Past Workshops
LoCo Art hosts a variety of free arts workshops, classes, and residencies open to area youth. Below, you will find a list of past residencies to get an idea of programs that LoCo Art has hosted in the past.
Resiliency Waves - A Mural of Hope
Informed by an immersive study in the life and work of acclaimed visual artist Yayoi Kusama, this inspirational mural that resides on the west side of the Holland Theatre gave dozens of local youth an opportunity to explore issues of mental health and wellness through creative visual arts activities. Led by guest artists Andy Bellomo and Sandra Antongiorgio, the process involved high school art groups, youth in the family court system, participants with the Suicide Prevention Coalition and many others. The resulting mural is designed to be a beacon of hope, inspiration and thought as a part of the revitalization of Bellefontaine’s downtown
"I fight pain, anxiety, and fear every day, and the only method I have found that relieves my illness is to keep creating art. I followed the thread of art and somehow discovered a path that would allow me to live." --Yayoi Kusama
FEDERSPIEL
LoCo Art partnered with The Holland Theatre to bring a fabulous 7-piece brass band from Vienna Austria to Logan County. The group, who’s name means: “How the feather falls” worked with local youth in the schools and after school, explored musical forms of Europe and beyond, and then performed at The Holland Theatre. The performance included two numbers featuring local youth and brought the audience to a standing applause.
1000 Cranes of Hope - Origami and Literature
A multi-week residency in partnership with the Logan County District Library explored the art of origami through the classic story of Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes. Residency activities resulted in two sets of 1,000 Paper Cranes to be put on display in Logan County.
DREAM BIGGER - LARGE-SCALE MOSAIC MURAL MAKING
A collaboration between LoCoArt, The Logan County District Court and Mad River Productions, this short documentary profiles the making of a mural by local teens. Working with professional mural artist Andy Bellomo of Chicago, IL, at-risk youth take on the task of designing, creating and installing a mural on the side of the Juvenile Detention Center.
WORLD MUSIC WITH TOM CHESS ENSEMBLE
@ Ben Logan Middle, Spot for Youth and Mad River Theater Works. The group, led by Tom Chess of NYC,NY taught classes in the world music program at Ben Logan Middle School, the Jazz Ensemble at Ben Logan High School, facilitated an after-school workshop at the Spot for Youth.
All the programs explored Middle Eastern and Near Asian musical forms with our students. The week culminated in a performance at Mad River Theater Works which featured student members from each group.
TAIKO JAPANESE & WORLD DRUMMING
Japanese Taiko and World drummer Eric Paton taught a FREE week-long percussion residency, open to youth ages 8 - 16. Eric is a highly-renowned Ohio based educator.
Mixed Media w/ Duarte Brown
Columbus-based artist, educator, and community-leader Duarte Brown instructed a FREE week-long mixed-media arts residency, open to youth ages 12 - 18. Students learned how to combine paint, drawing, clay, collage, and more to create their own unique artistic creations!
CRANKY STORYTELLING
Indiana artist, musician, and stuntologist extraordinaire Sam Bartlett led a weekend of storytelling, visual arts, and crazy fun. Together, the students and Sam made a "cranky" storyboard, built a theater to go around it, drew the whole story on a big fat roll of paper, and told a tale about the history of Bellefontaine's Holland Theatre.
TREE OF LIFE: STORIES AND SONGS OF THE EARTH
Geoff Kaufman, artist-in-residence at Mystic Seaport and former Sloop Clearwater singer, led Logan County youth on an informative journey through stories and songs that call attention to the environmental problems we face in the 21st century.
Guy Davis: Blues Ambassador
Bellefontaine Intermediate School had the opportunity to have an in-depth exposure to the Blues and the stories that go with them with Guy Davis. This residency exposed local youth to the intricacies of Blues music and the stories and cultures that go along with it. We were excited to facilitate this week with this remarkable artist, which culminated with Guy's performance on the stage at The Holland Theatre.
Guy Davis and students at Bellefontaine Intermediate - March 2016
Ken Waldman: Alaska's Fiddlin' Poet
Ken Waldman at Bellefontaine Intermediate School. Photo Courtesy of The Bellefontaine Examiner.
Ken is an old-time traditional fiddler and a poet from Anchorage, Alaska. A former college professor with an MFA in Creative Writing, Ken's been a visiting writer at over 80 colleges and universities, a visiting artist at over 200 schools in 32 states, and has led workshops from Alaska to Maine. LoCo Art brought Ken to Bellefontaine where he worked with students at Bellefontaine Intermediate School to explore the connections between music, story, and language. The week culminated with a local performances at The Holland Theatre. Click on the above image to learn more about the project.
Mural Making with Sam Bartlett
Sam Barlett, artist-extrodinaire, of Bloomington, Indiana came back to Logan County - this time to make a mural with groups of LoCo Art youth to decorate the newly opened Spot for Youth. We hosted two sessions per day, designed and executed a playful mural that is now a centerpiece of the facility. Feel free to come through and take a look yourself!
Master Gardner's Garden Barn
Photo Courtesy of The Bellefontaine Examiner
LoCo Art artist Jennifer Davis led participants on a journey making a mural that celebrates the Master Gardner’s organization and decorates their new Garden Barn. This project was a collaboration between LoCo Art, The Master Gardner’s, The Mary Rutan Foundation and the OSU Extension Office. The finished mural is a beautiful invitation to stop by the Community Garden (located in Bellefontaine on the corner of Troy and Garfield) and participate in its bounty.
Duarte Browne and Donte Woods-Spikes - Visual Arts Workshop
Duarte Brown and Donte Woods Spikes of Columbus came back to Logan County this Summer. This week-long workshop introduced students to a range of media and methods to make original works of arts and culminated with a group show open to the public. In the words of one of the participants:
I'm 12 yrs old and I was recently in a LoCo Art work shop with Richard Duarte brown and Donte woods-spikes and that week was one of the best weeks of my life!!! We painted on some large canvas. Sculpted with clay,messed with bottle caps and even painted with a air brush!!!!!
SKILLET BATIK PAINTING
Forrest “Woody” Amidon, Logan County Artist and founding member of the Logan County Art League led participants on a multi-week workshop exploring a painting technique called ‘Skillet Batik’. Participants learned to design an image on news print, copy it onto rice paper, paint with acrylic paint, use hot wax as a resist, create the batik effect, and adhere the painting to canvas. A beautiful art form!
POSTER DESIGN WITH DAVE GRIMES
Big thanks to Dave and all the great participants in a Fall Workshop in poster design. Gig ready posters created by local youth for a local band celebrating local talent!
T-SHIRT DESIGN WITH 7THIRTY8
Matt Overholt of 7THIRTY8 taught a multi-week design and screen-printing workshop. From idea to design to printing, Matt guided participants through the process and created with them a collaborative design that, printed on quality shirts, became a successful Fundraiser for the organization.
CHRISTMAS ORNAMENT DESIGN w/ JENNIFER DAVIS
LoCo Art Board Member and Ben Logan Art Teacher Jennifer Davis hosted a workshop to create original, unique and celebratory holiday ornaments. Participants had the opportunity to create multiple ornaments during this fun Saturday morning workshop - some were used to decorate a tree at the Logan County Historical Museum and others were taken home.
LYNDA ELLIAS - DELAWARE MOSAICS
Bellefontaine Middle School hosted an artist in residence program with the teaching-artist group Delaware Mosaics. 150 art students worked alongside the professional artists to create four tile mosaic panels. Three of the panels were installed at BMS and the fourth at LoCoArt Spot. BMS Students experienced all of the steps of creating mosaics - including researching, drawing out the plans, cutting and laying out the glass and tile, and grouting the completed pieces. The images are focused on native plant and animal life, which connects to 7th Grade Science Ohio Learning Standards.
MELINDA PLACKO
HEALTHY CHOICES/PUBLIC ART
LoCo Art partnered with The Mary Rutan Foundation to provide arts-based workshops that encourage healthy food and beverage choices. The first in a summer-long series of these will be led by Cleveland-based artist/educator Melinda Placko. She guided participants on an artistic journey to create commercially ready sidewalk signs that help advertise our downtown businesses and promote healthy choices.
THOMAS BROWN – SCULPTURE IN NATURE
LoCo Art was proud to partner with The YMCA and offer a week-long residency at Camp Willson this summer. Artist Thomas Brown led campers on a week-long journey of arts learning through nature. The residency culminated in an iconic large-scale sculpture made out of harvested willow branches that decorates the camp.
Thanks to the Bellefontaine Examiner for the photograph.
SAM BARTLETT- FARMERS MARKET MURALS
LoCo Art was proud to bring Bloomington artist, Sam Bartlett, back to Logan Country for a Summer residency. This year we will create an outdoor mural that celebrates the agricultural roots of Logan County and points people towards the thriving farmers market which occurs each Saturday morning from May through September. Big thanks to all the participants, The Logan County Farmers Market, The Mary Rutan Foundation, The City of Bellefontaine and Watkins Electric for all their support to make this project a success!
DUARTE BROWNE - EXPLORING THE ARTISTIC SPIRIT
Duarte Brown of Columbus was excited to come back to Logan County. This week-long workshop exposed students to a range of media and methods to make original works of arts and culminated with a group show open to the public. The residency continued LoCo Arts partnership with The Mary Rutan Foundation and had a focus on healthy food and beverage choices.
Read more about the residency here
'MY LOGAN COUNTY' RELIEF SCULPTURE WORKSHOP
Led by Jennifer Davis, this workshop led students in creating relief sculptures of historically recognized sites in Logan County. The sculptures were created from polymer clay attached to a watercolor board background. The created works were exhibited as a part of Logan County's bi-centennial celebration.
'ZENTANGLED' LOGAN COUNTY LANDMARKS
Led by Becky Dotson, this workshop introduced participants to a range of media and created 'city-scapes' that celebrate various views, both rural and urban, through out Logan County. Using photos of landmarks (new and old) from around Logan County, participants created contour drawings using the grid technique. The landmark will be filled with zentangles (different types of lines). Watercolor will be added to the negative space to create contrast. The created works were exhibited as a part of Logan County's bi-centennial celebration.
Evie Ladin and Keith Terry
CROSSPULSE DUO: FINDING THE RHTYHM AROUND US
Participants engaged our professional musicians and learned tons about their fun and accessible "Body-Music". By the close of the workshop they prepared music to be shared in the evening concert. 15 local youth participated in creating an original arrangement of "Liza Jane". Additionally, the duo worked in the local school system. This workshop was FREE and open to any and all!