A Week of Drawing in the Community
Saturday, March 29, through Saturday, April 5, 2008
During the week, treat yourself to a drawing break and visit one of these Draw On! participating locations! Check each one for dates of participation, as well as regular days and hours of operation. Also, visit each location’s Web site for other programs and exhibitions, directions, and admission fees.
Saturday, April 5: Draw On! Family Day at The Aldrich
12 noon to 5 pm; Free with admission (18 & under always free)
No registration required
After a week of drawing activities, everyone is invited to stop by The Aldrich to draw their way through the exhibitions and the Sculpture Garden. Join artist and author James Prosek, artist and mathematician Tim R. Riley, and dancer and choreographer Ashley Friend, who will lead drawing workshops throughout the afternoon. Those who think they don’t know how to draw, or who haven’t drawn in ages, will realize that drawing is for everyone after spending an afternoon meeting artists, experimenting with materials, and discovering that drawing can be defined in infinite ways!
What’s going on at these locations? (click on the location to see details)
The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum (Ridgefield)
Almost Home Childcare (Ridgefield)
Black Rock Art Center (Black Rock)
Danbury Schools (Danbury)
Enchanted Garden School of the Arts (Ridgefield)
ESCAPE to the Arts—the Center for Arts & Humanities (Danbury)
The Gallery of Contemporary Art at Sacred Heart University (Fairfield)
Ridgefield Crossings Harbor Program (Ridgefield)Ridgefield Conservatory of Dance (Ridgefield)
Ridgefield Guild of Artists (Ridgefield)
Ridgefield Library (Ridgefield)
Ridgefield Rec Center (Ridgefield)
Silvermine Guild of Artists (New Canaan)
Westport Arts Center (Westport)
Here's what's going on at these Draw On! participating locations
The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum
Draw On!
Saturday, March 29, through Saturday, April 5
What activities are we offering?
All week long you will find several opportunities to draw at the Museum.
Draw On! Drawing Station:
Outside the Education Center you will find paper and pencils. Once you have finished your drawing, please leave it for us to hang in the Center for everyone to see.
GE’s Imagination Cubed:
In our atrium you will find one or two computer terminals with General Electric’s wonderful multi-user online whiteboard, an exciting way to visually collaborate with your friends and family!
Drawing in the Galleries:
Ask the front desk for paper, pencil, and a clipboard, and let yourself be inspired by our exhibitions.
Other programs and events:
Tuesday, April 1: Life drawing
Open to adults and high school students
6:00 to 8:00 pm; $5 member; $10 non-member
Registration required
Wednesday, April 2: Aldrich Drawing Buddies
Ages 3 to 5 with adult
10 to 11:30 am; $15 Family member; $20 non-member family
Registration required
Thursday, April 3: Art Lab visits Ridgefield Crossings
3:30 to 5:30 pm
Students from The Aldrich’s weekly after-school program for high school juniors and seniors, Art Lab, and from Danbury YMCA’s teen program, ESCAPE to the Arts, will spend time drawing and visiting with residents at Ridgefield Crossings assisted-living senior community. This program is not open to the public.
Thursday, April 3: First Thursdays
6:30 to 8:30 pm; $10 member; $15 non-member
First Thursdays is sponsored by the law firm of Cohen and Wolf, P.C.
Exhibiting artist and musician Halsey Burgund and his band Aesthetic Evidence will perform. First Thursdays is also sponsored by Ancona’s Market, Ancona’s Wines & Liquors, and by WSHU Public Radio. Please contact Elizabeth Zeder for information about this event.
Saturday, April 5: Draw On! Family Day at The Aldrich
12 noon to 5 pm; Free with admission (18 & under always free)
No registration required
Is there a charge for Draw On! activities?
Check individual programs above
What are our hours of operation?
Tuesdays through Sunday: 12 noon to 5 pm
For information, contact:
Carolina Pedraza, Museum Educator: Youth & Family Programs
203.438.4519 or email: cpedraza@aldrichart.org
top
Almost Home Childcare
Draw On!
Monday, March 31, through Friday, April 4
What activities are they offering?
Children who attend Almost Home will enjoy a week filled with drawing activities. Every day, children will get the chance to draw in a different way, explore line, shape, and various materials. A selection of drawings will be on display in the Education Center at The Aldrich Museum on April 5. These events are open to children currently enrolled in Almost Home Child Care.
Is there a charge for Draw On! activities?
No charge
Where are they located?
35 Copps Hill Road
Ridgefield, CT 06877
What are their hours of operation?
Please call Almost Home for details
For information, contact:
Fran Kelley, Director
203.438.6118, or visit www.almosthomecc.com
top
Black Rock Art Center
Draw On!
Monday, March 31, 3 to 7 pm
What activities are they offering?
Explore your creative side at the Black Rock Art Center as they host an afternoon of drawing activities for the whole family! Community Draw—have your drawings be part of a community mural. Musical Expressions—listen to music and draw what you hear. Pick-A-Picture—make drawings based on words you will pull out of a hat. If that is not enough, take advantage of Still Life Stations, let your adrenaline flow in Speed Drawing, and enjoy friendly competition playing Pictionary. Drawing materials—crayons, pencils, markers and paper—will be provided.
Is there a charge for Draw On! activities?
No charge, but donations are requested.
Where are they located?
2838 Fairfield Avenue
Bridgeport, CT
What are their hours of operation?
Monday to Friday, 9 am to 5 pm
For information, contact:
Melissa A. Bernstein, General Manager
203.367.7917, or visit www.blackrockartcenter.org
top
Danbury Schools
Draw On!
Danbury High School and Danbury Art Teachers
Monday, March 17, and Monday, March 24, 2008
Artist Janice Caswell, interim acting-Visual Arts Coordinator Mike Obre, and Aldrich Museum educator Michael Blakeney collaborated with 21 students from the Danbury High School National Art Honor Society chapter in an after-school project at Danbury High on Monday, March 17. This artist-led project is a new feature of The Aldrich’s annual Draw On! program, which reached out to area schools by bringing artists into the classroom to focus on the concepts of collaboration and mapping.
Students were first asked questions about their past and what they envision for their future, from which they created drawings that reflected those answers. Working within a limited palette, participants developed a 6 ½ by 12 ½ foot mural composed of small drawings that were linked together conceptually and with lines drawn directly on the wall.
A week later, on March 24, a similar project, again led by Janice Caswell, went up on a wall neighboring the one on which the National Art Honor Society students worked. Only two feet away, it featured the work of Danbury High School art teachers, who followed the same parameters as their students as they created their own version of a mural.
Both murals will remain on view until 2009.
The students who participated, all members of the DHS National Art Honor Society, are: Matt Ramey, Janelly Sanchez, Brian Schiering, Meghan Schmiedel, Mina Tranzillo, Steve Pacuk, Jenny Scales, Dana DeMaglie, Deanna DeMaglie, Caroline Cabral, Shakhed Hadaya, Lisa Hwang, Nikki Goodsell, Dom Sorentino, Samantha Quatro, Cee Cee Conway, Nicole Fisher, Carol Crouch, Vicky Howe, Craig Frucht ,Paula Taing
Thank you to students Eva Zegarra and Soki Prak, who primed, sanded, and painted the mural spaces for the student and teacher murals, and to art faculty member Randy Wade for his assistance in the student project.
The staff who participated in the faculty mural are: Krista Petersen, Donna Benner, Doreen Colonna, Rachelle Wade, Keith Coyne, Deidre Westmark, Jeanette Draper, Scott Carizzo, Lynne Hawley, Joe DePalma, Carol Gaulin-McKenzie, Greg Scalzo, Randy Wade, Barbara Allen, Jonathan Milo, Mike Obre
Artist Janice Caswell’s drawings and installations represent mental maps, an investigation of the mind's peculiar ways of organizing memories. Caswell attempts to trace the edges of recalled experience, plotting the movement of bodies and consciousness through time and space. Her work arises out of a desire to capture experience, an impulse to locate, arrange and secure the past. Caswell uses a pared-down, coded language through which points, lines and fields of color define spaces and retell narratives, making memories concrete. In the artist’s attempt to create a system for representing experience, the pieces become dynamic records of memory itself in the act of recreating what would otherwise be lost. Visit janicecaswell.com.
The National Art Honor Society is an organization of over 140 Danbury High School students, all committed to maintaining a cumulative GPA of B or better and fulfilling at least 20 hours of art-related community/school service.
Where are they located?
Danbury High School
43 Clapboard Ridge Road, Danbury, CT 06811
203.797.4800.
Park Avenue School
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
At the elementary school level, Park Avenue School teacher Patty Simcoe, her second grade students, art teacher Krista Petersen, and Museum educator Michael Blakeney continued the Draw On! celebration by working with author/illustrator Jamison Odone. The project focused on illustration and symbols, and linked to the second grade curriculum.
Visit Mrs. Simcoe’s Classroom online at:
http://pas-x1.danbury.k12.ct.us:16080/~simcoe/Simcoe/Welcome.html
Visit Miss Petersens’ online Art Room at:
http://pas-x1.danbury.k12.ct.us:16080/~peterse/art%20/Welcome.html
Author and illustrator Jamison Odone moved to Ridgefield, Connecticut, after graduating from the Art Institute of Boston. He can often be found walking through the woods with a notebook, searching for ideas. Jamison sleeps very little and spends many of his waking hours painting. Honey Badgers, his first book, was conceived while waiting for a friend at a doctor’s office. Visit jamisonodone.wordpress.com.
Where are they located?
82 Park Avenue
Danbury, CT 06810
203.797.4764.
top
Enchanted Garden School of the Arts
Draw On!
Saturday, March 29, through Saturday, April 5
What activities are they offering?
March 29 through April 5, Scribble and Draw
Open to all ages
At the EG School of the Arts
Come to the Enchanted Garden and be a part of an ongoing installation titled Scribble and Draw. Everyone is invited to make drawings based on bold “scribbles” provided by Noah Hirt-Manheimer that they can try to turn into a complete drawing or otherwise embellish.
Saturday, April 5, Music and Drawing: What does the eye hear and the ear see?
Grades 1 through 8
11 am to 12 noon
At the EG Conservatory
Participate in this drawing workshop with Suzanne Enser-Ryan, where you will explore connections between drawing and music. Suzanne will instruct students on drawing in response to a variety of musical styles. Students will also have fun creating collaborative drawings.
Is there a charge for Draw On! activities?
No charge
Where are they located?
Enchanted Garden School of the Arts
165 Danbury Road (Rt. 35)
Ridgefield, CT 06877
203.431.3350
Enchanted Garden Conservatory
529 Ethan Allen Hwy
Ridgefield, CT 06877
894-1987
What are their hours of operation?
Call Enchanted Garden School of the Arts or the Conservatory for hours
For information contact:
Judy Hirt-Manheimer, Director
Suzanne Enser-Ryan, Instructor
203.431.3350, or visit www.enchantedgardenarts.com
top
ESCAPE to the Arts—the Center for Arts & Humanities
Draw On!
TBA
What activities are they offering?
TBA
Is there a charge for Draw On! activities?
TBA
Where are they located?
293 Main Street
Danbury, CT 06810
What are their hours of operation?
11 am to 8 pm
For information, contact:
Bill McNamara, Director of Youth & Teen Services
Joe DiGuiseppi, Art Coordinator
203.794.1413, or visit www.regionalymca.org/escape.html
top
The Gallery of Contemporary Art at Sacred Heart University
Draw On!
Wednesday, March 26, to Wednesday, April 2
What activities are they offering?
Art students and faculty in the Department of Art & Design at Sacred Heart University will create a collaborative mural throughout an entire week, starting a few days prior to the official start of Draw On! This project is open to students, faculty and staff of the Sacred Heart University Department of Art & Design.
Is there a charge for Draw On! activities?
No charge
Where are they located?
Sacred Heart University
5151 Park Avenue
Fairfield, CT, 06825-1000
For information, contact:
Sophia Gevas, Education Coordinator
The Gallery of Contemporary Art at Sacred Heart University
203.365.7650, or visit www.sacredheart.edu/pages/784_the_gallery_of_contemporary_art.cfm
top
Ridgefield Crossings Harbor Program
Draw On!
Thursday, April 3, 3:30 to 5 pm
What activities are they offering?
Students from The Aldrich Museum’s weekly after-school program for high school juniors and seniors, Art Lab, and from Danbury YMCA’s teen program, ESCAPE to the Arts, will spend time drawing and visiting with Alzheimer’s care residents at Ridgefield Crossings assisted-living senior community. This program is not open to the public.
Is there a charge for Draw On! activities?
No charge
Where are they located?
Ridgefield Crossings
640 Danbury Road
Ridgefield, CT 06877
What are their hours of operation?
Please call Ridgefield Crossings for details
For information, contact:
Megan Carriere, Harbor Program Director
203.431.2255, or visit www.benchmarkquality.com/communities/ridgefield/index.asp
top
Ridgefield Conservatory of Dance
Draw On!
Saturday, April 5; 3:30 pm at The Aldrich Museum
What activities are they offering?
Students from the Ridgefield Conservatory of Dance’s Contemporary Dance Ensemble will be presenting short dances they created by drawing inspiration from exhibitions at The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum (specifically, Charlotte Schulz’s charcoal drawings and James Prosek’s exhibition of taxidermy birds and bird paintings). Six young choreographers participated in dance composition classes with conservatory artistic director James Robey, and created their own duets and trios for fellow dancers ranging in age from 14 to 18. On April 5, at 3:30 pm, they will showcase their dances at The Aldrich.
Is there a charge for Draw On! activities?
No charge
Where are they located?
Main Street Studio and Office
444 Main Street (Route 35)
Ridgefield, CT 06877
(Beside the Gap)
Studio 'B'
421 1/2 Main Street
Ridgefield, CT
(Behind Planet Pizza)
Playhouse Studio
80 East Ridge Avenue
Ridgefield, CT
(Use VNA entrance)
What are their hours of operation?
Please call Ridgefield Conservatory of Dance for details
For information, contact:
James Robey, Artistic Director
203.438.5597, or visit www.ridgefielddance.org/index.php
top
Ridgefield Guild of Artists
Draw On!
Saturday and Sunday, March 29 and 30; 12 noon to 4 pm
Wednesday through Saturday, April 2 through 5; 12 noon to 4 pm
What activities are they offering?
Visit the Ridgefield Guild of Artists and join in a weeklong, collaborative drawing project around the theme of Draw the Town, in connection with the Guild’s upcoming Paint the Town exhibition (May 3 through May 25) and fundraiser (May 3). Visitors can come in and create a drawing about the town of Ridgefield in the upstairs center studio. Drawings can be representational or abstract. The Guild will provide paper and a selection of drawing materials in the studio. When you have finished your drawing, leave it at the Guild for the chance to be one of several selected pieces that will be included in the Paint the Town exhibition, so make sure you sign your work!
Is there a charge for Draw On! activities?
No charge
Where are they located?
34 Halpin Lane
Ridgefield, CT 06877
Barn is the last building on the right.
What are their hours of operation?
Wednesday through Sunday, 12 noon to 4 pm
For information, contact:
Ridgefield Guild of Artists office
203.438.8863, or visit www.rgoa.org
top
Ridgefield Library
Draw On!
Saturday, March 29, through Saturday, April 5
What activities are they offering?
All week long you will find a drawing station up on the second floor in the Children’s Library so you can Draw On! old catalogue cards using pencils, crayons, and pens!
Is there a charge for Draw On! activities?
No charge
Where are they located?
472 Main Street
Ridgefield, CT 06877
What are their hours of operation?
Monday, Wednesday, Friday: 10 am to 6 pm
Tuesday and Thursday: 10 am to 9 pm
Saturday: 9 am to 5 pm
Sunday: 1 to 5 pm
For information, contact:
Geri Diorio, Head of Children’s Services/Teen Services Librarian
203.438.2282, or visit www.ridgefieldlibrary.org
top
Ridgefield Rec Center—Ridgefield Parks and Recreation
Draw On!
Sunday, March 30, to Saturday, April 5
Mural will remain on view through April 13
What activities are they offering?
Visit the Rec Center during the week of Draw On! when you will be able to “make your mark” on a community mural. Children and adults can draw and contribute using Crayola Color Wonder products (which will be provided by the Rec Center) and offer mess-free drawing on a 2-foot-wide by 28-foot-long paper mural.
Is there a charge for Draw On! activities?
No charge
Where are they located?
Ridgefield Parks and Recreation
195 Danbury Road Ridgefield, CT 06877
What are their hours of operation?
Monday to Friday: 6 am to 10 pm
Saturday: 6 am to 6 pm
Sunday: 9 am to 6 pm
For information, contact:
Meredith Towers, Recreation Program Supervisor/Program Development
203.431.2755 ext. 139, or visit http://www.ridgefieldct.org/content/4679/4681/default.asp
top
Silvermine Guild Arts Center
Draw On! dates and times:
Saturday, March 29, through Saturday, April 5
What activities are they offering?
Draw the Line For Seven Days
Adult Workshop/Open Sketch Sessions taught by David Dunlop, Dean Fisher, Alex McFarlane, William Nathans, Josephine Robinson, Nomi Silverman, and Justin Wiest
10 am to 4 pm
Junior Workshops taught by Lisa Arnold, Martha Bloom, C.J. Guerin, and Marta Kot
4 to 6 pm, Monday to Friday
9 am to 12 noon, Saturday and Sunday
In partnership with The Aldrich Museum, Silvermine School of Art will be conducting a uniquely diverse and exciting seven-day drawing workshop called DRAW THE LINE FOR SEVEN DAYS. All ages and all levels can participate in the workshops. Participants will have the opportunity to work with superb instructors from the School of Art. In the never-ending study of drawing, each day a new instructor will be on hand to teach a different subject as it relates to drawing. More information on each day’s subject will be listed on our Web site (see below).
Is there a charge for Draw On! activities?
Yes, $25 to $125. Please call, or visit the Silvermine Web site to ask about program-specific fees
Where are they located?
1037 Silvermine Road
New Canaan, CT 06840
What are their hours of operation?
Monday to Thursday, 9 am to 10 pm
Friday to Sunday, 9 am to 6 pm
For information, contact:
Anne Connell, School Director
203.966.6668, ext 2, or visit www.silvermineart.org
Draw On!
Saturday, April 5, 12:00 noon to 2:00 pm
What activities are they offering?
Children, parents, and everyone else are welcome to visit the exhibition Paradox of Water and take part in the hands-on drawing activity. Sketch a landscape of the Saugatuck River or create your own original water-inspired artwork.
Is there a charge for Draw On! activities?
No admission charge; no charge for activities.
Where are they located?
51 Riverside Avenue
Westport, CT 06880
What are their hours of operation?
Gallery Hours:
Monday to Friday, 10 am to 4 pm
Saturday and Sunday, 12 noon to 4 pm
For information, contact:
Danielle Cavanna, Interim Education Coordinator.
203.222.7070, or visit www.westportartscenter.org
top
If your organization is interested in being involved in next year’s Draw On!, please contact Carolina Pedraza at 203.438.4519 or at cpedraza@aldrichart.org
The Family Learning Initiative is generously supported, in part, by the Adolph and Ruth Schnurmacher Foundation, Inc.
Draw On! is made possible, in part, by the generous support of Hersam Acorn Newspapers.
top
