Business Mixer at KidsArt in Montrose

Please join us for our monthly mixer on Wednesday, March 2 at KidsArt in Montrose. It is a great networking opportunity as well as a chance to discover a unique business in Montrose and hear about the services they offer. Montrose is filled with so many great “specialty” local businesses and that is part of why this area is so special.

KidsArt is another example of a locally owned and operated business in Montrose. Owner Anna Sheklow is a local in the area and brought KidsArt to Montrose. KidsArt offers various types of art classes for children from age 4 to adult. Yes, adults too!

“Art is seeing,” said Sher Warren who founded KidsArt with her husband Ed Warren, the parents of KidsArt owner Anna Sheklow. “You’re teaching someone how to see, to look at something and see what it’s made up of – shadows, shapes, tones – and that there is a relationship of shapes, measurement, positive and negative space and perspective. These are all tools we can give someone to draw and paint realistically. We are reorienting perception.

“Our philosophy is that anyone can learn to draw and paint well. Creativity follows mastery. In order to become artistically creative, you need basic skills. KidsArt supplies that base.”

When you teach the visual arts you are really developing an individual’s ability to see (perceive) relationships; in other words, to measure accurately one thing to another. The word “art” from its Latin/French base literally means “to fit together.” Examining this meaning, we can see that drawing and painting can be likened to cooking. Just as the culinary artist fits together ingredients (parts), so does the visual artist. In order to make a drawing of an object or thing, one needs to see its individual sections (how it is constructed). To draw, a person learns to examine and isolate each part back into a whole. The basic introductory format is composed of three essential components of visual art – (shape), size (mass, scale) and placement (relationships). Using a step-by-step method (the simple to the complex) the student understands what is needed in order to draw successfully. The techniques taught students allow them to assist themselves in drawing. These techniques are traditional and classical in approach.

There are also classes in various types of mediums. Watercolors are finely ground pigments mixed with a binder, allowing artists to achieve (among other techniques) luminous, sketch-like effects. Oil paint is named for the binder in which the pigment is suspended. This liquid is made from the ground seed of the flax plant called linseed oil. Oil paint is extremely flexible and when thoroughly dry is rock hard (durable), two characteristics of paint desperately sought after by generations of artists. Oil painting remains the perfect medium for many. Acrylic painting remains an art staple because of its permanency and durability. Generally the solid pigment or coloring agent is the same in all paints. The variable, and that which gives each paint its distinct characteristics, is the liquid binder or vehicle. The binder in acrylic paint is a plastic – a synthetic. Therefore, acrylics dry quickly and are water soluble. This allows clean-up free from the disadvantageous smell of other media.

As we all know art is great for stress relief and it’s lots of fun! We are so happy to have KidsArt in town. Please join us on Wednesday, March 2 at 6 p.m. for our business mixer at KidsArt at 2264 Honolulu Ave. in Montrose.

Montrose-Verdugo City Chamber of Commerce: Your source for all things local! Our mission is to actively support and enrich the community, vitality and pride of Montrose, to help preserve the historic district and small town atmosphere, to promote economic stability and positive, productive relationships within Montrose and the surrounding communities.

Upcoming events
Grand re-opening and ribbon cutting today, Thursday, Feb. 25 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Wine Cave, 2427 Honolulu Ave. in Montrose.

March business mixer is on Wednesday, March 2 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at KidsArt at 2264 Honolulu Ave. in Montrose.

53rd Annual Glendale Mayor Prayer Breakfast on Thursday, March 10 at the Glendale Civic Auditorium. Doors open at 6 a.m.

Day At The Races is on Sunday, March 20 beginning at noon at Santa Anita Race Track, 285 W. Huntington Drive in Arcadia.

  melinda clarke