
There's whiskey in the jar

'Twas early in the morning at the barracks of Kilarney
My brother took his leave but he didn't tell the army
Our horses, they were speedy, 'twas all over but the shoutin'
Now we make our livin' up on Gilgarry Mountain
Musha rig um du rum da
Whack fol the daddy-o
Whack fol the daddy-o
There's whiskey in the jar
Musha rig um du rum da
Whack fol the daddy-o
Whack fol the daddy-o
There's whiskey in the jar

Meet Gaul Culley: Our 2012 Art Farm Summer Camp Director

By admin On May 8, 2012 · Add Comment · In Art Camp, Art Camp. summer camp, Art Camp. summer camp San Diego, Summer Camp

Carlsbad Art Farm began in 2006 with eight summer camp students over a two week session and a mission to offer local elementary and middle school students a chance to spend quality time making art and interacting with animals in our wonderful 10-acres woodland habitat in coastal north county San Diego. Last summer more than 300 students attended Art Farm summer camps during eight one-week summer camp sessions. This summer we have expanded to nine weeks to meet demand.

It is our mission to engage students in the visual arts, the outdoors, and with animals. Through the making of art under the guidance of highly skilled teaching artists, using live animals as models, working in our outdoor “living” classrooms, and integrating visual literacy strategies into our program, students come to feel a sense of stewardship for Art Farm. They are not merely visitors passing through. In fact, by the end of a week at summer camp they pretty much feel they own the place and take great pride in showing it off to their parents. Students who age out of art farm often come back as volunteer aides because they can spend more time at Art Farm, while helping instructors with students.

Time spent by our creek, on the tire swing, holding chickens, walking goats, taking alpacas down to the creek to watch them cooling down in a stream, talking to instructors about what art is, why we make it, how artists look at the world around them and create something unique based on their observations: all of this combined is what makes Art Farm much more than a simple art class with goats. It is in every since a meaningful life experience.

To make Art Farm’s vision for local children a reality takes a lot of behind-the-scenes work and planning. Very central to this through the years have been our collaborations with talented artists and educators who constantly add to Art Farm’s evolving approach to arts and natural science enrichment education. This year, we are pleased to bring on board Gaul Culley as camp director. Gaul, a master printmaker, brings to the table experience teaching art to children, a deep understanding of riparian habitats, and an impressive background in studio art education.

Gaul Culley considers herself an artist whose interests lie around individual, societal and global identity that is linked to place. Her work mediates internal and external landscapes and thrives on the inconsistencies of the man made and natural worlds that she comes in contact with. She researches birds that follow the Pacific Flyway and the landscapes they depend on to rest, winter or nest as a way of understanding adaptation and resilience.

Gaul received her MFA in Printmaking at San Francisco State, BA in Applied Science with an emphasis on Painting and Printmaking at San Diego State University, and has studied at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art in Dundee, Scotland, under master printmaker Jim Pattison. She is a member of the Los Angeles Printmaking Society, Southern Graphics Council, Golden Gate Audubon Society, National Parks Conservancy, and the National Parks Service. Her goal is to create work that extends outside of the gallery and into the community as a way to connect with the people that make up the place that she is researching.

Carlsbad Art Farm Supporting Local Schools and Organizations

By Perrin On April 25, 2012 · Add Comment · In animal birthday partes, animal camp, animal sketching, Art Camp, Art Camp. summer camp San Diego, art classes for kids, art encinitas, Art Solana Beach, camps for kids, Carlsbad Art Farm, Encinitas, Ranch Santa Fe, San Diego TNT, science camp, Solana Beach, Summer camp encintias, wildlife rehabilitation

Did you know Carlsbad Art Farm is a supporter of local schools and organizations through donations to silent auctions. Every year, we donate 10 certificates good for one-week at Art Farm summer camp.

This year we have donated certificates to Rancho Santa Fe Community Center, St. Patrick’s School in Carlsbad, Solana Highlands Elementary, The Rhoades School in Encinitas, and the San Diego Children and Nature Collaborative, among others.

While giving always feels good, I confess it’s always nice to hear back from schools and other organizations to whom Art Farm has made silent auction contribution, such as the Sanderling Waldorf School in Encinitas, which recently sent us this note:

Dear Carlsbad Art Farm,

Thank you very much for your donation of a week of art camp to the 2012 Sanderling Silent Auction. Our fundraiser was a great success and we couldn’t have done it without you. With sincere gratitude, The Parents of Sanderling Waldorf School.

Parents often tell me how much they appreciate Art Farm for the unique opportunity it affords local children to spend time here, and in turn I appreciate that they value what we are offering their kids, which is time spent in the woods, with animals, making art, and enjoying something as simple as getting their feet into a creek or swinging with a friend on a tire swing hung from a high sturdy branch. This is what I was doing as a kid, and I know in my bones that no matter how urbanized and modern our 21st-Century kids may now be, all they need do is cross the wood bridge into Art Farm to be hooked.

I grew up on a 250-acres pear farm in what is now Silicon Valley. My family landed in the valley in 1850. They came not for gold, but to plant trees.

In my youth, Santa Clara County was all farm land. It was known as “The Valley of Hearts Delight”, so beautiful and soil rich that Photographer Ansel Adams was drawn to take pictures there. A friend of the family published an amazing book about that valley, “Passing Farms, Enduring Values”, in 1984. By then most the farms were gone or going, giving way to industrialization. Writer Wallace Stegner, in his introduction to the book, noted:

Silicon Valley is probably a good, in many ways. The Valley of Hearts Delight was a glory. We should have found ways of keeping the one from destroying the other. We did not . . .”

I spent my summer days as a child roaming the orchards with my younger sister, our friends, our dogs and pony, and our art-making stuff, soaking it all up, feeding our imaginations. We were in the creek, under trees, creating forts, pretending we were wild west heroes and outlaws. We felt free to explore, examine, take notice. We were generally up to our elbows in dirt and often barefoot, proud of our callous-toughened feet. I knew then it was an ideal childhood, and that it could not last. I would grow up, the farm would vanish, but not the memories. With Art Farm, my goal is to offer kids a chance to have what I had: a memory-making adventure.

Carlsbad Art Farm Owner/Director Running for the Cure!

On March 18, 2012 By Perrin

Dear Art Farm Fans,

Here’s an update on my Team in Training (TNT) progress for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society: In five weeks with the North San Diego County TNT team, I’ve progressed from gasping through a 3-mile run to an enjoyable 9-mile run in the driving rain yesterday, which started with climbing out of bed at 5:30 A.M. on a Saturday morning. Thanks to all of you who have contributed to my TNT fundraising page. I have nearly reached my goal of $2,000 (just $283 to go!).

This is my second run with north county TNT. The first was in 2008. I joined after learning that my friend Jack, at age 75, was diagnosed with Leukemia. I decided to run again this season after learning from a Carlsbad Art Farm family that one of their children, a second-grader, had been diagnosed with Leukemia and would be unable to attend Art Farm this summer because she is undergoing aggressive treatment.

An Art Farm students studies a tiger for a drawing

Yesterday, a young woman in remission came to our TNT Saturday meet to thank us for saving her life through research funded by TNT donations over the past 10 years. You hear something like this and it puts everything in very clear perspective. I feel blessed, at age 56, to be able to participate in a run in the rain for the cure. If you have not yet done so, and would like to make a tax-deductable donation to my run (Event: Rock N Roll Half-Marathon/San Diego/June 3/), please visit my personal TNT Fundraising page here. For more information about TNT, visit here.

No contribution is too small!

Warm regards all, and we hope to see you this summer for our summer camps in north coastal San Diego County.

Perrin Weston Coman, Owner/Director, Carlsbad Art Farm.

Working Artists: Backpacking through South East Asia While Illustrating a Book

On March 14, 2012 By Perrin

Art Farm instructor Jordan Cornthwaite, a Carlsbad native, has been backpacking through South East Asia while finishing illustrations for a children’s book by a La Jolla writer. She recently decamped from her bungalow overlooking the Mekong River en route to Thailand. Jordan is looking forward to teaching at Art Farm again this summer, and sharing some stories from her excellent adventure as a traveling, working artist. Here’s one of her recent sketches. Enjoy!

Carlsbad Art Farm is now enrolling for our Summer Camp 2012 season. Students entering Grades 2-8 are eligible to attend. All studio art and natural science enrichment classes are outdoors on our 10-acres woodland habitat in north coastal San Diego County, just minutes from the I-5 and the Village of Carlsbad. Summer camp students are placed in age-appropriate classes designed to be both challenging and fun. Students learn to draw and paint while looking at live animal models. For a sneak peak, visit our Art Farm Facebook page.

For camp rates, dates, details, and secure online enrollment click here. New this year: parents may now pay for summer camp sessions securely online with a credit card or through PayPal.

Click now to find out why Art Farm has been featured in local magazines and newspapers, and as a Nickelodeon Parent’s Pick Nominee as the best kept summer camp destination in San Diego County. To contact Art Farm Director Perrin Weston Coman, click here.
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Mallards Enjoying a Winter Day Along Art Farm’s Sunny Creek

On January 10, 2012 By admin

Mallards at Carlsbad Art Farm’s Sunny Creek

Pictured here are four mallard ducks swimming at Sunny Creek (aka Agua Hedionda Creek) at Carlsbad Art Farm yesterday. To get this shot I had to sit down on our trail with a long-range lens on motor-drive, and be very quiet and patient for a good long time, while I waited for them to swim by.

At one time I raised rescued orphaned mallards as a licenced California Wildlife Rehabilitator through the wonderful San Diego-based nonprofit Project Wildlife. Project Wildlife trains teams of volunteers to rescue many dozens of species of local birds and animals that are brought into their care center after being found injured or orphaned. Each team specializes in an animal. In my case I chose ducks because we had the outdoor space for a pre-release flight cage, and also because I had a young child and didn’t want to risk injury by rescuing an animal that might bite, scratch, or carry disease. Rehabilitators learn to care for and feed the wildlife that come into our care without taming them as the goal is to release them back into the wild. The less human contact the better. Our ducks, sometimes 30 at a time, were raised in the pre-release flight cage until their flight feathers matured. We then maneuvered them into large dog carriers and trucked them to Whelan Lake, a 73-acres bird sanctuary in Oceanside. I like to think these birds might be the offspring of some of the birds I raised, as ducks will come back to their breeding ground. Art Farm wasn’t where my rescued ducks were born, but it is where they were raised from chicks to adulthood.

Now I’m looking forward to seeing the spring ducklings navigating our creek!

January 2012 Art Classes in Carlsbad Art Farm

On January 2, 2012 By admin

Happy New Year!

Our Carlsbad Art Farm staff and animals had a nice winter break and are now ready to get back to work on our Saturday morning art classes in Carlsbad. There is never a lack of things to do around here as we prepare for winter. Picasso the mini-mule and the alpacas are ready for rain (if we get rain!) in the comfort of their new corral finished last spring. Our four Nigerian Dwarf goats – Calvin, Hobbes, Zeus, and Buffy – have now taken up full-time residence in the old alpaca/mule pen, which is slated for improvements this coming spring. Calvin, pictured here, is helping my husband, Chase, with a small roofing job on a kennel, which keeps our goats secure from predators and warm at night.

Calvin inspects progress on his new kennel roof

Thanks to all the families who turned out for our first annual Art Farm for the Holidays events in December! Students had a great time making unique gifts for family and friends while enjoying fresh-baked gingerbread and Art Farm brownies, warm spiced pear cider, and spending free time with our animals. We will be offering this again in December 2012.

Our Saturday morning art class resumes Jan. 7, 2012, from 10 A.M to 1 P.M.

Students currently enrolled in Grades 2-8 are eligible to attend. Classes are $30 per session, purchased in monthly blocks. Classes are taught in our outdoor studios, often using our farm animals as models to teach authentic technique in a variety of dry and wet media. New students are welcome to audit one class for $30. Art Farm Saturday class is primarily a studio drawing and painting class, although we do work in high-end craft projects. Art Farm classes include a visual literacy program which complements the studio art class. Students are also provided with supervised “free time” to visit with our animals, take hikes down to our creek, and to generally enjoy our 10-acres riparian habitat in north coastal San Diego County.

We are open to opening a second Saturday art class in the afternoon if there is sufficient interest, so let us know. Usually there is interest, but conflicts with sports.

Art Farm for the Holidays students making gifts

Art Farm is located on a private property on Sunny Creek Road near the Village of Carlsbad. Visitors are by appointment only. Art Farm’s entry gate is closed and locked unless class is in session. To arrange a visit, please contact Perrin Weston Coman at director@CarlsbadArtFarm.com.

In addition to our academic school year classes, Art Farm is a unique destination for local school field trips, scout outings, birthday parties, and more. Kelly Elementary school second-graders visited Art Farm this fall as part of their “pond life” studies. At Art Farm, they took a tour of our creek where they tested water and learned about our 10-acre woodland riparian habitat, and why a healthy creek is so important to maintaining this habitat.

We also post about events and happenings at Art Farm on our Carlsbad Art Farm Facebook Page. “Liking” our Facebook page is a great way to keep up with Art Farm updates. We are too busy taking care of all of our critters to post too frequently, so we won’t inundate you with updates. Plus, our updates usually feature a picture of a really cute animal doing something charming, so what’s not to like?

Week-long summer camps at Art Farm begin in June and continue to mid-August. Enrollment begins March 1. Camps sellout early, so if you wish to be added to our mailing list for updates please click director and provide a contact email and phone number. Please include in the subject line “Camp Inquiry”.

Win a Week at Summer Camp While Making Great Gifts for the Holidays!

On November 21, 2011 By admin

Arctic Fox at the San Diego Zoo, Sun., Nov.20, 2011

Photo by Perrin Weston Coman

I enjoyed another awesome animal drawing class at the San Diego Zoo Sunday with Watts Atelier Instructor Tom Babbey. This gorgeous little Arctic Fox lives in his enclosure near the Polar Bears.

As a reminder, Carlsbad Art Farm is holding Art Farm for the Holidays during the first three weekends in December for students currently enrolled in Grades 2-8.

Students are invited to come to Art Farm to make gifts for the holidays, visit with our farm animals, indulge in sugary holiday treats and hot cider, and enjoy being at Art Farm during this beautiful season of the year. The recent rains have brought much greenery to our 10-acre woodland preserve making it a perfect holiday setting.

All paid students attending Art Farm for the Holidays open studio sessions will be put in a drawing for a chance to win a week at Carlsbad Art Farm Summer Camp 2012 (value $400). Camps begin in June and continue through mid-August. Camps are one-week, Monday through Friday, 9 A.M. to 3:30 P.M. The drawing will follow the last open-house session the third weekend in December. Note: Students must be entering grades 2 or higher in fall 2012 to attend summer camp.

Polar Bear at the San Diego Zoo, Sun., Nov. 12, 2011
Photo by Perrin Weston Coman

Carlsbad Art Farm is located on Sunny Creek Road near the Village of Carlsbad. We are known for our wonderful sold-out summer camps and year-round studio art, visual literacy and natural science enrichment classes for youth Grades 2-8. Students study drawing and painting technique in our outdoor studios, often using our farm animals as live models. Our habitat is riparian, with a year-round running creek which we use to educate students about conservation and respect for the natural world. This November, we welcomed two wonderful groups of Kelly Elementary School second-graders who came to Art Farm for a field trip to study pond life.

Art Farm for the Holidays open studio times and dates are detailed in our previous post (see “Art Farm for the Holidays” below). RSVPs are mandatory. The fee is $40 per 4-hour session per student. An additional fee of $5-$15 per gift made (cost depends on materials used) applies. Payment is by cash or check payable to Carlsbad Art Farm on the day of the event. We anticipate that students will be able to complete 2-3 projects per visit depending on what projects they choose and how long it takes to complete the project.

To RSVP for Art Farm for the Holidays, check dates and times on our previous post and follow link for contacting us. Questions may be directed to Owner/Director Perrin Weston Coman at director@CarlsbadArtFarm.com. Please type “Art Farm Holiday” in the subject head so we don’t delete your email as spam.

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