Karen Graham helps Keiko Tani, 10, with her painting at Children’s Studio of Great Falls. Photo by Reena Singh.
In a cabin near Difficult Run Stream, Josie Gillespie paints a pear.
She and two other girls are Karen Graham’s art students at Children’s Studio of Great Falls on Fridays, a two-year-old local business that doesn’t just teach children to make art — it teaches them to appreciate art.
“My life starts after 3:30 when school ends,” said Graham.
Graham has spent the last 10 years painting and teaching for Great Falls Foundation for the Arts, Studio on the Green and Boys and Girls Club of D.C. In addition to her private studio classes, she also teaches art at Siena Academy.
She said that when she was in her teens, she wanted to go to art school, but her father requested that she study to be a nurse or teacher.
Years later, she is following her passion.
“I use all mediums and I try to teach the kids that you don’t just have to use canvas and special paper,” she said. “You can use cardboard or rocks or anything.”
The students use their mediums to follow their passion as well.
“I like art, because it makes my imagination pop,” said Keiko Tani, 10.
As Graham cut the watercolor paper for the day’s lesson, she asked her students about the art Henri Matisse created while bedridden. When the girls looked to each other for answers, Graham told them how he created his famous contemporary cutouts during that period.
Another artist she talked about while setting up a scene for a still life was Mary Cassatt.
“She was an American woman artist,” she told the students. “There weren’t many who became famous.”
The art room is filled with books of famous artists, paintings and photos of Graham’s actress stepdaughter, Lauren Graham. Several gnomes, the studio mascots, line a high shelf on the wall.
The students talked about how inspiring the cabin is for their artwork. The cabin was used to film scenes of “Clear and Present Danger” starring Harrison Ford, according to Graham.
“It’s cosy,” said Josie Gillespie, 10. “It’s really relaxing.”
Her twin sister, Shea, said she enjoyed using oil pastels in class.
“There are no mistakes in art,” she said.
For more information about the studio, visit http://www.childrensartgreatfalls.com.