Our summer vacation workshops are designed to develop budding artists' skills and maturity as they explore self expression. We are offering a variety of creative workshops for kids ages 6-13 all summer long. Choose from the diverse offerings to best suit your child's interests. Customize your own experience by enrolling for AM or PM sessions. Or choose both and have full days of creative thinking.

Signing up is easy. Read through the offerings below. Then download the registration form by following the directions in the yellow box on the right. Mail in with a full payment or a $50 deposit to reserve your space. You can also call our offices as 508-984-1588 and we can help you over the phone. Spaces are limited, so enroll now for best availability!

Nuts & Bolts:

AM Session: 9 am to 12 pm
PM Session: 12:30 to 3:30 pm

Sessions run Mon-Fri and are 3 hours in length. You must sign up for all 5 days. There are no exceptions.

Class sizes are small – there is a maximum of 10 students per class to ensure quality arts instruction.

Cost per 5-day session is $112. ArtWorks! members get a reduced price of $100. If you are thinking about joining, a family membership is $65 per year and provides a 10% discount on all workshops and gallery purchases.

If you sign your child up for am and pm sessions, please remember to pack your child a lunch to eat during a supervised lunch break.

Week 1. June 23-27 | Found Objects Rule!

Love going on scavenger hunts? Like finding hidden treasures? This week’s classes are for you! Enjoy classes that focus on making wonderful pieces of artwork with found and/or recycled objects.

Found Object Collage
In this class, students will explore all the different possibilities of what collage can mean and what it can express. Use found and/ or recycled materials to create beautiful collages that will give your found/recycled objects a whole new meaning!
AM Session: ages 6-9 • PM Session: ages 10-13

Laundry Detergent Sculptures
Have you ever wondered what to do with your old laundry detergent bottles & boxes? Make art out of them, of course! Save up your old detergent containers and use them in this creative workshop. Students will learn how to build sculptures with recycled materials and have fun by juxtaposing different colors and patterns from the containers.
AM Session: ages 10-13 • PM Session: ages 6-9

Clay Sculpture
In this class, students will search for treasures in and around ArtWorks! and then incorporate these found objects into unique clay sculptures!
AM Session: ages 6-9 • PM Session: ages 10-13

Week 2. June 30- July 3 | Storytelling is Art

Tell your story! Learn how to make your own puppet or make a flip book explaining an idea. This week is focused on telling a story- something many artists do in their work. (No classes on July 4th) $90/session

Puppet Theatre Extravaganza
Work as a group to create a puppet theatre production by adapting your own script from a classic story of your choice. Create puppets and design and paint your own set! At the end of the 4-day workshop, parents are invited to watch the show. This workshop is different every time, so even if you have enrolled before this will be a new and exciting experience!
AM Session: ages 6-9 • PM Session: ages 10-13

The “Magical” Flip Book
Before there were movies or TV shows, there were flip books! Students will learn how to draw out a story by drawing out individual pages and then combining them to make a “magical” moving flip book.
AM Session: ages 10-13 • PM Session: ages 6-9

Clay Finger Puppets
Learn how to make your own clay finger puppet. Invent your own animal or monster by sculpting and forming the clay and baking it to make it last forever!
AM Session: ages 6-9 • PM Session: ages 10-13

Week 3. July 7-11 | Wearable Art

Have you ever wanted to be a fashion designer? This is your chance! From t-shirts to costumes, if you want to design it, you can make it this week!

Costume Design with Alternative Materials
Create a costume out of alternative materials! Kids will start by drawing their design on paper. After sketches are refined, the costume will be constructed out of easy to use, alternative and recycled materials. Ultimately, the costumes designed will be flashy, fun and completely original.
AM Session: ages 6-9 • PM Session: ages 10-13

Screen Printing
Did you ever want to design your own clothes? Start by learning to “refurbish” old favorites. In this workshop, kids will learn screen-printing techniques from a professional designer. Students will bring in a pair of jeans, a cloth bag, or a t-shirt on which to print a unique, self-designed logo.
AM Session: ages 10-13 • PM Session: ages 6-9

Clay Jewelry
Make beautiful beads out of clay which can be turned into necklaces or bracelets in this class. Use clay as a way to make funky original jewelry that your friends will love.
AM Session: ages 10-13 • PM Session: ages 6-9

Week 4. July 14-18 | Colorful Creations

Spend the week making colorful works of art that will catch anyone’s attention. Use the brightest brights, the most vibrant color combinations to express what you feel.

Drawing with Colored Pencils and Pastels
Draw your heart out in a variety of colorful media including pastels and pencils. Students will use rubbing techniques to create interesting textures and patterns. They will learn to shade by smearing pastels and charcoal.
AM Session: ages 6-9 • PM Session: ages 10-13

Tie Dye
Under the guidance of a skilled and fun instructor, create groovy patterns by twisting cotton into bunches, and using a special ink that makes swirls and patterns all over! This class lets students tie dye t-shirts that are bright and colorful. No two are alike!
AM Session: ages 10-13 • PM Session: ages 6-9

Mardi Gras Masks
Make your own festive, bright, and sparkly mardi gras mask out of clay. Take a mold of your face and then bake it to make your very own mask. Take some time to paint and embellish it to make it extra colorful!
AM Session: ages 10-13 • PM Session: ages 6-9

Week 5. July 21-25 | Lions, Tigers, & Bears Oh My!

This week is focused on making animal-inspired art. Make your favorite animal out of clay or paper mache, or draw your own hybrid. Spend your week creating wild, zoo-inspired art at ArtWorks!

Paper Mache Animals
Think big! Make large, paper mache animals out of wire and newspaper. Watch your creatures come to life as you paint and embellish their bodies. The possibilities are limitless in this fun workshop that explores the third dimension.
AM Session: ages 6-9 • PM Session: ages 10-13

Create Your Own Hybrid Animal
Look at photos of different animals, and then combine them to make your own animal “hybrid”. Have an elephant’s head on a chicken’s body, or a giraffe with wings! Combinations are endless and will teach students how to think “out of the box”. Students will create their imaginary hybrid on large paper to show off their creations.
AM Session: ages 10-13 • PM Session: ages 6-9

Clay Safari
Form clay into animals in this fun class. Make a giraffe or a whole flock of chickens! In fact, why not make a whole farm? Students will learn how to make realistic looking animal sculptures while having lots of fun.
AM Session: ages 6-9 • PM Session: ages 10-13

Week 6. July 28-Aug 1 | All About Drawing

Learn how to create your own cartoon character or draw your favorite item from nature. This week is focused on drawing- let your imagination shine through by making your renderings of your favorite objects or inventing your own cartoon superhero.

Nature Drawing Up Close
Students will discover the beauty of drawing nature up close. By observing natural subject matter at a close range, students will interpret the contours of the surfaces and interiors of fruits and vegetables. Students will study nuts, flowers, shells, and insects and see familiar objects in a new way.
AM Session: ages 6-9 • PM Session: ages 10-13

Cartoon Mania
Students will learn how to draw basic human form using stick figures and basic shapes. Learn how to draw the figures used in comic book strips. Children will use their limitless imaginations as they create their own cartoon characters and mini comic book action adventures.
AM Session: ages 10-13 • PM Session: ages 6-9

Drawing On Clay
Draw a pattern on wet clay with special tools and see how you can draw out cool shapes and patterns on clay and then make it into something amazing.
AM Session: ages 10-13 • PM Session: ages 6-9

Week 7. August 4-8 | Make Your World

Translate your environment into exciting works of art! Draw landscapes and everyday surroundings or create your own globe and make the world you imagine. Creations can be realistic or taken from the imagination.

Limitless Landscapes
Through painting, printmaking and collage students will create their own cityscapes, jungles, oceans, deserts and farms. Students can draw their backyard, or create what they feel the surface of the moon looks like!
AM Session: ages 6-9 • PM Session: ages 10-13

Great Globes
Make a large-scale globe out of paper mache and plaster, then paint it to represent how you feel the world should be. Draw the continents that exist, or make up your own! Have a blue ocean, or make a pink one.
AM Session: ages 10-13 • PM Session: ages 6-9

Your World in Clay
Design and sculpt what you see in everyday life by using clay to create figurines, houses, cars, or even small communities! This class will teach students how to translate what they see to what they make.
AM Session: ages 6-9 • PM Session: ages 10-13

Week 8. August 11-15 | Painting Extravaganza

Have fun this summer by learning how to paint! Use tiny dots of paint to create your own masterpiece or enjoy the wonderful new england summer by painting outdoors.

Paint By Dots
Mix colors on canvas by putting many dots of color next to each other. Instead of brush strokes, kids will learn the art of “pointillism”- painting with dots. Many of the master painters made wonderful paintings using this technique. Its amazing that something so small can combine together to make a wonderful work of art!
AM Session: ages 6-9 • PM Session: ages 10-13

Watercolor Outdoors
Do you love being outside? This class is an introduction to painting in the outdoors. Under the supervision of a professional artist educator, kids will take daily trips outside to paint what they see. They will create original paintings of local scenes that can be taken home at the end of the week.
AM Session: ages 10-13 • PM Session: ages 6-9

Clay Mosaics!
In this class, students will learn how to paint on handmade pre-fired tiles and create colorful clay mosaics which will be installed at ArtWorks!
AM Session: ages 6-9 • PM Session: ages 10-13

Week 9. August 18-22 | The Art of the Book

Make unique art books this week! Make your own paper to use in an upcoming project or design your own book in our bookmaking workshop by binding together pages of original sketches.

Budding Bookmakers
Make an art book! Kids will learn the art of bookbinding and explore the relationship between image and text. They will use collage, printing, and bookbinding techniques to ultimately create a unique art book.
AM Session: ages 6-9 • PM Session: ages 10-13

Paper Making
Learn how to make your own paper in this workshop. Make colored paper, textured paper, or paper made out of flowers and leaves! This workshop teaches you the basics and lets you make beautiful handmade paper that can be used for your own personalized greeting cards.
AM Session: ages 10-13 • PM Session: ages 6-9

Clay Books
Make your own mini-book out of clay! Learn from experienced artist Ms. Amy as she teaches you how to make your own mini- books. Use the books for journals, notebooks, or to keep top secret information!
AM Session: ages 6-9 • PM Session: ages 10-13

Week 10. August 25-29 | A Wonderful Mess

Your last chance to make a mess before school starts again! Make artistic messes at artworks! to bring home. In the studios, make art that reflects what you’ve seen and how you spent your summer.

Texture Rules
Pour, splat, and mix paint. Get messy while you explore painting techniques that focus on making thick textured paintings. This class will let students paint their hearts out without feeling pressured to “stay in the lines.”
AM Session: ages 6-9 • PM Session: ages 10-13

Mold Making
Students enrolled in this workshop will learn basic container casting and mold-making techniques from a professional sculptor. They will make multiple casts using plaster of paris. After making the molds, students will paint and embellish their sculpture.
AM Session: ages 10-13 • PM Session: ages 6-9

Make Your Own Dishes!
Throw plates or bowls on the wheel or hand build dishes from which to eat your favorite snack! Students will be encouraged to make a unique set of dishes they can actually use!
AM Session: ages 6-9 • PM Session: ages 10-13

About ArtWorks!

ArtWorks! Partners for the Arts and Community, Inc. is a vital community art center founded in 1993, serving the residents and artists of Southeastern Massachusetts. Our goal is to create an accessible environment which promotes participation in the arts through exhibitions and education. Artworks! strives to collaborate with diverse cultural groups to spark community engagement.

The center is housed in a four-story historic 19th century building (circa 1875) located in the New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park and the New Bedford Arts District. The facility has art galleries, studios, a ceramics workshop, a multipurpose classroom, a teen art center with a performance area, and a graphics lab with AV equipment. It operates year-round offering museum quality exhibitions, professional fine art classes for adults and children, and advocacy, education, and retail space for local and regional artists and artisans.

ArtWorks! is located at 384 Acushnet Avenue, in downtown historic New Bedford. Centrally located, ArtWorks! is walking distance from the 24 hour Elm Street parking garage. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 12 Noon - 5 PM and until 9 PM on AHA! Nights (second Thursday of every month). For more information, please visit www.artworksforyou.org or call 508-984-1588