Kala Art and Design

Mumma Bear;Shading Techniques

By Saira Siraj, 7th Grade The first artwork (of the two that I will be talking about) that we did is a shading techniques page. Here we have 4 different ways to shade in a drawing, shading, scumbling, stippling, and hatching. I first made a 16by16 grid towards the bottom of the page. Then we drew two long rectangles, on the top of the page. In the first one, we made lines inside, making equal parts. Then we shaded the rectangle from lightest to darkest. Then below that, we made the same scale but as a gradient, this time with no partitions. In the 16by16 grid on the bottom half of the page, we made columns of different shapes, spheres, cubes, cylinders, and cones. We shaded each row with a different technique. Hatching, Scumbling, Stippling, and Shading. Scumbling was the easiest as it was like scribbling and Stippling took the longest because you have to be very careful with the dots and make sure they don’t look like lines. Hatching, Scumbling, and even Cross Hatching, all are similar because, to make the value darker, you need to make the lines/scribbles closer together to show the tightness.    Our next artwork was a drawing of a mama bear and a baby bear. We were allowed to use any techniques that we wished, so I decided to do shading, as it would not take up as much time and I could still get a good-looking drawing. I started off by sketching the two bears. Then, we shaded the cave and the crevices of the bears really dark.  

Periodt…! periods are not our weaknesses, but our strengths

By -Saesha Sharda, Grade 9th When I was a little girl, I was not really encouraged to talk about menstruation, especially in front of my older family members and relatives. Not only was I confused about why periods occur, but also why I wasn’t allowed to talk about it. Now that I’m older and know about periods, I can comfortably talk about them with my parents whenever I have questions or concerns. Menstruation is a fascinating process that happens to almost every single woman on the planet, and I don’t understand why women get shunned for talking about it. Periods are not ‘gross’ or ‘weird’, they’re pretty cool. We need to empower women and encourage them to stand up and talk about light-hearted things like periods, to other heavier topics. My artwork on women empowerment ties into the concept of women helping women. In my artwork, I have shown three women helping each other climb a cliff through a fire. The cliff represents the normal hardships women have to go through, and the fire represents how the outside world makes it harder for women to achieve these tasks. I have used acrylic paint to show a silhouette of the women the background is with acrylic textures. It is important we address things like this through artforms for expressions, I feel it is a step in the right direction. Women are awesome! But, I do understand that the older generation was raised to not talk about women’s’ issues and menstruation, but it is time that changes. Our periods are not our weaknesses, but our strengths; and it’s pretty cool that we get to go through this cycle that perpetuates the entire human species!

Art & Design Classes with Kalaa

An immersive experience which includes understanding of elements of art and design, mixing of colors, visualization and representation with creative thinking. Learn from a professional artist with 20 years of Design teaching experience. 3-4 students per class, provides for maximum personal attention directly with the trainer. A broad array of class times are available: Classes meet once a week for a period of One/ One and a half or two hours, depending upon levels. Learn as you go at your own pace. Fundamentals of Art & Design (AGES 4 to 8): $85/ month for class and material Art & Design Techniques (Ages 9-15): $120/ month for class and material Oil / Acrylic / Mixed Media Painting: $120/ month for class and material Design Thinking & Process (Ages 12 and up): $150/ month for class and practice material Painting Retreats for Adults: $120/ 4 sessions for class and material Each student will complete a final artwork /painting / to be exhibited at the end of the course. please click:  Class Info