Dear Reader,
This blog post is long overdue.  I have been remiss in writing regular blog posts about our Conservatory's events, classes and other important news. This post is dedicated to our teen board , The Teen Artist Guild, which was launched in October of 2013. The brainchild of forming the board was presented to me by Karen Prior, who is the mother of our third year Youth Atelier student, Katie. Karen spearheaded the organization of the teen board which has been nothing but successful and entirely fun since! The Teen Artist Guild offers students of CCA and community youth the opportunity to learn leadership skills, get involved in the community by volunteering their time and energy and enjoy the camaraderie of fellow students with similar interests and the pursuit of art education. We have monthly meetings that include art projects, presentations by local artists, field trips and more!

I will present to you a gallery of photos that represent the events and fun times the youth have enjoyed thus far. If your child is interested in the CCA Teen Artist Guild, please contact me @ okconservart@gmail.com. You may follow us on Instagram @ccateenartistguild.  Here we go! Please enjoy.  We want to know what you think, so please send us your comments!
All the best,
Leslie

Leslie Lienau
Founding Director

December 15, 2014. The Teen Artist Guild curated the First Annual Youth Art Exhibition. They did everything from collecting the work to hanging the work and even framing several pieces. They organized and hosted the opening reception for the community and their families. It was so much fun! We had great food and live music by Kyle Reid too!

This day long retreat was lead by Karen and Dave Prior. The board members learned about various aspects of being on a board from conduction meetings to organizing events. They learned all about The Robert's Rules of Order. It was a lot of fun! Here are some pictures of some of the art projects they got to do during the retreat, which included making tattoos on bananas!

A couple of years ago I founded Miira Artist Tools out of a need to invent tools to help me be a better instructor. One of our products, Miira for iOS, is a powerful mobile app that I believe changes the way the artist sees the natural world. I've had the privilege to work with a remarkable young artist, Katie Prior, who has studied drawing and painting with me for several years at the CCA. When we began to develop our mobile app Katie was eager to be a beta tester. Her input was instrumental in making the Miira app work even better.  Katie's story about her experience using the Miira app will be eye-opening and I believe will influence your perspective and approach to your work. I trust you will enjoy this story and I invite you to download the app, try it and  share your story with us too!  
Enjoy!
Leslie Lienau

To link to Miira's website, click here


Using the Miira app to create an envelope
by Katie Prior

Standing in front of a blank piece of paper, with the expectation of drawing my very first drapery study, I really didn't know where to start. I know about drawing shapes and the light and dark, but it was still overwhelming. I decided to use the Miira app on my iPhone. I started with the outline; sliding the guides on the app to create an envelope, a simplified outline, around the study.  I then transferred the envelope to my paper, making sure that all the angles were correct.

I used Miira’s overlay feature to check that the envelope on my paper matched the actual piece of drapery. Having the envelope correct to begin with saves tons of time later, so that in the middle of blocking in shadows you don't realize that one fold should be another inch to the left. From this point, I was able to draw in the shapes of light and dark.

I've spent many hours on this study and it's almost finished. The Miira app has helped me many times along the way to confirm the shapes and angles in my drawing.