Charter School
Charter School
Arts Council of Kern
Artful Learning Experiences for Students
It’s a pathway to curiosity, confidence, and critical thinking.
Every learning experience offered through the Arts Council of Kern is designed with purpose.
We believe it is just as important for students to discover what they love—what sparks their curiosity and natural abilities—as it is to understand what does not. Both are essential to growth.
Our artful learning opportunities invite students to explore creative practices while building valuable, transferable skills such as critical thinking, problem solving, and innovative decision-making.
Students are not asked to copy a single outcome. Instead, they are introduced to a range of possibilities and encouraged to follow their own creative instincts. Each experience includes an example outcome (your student’s results will vary), along with insight into the learning behind the process.
These opportunities are designed to expand confidence, curiosity, and self-awareness—supporting students not only as artists, but as thoughtful learners.
It is our privilege to participate in the education of your students and children.
Courses with Em Radmacher
FIRST COHORT May 19th – July 29th | Tuesdays & Wednesdays | 9am – 10 am / TK – 3rd | 10:15 am – 11:15 am / 4th – 12th
LET THE WATER RUN
In this sequence, students will explore the various techniques involved in watercolor. They will learn how to use watercolor to create a base (substrate) of a design, and ways to incorporate other tools to overlay and create more complex designs/patterns.
PUSHING PAINT AROUND
This is an exploration in color and form. Students produce, individually and collaboratively, a set of painterly papers using a push tool and their imaginations! This process engages people of ALL ages and motor skill level. Students of the practice tell me, years after learning this process, they still enjoy creating the papers.
IF YOU BUILD IT THEY WILL COME
Students will work with various papers and media to create their own papers. This building process requires drying time and ultimately results in full color, often transparent pieces that can be pressed into functional service as book covers, book markers, lamp shades and even framed as a standalone piece. This is an ideal sequence to take after participating in PUSHING PAINT AROUND.
QUALITY/STRATEGY/FOCUS CARDS
This process skillfully combines identifying qualities or life strategies that will serve the student in the coming months and years. Some people use this process for spiritual direction or scripture references. It’s a versatile process that involves various techniques and useful media and tools.
SOFTEN THE EDGES/ROUND THE CORNERS
This is a broadly applicable practice that makes sense of proportion, shape and relationship between forms. It is relaxing while also teaching how to use various tools. It is appropriate for every developmental stage.
NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF A POLKA DOT
The fundamental design of the circle is explored through different media including watercolor, collage, colored pencils and mandala.
HOW YOU FRAME IT: Perspective
Just as in life, how an artist chooses to frame their work creates a very specific focus and perspective. Participants will frame various projects and use a frame to begin to “see things differently.”
IN GOOD SHAPE
Participants will begin with a tactile and visual identification of specific shapes to understand how shapes communicate certain feelings and can, on their own, tell a story.
This is the beginning of understanding that every image is essentially created by combining shapes.
PUT A STAMP ON IT
Students will access many different papers and publications, study the proportion of the “Golden Ratio,” and learn various collage techniques. Each participate will create several personal greeting cards and by the end of the sequence will address, ready for post, with return address and recipient’s address placed correctly for Postal Service requirements.
For questions and comments please contact Em Radmacher at em@kernarts.org