The CMA Blog

Claymation Creation

emily — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 19:33:03 +0000

The animators of the August Claymation Art Colony in Soho displayed a dangerous amount of skill, as is evident in the medley of short films that is Claymation Creation. Catch brief glimpses into bizarre worlds: Swashbuckling kitties on the high seas, a mysterious transaction between a chihuahua and a pigeon, and some classic science fiction, mouse-style! Warning: These are edge-of-your-seat style films, not for the faint of heart.

To learn more about Summer Art Colony classes click here.

Cartoon Animation Combination Nation

emily — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 16:40:32 +0000

We studied how to render motion animation by creating simple flip books, and practiced telling a narrative by drawing our own comic books! Using the traditional cell animation process we animated our comic’s main character doing some simple actions. We also developed a character and did a stop-motion animation video of their heads rotating in a circle!

To learn more about Summer Art Colony classes click here.

Free-Arts Workshops on Governors Island

prescott — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 18:33:29 +0000

Come check our large Brontosaurus installation, as part of August’s Pre-Historic theme! Join us this September, Fridays-Sundays from 11-3PM on Governors Island, for Circus Mayhem! Help us create a circus tent, Calder-inspired wire sculptures, clown puppets and more! Be sure to check us out September 12th for a special celebration of Beyond the Refrigerator Door at Building 20, an exhibition featuring artwork made by CMA’s Art Colony campers as well as at Building 14 for a celebration of large installations made throughout the summer by CMA’s Free Arts Island Outpost visitors this summer.

For more information on CMA’s Free Art Island Outpost click here.

CMA Murals

prescott — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 14:29:18 +0000

This amazing mural developed from our thoughts about how kids can change the world! We asked ourselves three questions: 1) How could I change my school? 2) How would I make my city cleaner? 3) How could I transform them both?

Our mural depicts an imagined future where recycle-bots and humans work together to pick up and transform waste into compost! This compost is then used to grow healthy local veggies for a solar powered log cabin skyrise community and Solar School! We believe we can transform our world into a cleaner and more colorful place!

To learn more about Summer Art Colony classes click here.

Presenting ‘Flip’ from Puppet Theater TV

emily — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 17:29:40 +0000

Like a true television production team, the Puppet Theater TV Crew spent a fast paced two weeks writing scripts, building puppets, props and sets, designing costumes, recording dialogue and sound effects, puppeteering, acting, and filming what has become a ground breaking CMA first: “Flip”, a live action short. Unlike the stop motion animations that have come before, students were faced with the technical and physical challenges of creating something filmed in real time. The group experienced both shooting in our studio and on site at Governor’s Island. We were also allowed the amazing honor of touring The Jim Henson Studio where students witnessed how a professional shop functions. What you are seeing here is the trailer for “Flip”. The full length and amazing complete film will be premiered at CMA’s “Beyond the Refrigerator Door” exhibition on Governor’s Island taking place on Sunday, September 12^th, 11am-3pm. Be there, it’s promising to be incredible!

To learn more about Summer Art Colony classes click here.

The Governors Island Landscape

prescott — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 13:57:41 +0000

Our landscape week was filled with the adventure of sketching from nature, exploring the island and looking for bugs. The kids exercised their creativity in 2-D and 3-D landscapes that are captivating!

To learn more about Summer Art Colony classes click here.

Soft Sculptures

prescott — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 13:52:43 +0000

The Soft Sculpture Art Colony approached their sculptures with great enthusiasm! Starting off with wire, tape and paper the students worked with abstract to representative forms. We then took advantage of the great outdoors on Governors Island and made nature rubbings on fabric and embroidered and sewed our sculptures in the fields. Each student created a “soft” totem painting framing it with a handmade “soft” frame. We ended the week with colorful stuffed animals. Birds, Bears, Cats and the Dark Knight from Batman all came into beautiful 3D form.

To learn more about Summer Art Colony classes click here.

Textiles

prescott — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 16:26:52 +0000

The students of Textile Design dived headlong into a week of fibers immersion… From embroidery samplers to hand weavings to batik dying to felting, they worked as the proverbial busy bees. Besides the amazing work ethic that created all the pieces shown, they also had time for lots of stimulating conversation, finger weaving on the 6 train, even a birthday!

To learn more about Summer Art Colony classes click here.

The Door to Anima

emily — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 21:37:58 +0000

At this past week’s Intro Animation art colony, we entered a different land, the Land of Anima. In Anima, a place that exists through an animated tape door in CMA SoHo’s basement, we made the moving image with clay, paper, paint, you name it. Unfortunately, we had to leave Anima at a certain point because our parents came to retrieve us, but we came out with this precious footage to prove our adventure.

Vacation to Transformation Nation

prescott — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 14:23:52 +0000

You, YES YOU, can transform your very mood and disposition at this moment by watching “Vacation to Transformation Nation”. Especially if you’re feeling down, friends. If you happen to be down you shall be transformed, again I’ll say it friends, TRANSFORMED, by this experience. And if you happen to be happy than screening this here gem’ll only make you happier. The progressive art scientists of the Transformation Animation Art Colony on Good Ol’ Governors Island have created a doozy of a must watch film full of dinosaurs, unicorns and lots of magic and complete with a charming and alarming public service announcement that’s sure to thrill ya. So run, don’t walk. Watch this puppy! Don’t be slowed, just download.

To learn more about Summer Art Colony classes click here.