Fun & Easy Craft Projects from LA’s Best Art Studios & Museums
by Jenifer Scott
Sheltering inside is a great time to encourage everyone in your family to fire up those creative juices from the comforts of your own home. All the paints and crayons in the world can only last so long, however, without someone else guiding the activities or suggesting easy-to-do projects (not it!). So check out these LA-based art studios that are offering online opportunities to help your pint-size Picassos turn screen time into dream time.
Meri Cherry
Calling itself a "process art" studio (meaning it's all about the making and doing, not the finished product), a virtual art class from Meri Cherry is perfect to do at home. The owner places a large emphasis on using whatever materials you might be able to find laying around your house (so it's a green light on saving those pieces of styrofoam and egg cartons!). Check out their virtual videos you can purchase for a small fee that take your little ones on super fun adventures in art such as constructing small magical worlds or making squeal-worthy sensory boxes. These programs feature a list of all the art supplies needed for that particular activity, an intro to the Meri Cherry art teacher leading the video, and walkthroughs of the project making it easy for everyone to follow! New videos for purchase are released each week so be sure to stay tuned to their social media pages for updated episodes! Looking for a more cost-effective option? Follow Meri Cherry on Instagram for daily art project ideas you can do quickly at home with whatever you have on hand!
Barnsdall Art Park Foundation
The folks at the Barnsdall Art Park Foundation know how important is is to stay inspired and create during this time and are offering free family art workshops via Zoom every Sunday through the end of May. Here families, adults, and children are welcome to join the interactive classroom environment from 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. where that Sunday's activity will be repeated by the featured artist every 1/2 hour. The whole family can follow along guided project instruction with materials that can be conveniently accessed from home so be sure to check their Instagram page each week to get an idea of what's needed for the next activity. Did we mention this is free? Visit barnsdallpark to access the Zoom meeting.
Skirball Cultural Center
For more free art activity options, check out Skirball's Family Art Project ideas on their Instagram page. Each week they post a new project complete with material lists, alternative ways to complete the activity and photos of the finished product. Developed by Skirball's family art educators, these fun experiences like shadow puppets or nature mobiles are intended to be completed with simple materials found in or around the home. So far the activities have been slightly more skewed towards older adventurers or those who might not need as much supervision with their fine motor skills but keep checking each week for new art inspirations everyone can do together!
The Broad
Another cultural museum powerhouse is stepping up to the "shelter-at-home" plate with their Family-Art-Center-At-Home offerings! Create artworks at home inspired by artists from the Broad's collection with their new weekly art activity tutorials for families, which will be released every Friday morning on their social media channels (Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube). Now you and your tiny crafters can get your artistic inspiration directly from a pretty spectacular source all without spending a dime!
These days ordering food to be delivered is more important than ever, but what about ordering up some plates to paint? Color Me Mine has that covered with their To Go Kits where they basically bring the pottery projects to you. For just the price of the item(s) you choose, you also get to pick 6 paint colors for each piece you purchase and receive free contactless delivery within a 10-mile radius from participating locations ($1.25/mile round trip beyond 10 miles). Use your own brushes at home or they can throw in a pack for an additional $5. When your darling decorators have finished their ceramic masterpieces, drop it off in a designated space outside the studio for Color Me Mine employees to fire in company kilns. Not wanting to spend the money on painting pottery? Then head to their website and print out free coloring sheets at any time!
Purple Twig
This adorable Eagle Rock art space may be temporarily closed, but they are offering weekly drawing club subscriptions for any aspiring artists who want to keep up with inspirational art ideas. After signing up (one week at a time), you will receive a drawing curriculum for the week that kiddos can do at their leisure. With that curriculum will come a list of recommended art materials, one warm-up exercise, two still life or self-portrait projects, and one imagination drawing project. These activities will be different each week and are great for families to do together or for crafty kids to do on their own.
This cheerful North Hollywood art studio's website currently has plenty of helpful links to remote activities and resources for the whole family to use while hunkering down at home. Coming soon, however, Cr8Space will be offering up their very own CR8 Kits for purchase which will have all the materials your young ones need to get started on inspiring art projects in the comforts of their own space! There will be a few different packages to choose from so stay tuned to their Instagram page for more information. As if this weren't enough, Cr8Space will also begin offering online private art lessons for your artists-in-training hosted by ZOOM and led by their staff artists. These lessons can be customized to what your mini Monets are specifically interested in creating, whether it be a guided-painting lesson a step-by-step demo on how to build their own stuffed animals or even hosting a virtual birthday party!
