Submitted by the San Juan Islands Museum of Art

SJIMA’s Family Art Days Spring workshop series running on Saturdays, starts on April 6 through May 25, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the museum.

Beautiful springtime at SJIMA begins with new exhibitions and new Family Art Days classes. Starting April 6 children and their families can create their own interpretations of the exhibit themes. The young artists will enjoy constructing installations resembling Tom Small’s sculptures. Children and parents can also draw inspiration from Octo Eyes displays and Shades of Compassion photo exhibit. The hallmark of our new series is the use of both natural and artificial materials, such as shells, pebbles, driftwood, glow in the dark tubes, aluminum foil and mirrors. We might say that the entire idea of the classes is about reflection and illumination.

Art allows us to look at the world with new eyes and the spirit of wonder and appreciation. Children and their families bring with them to SJIMA talent, curiosity and intelligence as both visitors and creators. The students of art always explore and enhance what SJIMA has to offer. Let’s inspire each other’s creativity and make exciting new art! We’ll see you at the museum!

These workshops are free and open to children (five and older) accompanied by at least one adult, who may also participate and make the projects.

For more details and to register go to sjima.org/familyartdays. As class size is limited, early registration is highly recommended.

Workshop events:

April 6: Unusual Life Forms – Inspired by Tom Small’s sculptures, we create multimedia installations.

April 13: Explorations in Curves and Geometrics – We use pebbles, shell and driftwood to make our visions come to life.

April 20: Marine Animals in Dot Art – Paint an octopus and other sea creatures of your choice.

April 27: Crafting with Light – Inspired by the OctoEyes exhibit, we use glow tubes to sculpt mystery.

May 4: Shades of Compassion – The photos of this exhibit inspire us to create multimedia collages themed with love and kindness.

May 11: Shine Bright – With mirrors and aluminum foil, we deliver stunning effects in 3-D.

May 18: Spring Blooms – Explore a new take on hand art in painting and collage.

May 25: Spring Skies – We paint constellations in acrylic.

For more details and to register go to sjima.org/familyartdays. As class size is limited, early registration is highly recommended.

Location: 540 Spring Street, Friday Harbor, WA 98250.

Family Art Day Sponsors: The Stocker Foundation, Suzy Wakefield, SJI Community Foundation, Leonie Griswold, April Ford, McMillan Family and the Kiwanis Club.

About San Juan Islands Museum of Art (SJIMA): At the San Juan Islands Museum of Art, we celebrate artists, creativity, community and generosity through exhibits, education, and events. Located on beautiful San Juan Island in the Pacific Northwest, SJIMA connects islanders and visitors from around the world through powerful and timely museum exhibits and programming. Learn more: SJIMA.org