Art From Ordinary Objects

The Columbus Museum of Art partnered with artist Aminah Robinson to produce Aminah’s World, aminahsworld.org. Aminah created works of art out of ordinary materials. When you meet her, you’ll learn about her family and how she developed her talent as a young girl. Take a video tour of Aminah’s studio to see drawings, sculptures and books that inspired her, and observe how she worked. In Understand, learn about Aminah’s artistic vocabulary, which explains the materials she used in her creations. Finally, Create Your Own

Artwork using Aminah’s interactive art builder.

What did Aminah call her mixture of mud, pig grease, dyes, glue and lime?

Dear Amy: I want to take art classes over the summer, but I am not sure where I can do that. Are there any sites online that offer art classes for kids?

Dear Gwen: Yes, many websites provide online art lessons. Whether you are interested in improving your drawing, painting, sculpting or digital art skills, you should be able to find internet resources to help. Be sure you get a parent’s permission before beginning any online course.

The National Gallery of Art created an app called NGAkids Art Zone, nga.gov/ education/kids.html, that features 10 engaging areas to study, including topics such as Portrait, Landscape, Seascape, Still Life and more. Thrive Art School, tinyurl.com/ vko8hec, is a YouTube channel with ad-free videos available to learn art techniques such as drawing, layering and texture.

Sparketh, sparketh.com, features more than 1,000 instructional videos created by talented artists. New courses are added weekly, and you can try the lessons, designed for students ages 6 through 18, free for 30 days to see if you enjoy them. You can work at your own pace and create your art portfolio online.