Hands on art projects that immerse kids in design, painting, sewing and more
It’s a warm summer morning outside, but down in the basement at Art Works Studio in Palo Alto, the air is cool and the kids are deep into monster dolls. What’s a monster doll? According to one of the girls, monster dolls are stuffed creations “inspired by a villain character who’s a zombie.” She’s pretty busy slip-stitching her monster doll, and according to what seems to be taking shape, her description is actually quite accurate.
Art Works Studio: nurturing creativity in Palo Alto for 12 years
In the corner, armed with her Great Aunt Gertrude’s Singer sewing machine, sits Marci Lamb, the founder and owner of Art Works Studio. She turns to the freckled boy next her and asks,“Do you want it to be square, or more roundy?” They’re stitching an eyeball onto the boy’s monster doll, and Jack is beaming in his baseball cap as he explains his vision for the monster doll he wants to bring to life.
For 12 years, Marci has been helping hundreds of children discover, nurture and engage their creativity in her unique studio space, located across the street from Addison Elementary School. Art Works Studio offers after school classes and workshops for ages 3-11 during the school year and summer day camps. Each week during the summer, the camp has a different theme and children explore a huge range of artistic media, including paint, ceramics,
kids deep in creation mode at Art Works Studio in Palo Alto. Photo by Bella Graves
fabric and print making.
Parents are looking for high quality art instruction, and Marci employs several experienced art teachers and a team of teen assistants to help keep up with demand and provide small teacher: student ratios in her classes and camps.
A child-centered approach to teaching art
a monster doll created at Art Works Studio. Photo by Tracy Wu.
This sort of ‘choose your own adventure’ attitude is crucial to Art Works Studio’s teaching philosophy, and it’s immediately clear how well it works for this elementary school-aged crowd. The students are all working semi-independently, some totally silent and intent on their art creations, while others excitedly discuss the pros and cons of adding tails to their monster dolls.
A buzz of activity permeates the air, and Marci floats around checking on the students, assisted by two teenage instructors. Clearly accustomed to some degree of chaos, Marci is unfazed when two younger girls act a supermarket scene with their monster dolls in front of the fish tank, and deftly offers support to another student who is huddled over a comic strip and dealing momentarily with writer’s block. Observing her struggle, Marci suggests, “Can you Sharpie that while you’re thinking about the next bit? Here are your super duper drawing pens, and here are the teeny tiny pens for the teeny tiny things.” Relieved to draw instead of write for a spell, the girl happily picks up her pens and begins to color in the comic.
Driven by a belief that anyone can create art
A visual artist and former gallery owner, Marci is a passionate teacher who believes strongly in her mission of arts education for all. “I think we are conditioned or taught to believe that there are people who are artistic, and there are people who aren’t,” she says. “Kids get stressed when they feel they
photo by Bella Graves
are expected to perform their art at a particular level, and they’re more likely not to engage with art as a result.” Her goal is to make sure that students, both children and adults alike, feel empowered to create art and continue their arts education at throughout their lives.
Story Wall created by Marci Lamb at Addison Elementary. Photo by Marci Lamb.
Marci is also the parent of two children who attended Addison Elementary and she contributed hours of her time to create a 60-foot “Story and Poetry Wall,” which was made of over 1,000 hand-crafted ceramic subway tiles designed and decorated by 400 students.
Marci has big plans for Art Works Studio as she looks towards the future. “I envision a large space and community meeting area that might function like a gym, where you can drop in and do some art, see some art, read a book, or connect with other people.” She’s already well on her way to this vision by offering custom adult classes that are ideal for birthday parties and date nights.
photo by Bella Graves
Mom, is that a Picasso?
One of Marci’s favorite things about teaching art, and a unique element of Art Works Studio, is the focus on art history. Beginning with her youngest students, Marci introduces key moments and figures in art history, and the children develop a solid visual library of influential art and artists. This knowledge comes in handy when her students travel to museums, and they often surprise their parents by recognizing a famous piece of art. “Last week I heard that one of my first graders was in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence and remembered something he had learned about Botticelli, and I got another photo of a student in front of a Van Gogh at the Art Institute of Chicago. That’s very fun for me and very satisfying as a teacher.”
The art history lesson on the day we visited was about Méret Oppenheim’s famous Breakfast in Fur– a furry teacup, spoon, and saucer assemblage. Marci opens a conversation by asking the kids to observe Oppenheim’s pièce de résistance and, “Think of something that doesn’t belong in fur but how you could make it in fur.”
Breakfast in Fur by Meret Oppenheim. Photo courtesy of the MOMA.
A boy who’s been working on an eyeball for his monster doll blurts out, “eyeglasses,” and the girl who was sketching the comic strip yells, “diamonds!” A spirited, serious debate rapidly ensues on whether dinosaurs are furry or not. Would dinosaurs be appropriate subjects for tomorrow’s art project? The question lingers in the air as the children head out for lunch across the street at Addison Elementary, escorted by the teen assistants who make sure they use the pedestrian walkways.
Coolest camp ever…
Watching the children chatting and playing over lunch, I’m struck by how carefree they seem. I am grateful to find a place like Art Works Studio, where kids just can be kids, with no academic agenda or outcomes to measure. Jack, proud creator of the monster doll with a dangly eyeball, catches my eye and says, “It’s the coolest camp ever. I’m not kidding.”
Art Works Studio is located at 595 Lincoln Avenue in Palo Alto. To learn more or register for a camp or class, visit Art Works Studio website.
photo by Tracy Wu.
