The KIDS ACADEMY

~ Creating Composers ~

THURSDAY:

4-5PM (4-9 yEars)

Students are welcome to come for whichever time works best. The earlier class will tend to have younger kids, while the later class will tend to have older.

$120 / 4 weeks

FREE TRIALS FOR NEW STUDENTS

ALL MATERIALS PROVIDED.

INSTRUCTORS: MILES LEWIS & EMILY COLOMBIER

Both instructors are vaccinated and boosted.

FOR QUESTIONS AND TO REGISTER,

CONTACT MILES @ 818-390-2215

The Kids Academy is a uniquely rich weekly artistic experience hosted by brother and sister team Miles Lewis and Emily Colombier. It operates indoors and outdoors (when weather permits) at Collier House, in Woodland Hills. It is specialized for 4-11 year olds, easily adapting to all levels of ambition, skill, and educational style.

Miles is a professional artist and long-time educator. Emily is a certified behavioral therapist and teacher committed to kids’ success. Together, they’re teaching kids how to combine craft, storytelling, mindfulness, attentiveness, and visual analysis into finished projects that build expressive confidence, self-esteem, and imaginative depth.

This class is an evolution of the watercolor academy that Miles programmed at the Tarzana Community & Cultural Center from July 2021 to February 2022.

Classes at the Tarzana Community & Cultural Center

We sometimes do fieldtrips! Our little kids join our teen classes as they study on-location.

In this program, children encounter a wide range of subjects and artistic media in a way that is accessible, playful, and foundational.

OUR METHOD:

Each class begins with Miles giving a quick demonstration of that day’s exercise, from watercolor painting, to cartoon storytelling, to animal portraits. Miles and Emily guide the students in the completion of their pieces, adapting to the pacing, attention, and cognitive level of each child. Once students have completed their assignment, they are allowed to free draw and paint, absorbing and building off of what they’ve learned in class.

OUR TEAMWORK:

As the artist, Miles sets the assignment. Both Miles and Emily guide the entire class. Emily helps students focus their efforts, find their inventiveness, and mature as communicators. Miles is able to provide additional technical education for more advanced and ambitious artists. This complementary approach allows students to develop hard and soft skills that turn casual doodlers into thoughtful composers.

ASSIGNMENT SAMPLES:

Simple Comics

Students reflect on the past week and craft a simple autobiographical comic. Kids learn drawing, typography, graphic design, and deep self-reflection.

Color Layering

Students learn the patience of painting, developing translucent layers of color as they intuitively arrange an abstract composition.

Imaginary Grove

Students create their own imaginary grove of trees. They learn patterning, color design, as well as the skills of repetition and variation.

Costume and Backdrop

Students create a simple costumed figure and a thematic backdrop. This is fundamental theater design, drawing on kids early visual education in movies, animation, and school productions.

My Own Solar System

Students look at models of our solar system and create their own. Kids learn how to compose shapes, colors, and the relationship between them. They also learn the basics of perspective and the crafts of layout and thematic coloring.

Observational Pencil Drawing

Students learn the basics of observational rendering, using simple formulas for value scale drawing. Kids learn the technical fundamentals of representing 3-D objects on 2-D surfaces.

Watercolor Still Life

Students learn how to compose watercolor washes and textures to create realistic surfaces. Kids absorb the technical fundamentals of realistic drawing and painting.

Atmospheric Landscapes

Students learn non-intuitive techniques for creating atmosphere, such as color weaving in crayon. Kids learn alternatives to the typical coloring-in techniques as they learn how to create optical effects.

Combined Compositions

Students learn about, select, and composite art historical images to make their own original compositions. Kids study the history of images as well as the principles of creativity through combination.

Hybrid Creatures

Students select and study images, animals, and other objects in order to create smooth combinations. In this exercise, kids develop strong visual analytical skills while evaluating multiple options for effective solutions.