Now Registering for FALL!
Click here to see the FALL Class schedule below.
Welcome!
Thoughts from Miss Lani
We are thrilled that our Fall term commences September 9.
ART is in our heARTs!
Best, Miss Lani
Art After School
Fall 2025
~ Now Accepting Enrollment ~
Registration for FALL 2025 Classes
To register or for questions, text (preferred) or call Miss Lani’s cell: 774-563-3069 or email the Children's Art Studio shastinaart@gmail.com
Click here to download a PDF of the Fall 2025 courses.
Art After School with Miss Lani
Tuesdays; 3:00–5:15pm
Wednesdays: 2:00–5:00pm
Thursdays: 3:15–5:30pm
Friday: 3:15–5:30pm
Preschool Age Morning Art with Miss Lani
Fridays: 9:30-11:30am
$585.00 for the full series
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Tuesdays: Ages 5, 6, 7 year olds • 3:00-5:15pm
Open to Discovery – Look, Draw and Make it POP!
Mary Cassatt, Claude Monet, and Pierre Augustus Renoir lead and inspire us as we view artists whose zest for art makes it fun and active. How do these artists create boldness? Let’s find out! Possibilities of work for the future … seeing anew, what has been done in the past for 150 years!
September 9, 16, 23, 30
October 7, 14, 21, 28
November 4, 11, 18, 25
December 2
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Wednesdays: Ages 6, 7, 8, 9 • 2:00-5:00pm
Our Eighth Vibrant Series ~ Wonder of Animals
The youth artists chant “S’more love for animals.” From Mount Denali in Alaska to the Galapagos Islands in the Pacific, we shall continue to paint the resilient animals, their habitats and capture “their roars” for our help to protect the abundance of all animal species, all over the world! Jane Goodall’s advocacy guides us. Her life’s work with animals continues to inspire us to protect our natural world! We must!
Miss Lani believes in our youth artist’s “artistic communion” concerning animals. This ongoing connection in this our “Wonder of Animals” course is a coming together and the art work concerning animals helps to create something of an extraordinary awareness!
September 10, 17, 24
October 1, 8, 15, 22, 29
November 5, 12, 19, 26
December 3
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Thursdays: Ages 9, 10, 11, 12 • 3:00 – 5:20
“Art Aliveness” – a contemporary mix – Ed Ruscha, Frank Stella, Ellsworth Kelly. Here’s to Modernism.
The advanced art students have a taste for modernism – it seems natural to them, for they like what is new and innovative that sits well with their zest for life! While moved by themes of Impressionism last fall, we tend now to focus on contemporary artists in this course. In some cases, the young artists have been painting with me in our studio for eight years. We are growing! We will study painting, print making, and photography as we look, with zestful insight, into American contemporary artists and their colleagues from international countries!
Ed Rascha is deeply influenced by literature, photography, and film. He loves books… studies languages! He uses unusual word parings and rhymes. Time magazine has honored him as one of 100 most influential people in our decade. He is married, father of two sons and makes his home in Los Angeles. His “pop art” is exciting. Unconventional curious thinking – he intrigues youth!
Frank Stella guides our love for advanced art making. Additionally, Jack Bush, the Canadian color field painter will be viewed and studied for his works, are on the rise after his retrospective at the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa, several years ago. His work Red Side Right is one of Miss Lani’s favorite “sash” canvases as it is referred to. Bold color – personal with heart.
Ellsworth Kelly whose work includes our Dartmouth Panels, painted aluminum, “at the Hop” will be visited and studied, as well. Miss Lani met with him on the day the installation was achieved for us – our community.
September 11, 18, 25
October 2, 9, 16, 23, 30
November 6, 13, 20
December 4
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Friday Mornings: Ages 3, 4, 5 years • 9:30 - 11:30 am
Exploring Watercolor Painting for Young Children
Watercolor painting is fun and gentle, offering expressive brush stroke gestures to young painters. All aboard, we say, as serendipitous painting is an exciting way to become familiar with the characteristics of watercolor – ’tis magic! Limited enrollment.
September 12, 19, 26
October 3, 10, 17, 24, 31
November 7, 14, 21
December 5
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Friday Afternoons: Ages 8, 9, 10, 11 years • 3:00 – 5:20 pm
Advanced Class
You and Your World
Who are you in the world at large? Let us affirm the positive: “I make room / in life / for joy!” We will explore “us” and sketch persons – size, scale, and proportions, as we create portraits and self-portraits, as well.
Globes, puppets, paper objects, poetry, wire, copper, wood, shells, mosaics, will be experimented with as mediums as we look and see how we “match” with the things of our world. We shall boost energies!
It is fun to spend class time – drawing from one another, modeling. We’ll pose – wearing clothing with interesting decals, patterns – and youth will take turns being “in the spot light.” Musical instruments, sports gear, books, skate boards, bamboo objects, flowers, plates, spoons, umbrellas, robots – all will generate ideas for poses.
In some cases, we will curl up on our oak floor. We shall set self-consciousness aside – giggles and embarrassed moments will quickly fade away. We are beautiful and fit – young artists.
Picasso, Matisse, and other artists where their art figures were interestingly designed will be compared and discussed.
We shall learn about the “art of looking” as a process… life-long intentions… and value our time together!
September 12, 19, 26
October 3, 10, 17, 24, 31
November 7, 14, 21
December 5
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Walk with Miss Lani
Miss Lani is happy to meet your child after school on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at the Marion Cross School post 104 and walk joyfully back to the studio. Please text Miss Lani with your request with advance notice. The advanced classes walk on the path on their own.
Text or call Miss Lani: 774-563-3069 or email the Children’s Art Studio shastinaart@gmail.com
Saturday Art Adventures Fall 2025
~ Now Accepting Enrollment ~
Registration for FALL 2025 Classes
To register or for questions, text (preferred) or call Miss Lani’s cell: 774-563-3069 or email the Children's Art Studio shastinaart@gmail.com
Click here to download a PDF of the Fall 2025 courses.
All Saturday Art Workshops are for children ages 4-13 (multi-age class) from 1:30-3:45.
$55.00 per child for each workshop
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September 13: Monkey Business: an article to share
Jane Goodall tells a journalist, Stephan Pincich, about her pioneering work with chimps. We are going to study, what she says about zoos and the importance of dogs for human contentment!
Chimps and dogs… like in the story of Henrie and Rickie will be sketched and with ink we’ll “pen them in,” just NOT force them in! HA, yes to Goodall’s teachings. Yes to pooches—freedom to be.
September 20: Wild Things
Artist Aaron Curry’s vividly hued work joins modernist forms and cutting edge cool, evoking everything from dangles to spectors. Let us “sneak a peek” at this skateboarder- artist’s hands as his creations telegraph his irregular edges and contours, interesting forms. He draws everyday! We shall join him!
September 27: Lead The Way
We love pooches—fidos! Pretend we have been asked by a well-known pet company to be their artistic designers— because children understand animals needs—to create 16 “buys”, gifts for dogs.
So here we go… some ideas… A cactus toy, named Mungo; a pendleton cuddler bed; a leather bead leash; a FURDO dog camera; a canvas leather “artful collar;” triple beds in corduroy; a doggie throw blanket; a set of triple balls—ARE YOU THINKING—THIS IS FUN! Chappy would love these ideas… we are on a roll, for pooches!
Bring a dog bowl—we shall paint it, too! Shall we BARK for it is a blast to create for others …
October 4: Chocolate and Art—It is an art party like none other!
“The reason I love chocolate: it makes me happy! The reason I love art: it makes me smart!” Words spoken by one young artist… Yes!
Young artists will enjoy painting with chocolate syrup and making homemade ice cream and chocolate candy bark of course! Fun. Hilarious. Edible Art, you might say. It is a tradition… and a sweet creative endeavor. We have repeated this adventure for six years—yum, yum!
Goofy, messy—an art, edible, art attack!! All we need is Mootisse and Pigcasso, the children’s story, to round out our crazzzzy day!
October 11: Pissarro’s Love of The Harvest Time
This is a special artist, for Miss Lani viewed a vast collection of Pissarro’s art, in Madrid, at the Prado Museum! An experience she will hold very dear, always, as she recounts for you—his genius! Extraordinary impressionistic style of layering paints!! The texture of his canvases—match the depth and gravity of his large heART!
He is known as Camille Pissarro, the French landscape artist, and was particularly fascinated with pastoral orchards and farmlands. He loved to showcase the people who tilled the soil and worked the fields at harvest times. His positive altruism to paint the beauty, of the hearts of the people, at work, motivated him! He strongly held the view “that not one was greater or lesser than anyone else…” Pissarro’s proactive behavior was influential and gained new attention for justice and equality for the working class in France. Impressionism evolved with Pissarro who painted until his passing in 1902. We honor him today.
October 18: Lobsters, Oysters, Cherries, and Pearls
Oh my—not only is the paint application of this 59” x 67” painting by Cecily Brown a blizzard of brush strokes, it is a still life that demonstrates “energy”—relentless energy!! Realism—abstractions are laced like they are in a conversation! We’ll decide how to develop a still life of our own—perhaps with less extremism.
The artist has carefully been chosen for us, however, because she reminds Miss Lani, of El Greco, and with his mastery, we are asked by Brown, to look more slowly and appreciate her ideas. She credits many other artists besides El Greco for her hyperactivity and passion for art making! An interesting and curious day is ours for examination and reflection.
October 25: Let’s put on Van Gogh’s Straw Hat!
A non-stop run of Van Gogh’s exhibits has taken place internationally since 2001! Now in Boston through September 7, so many seek to discern more about this amazing artist. Please know—children, this summer, in our studio in June, we used art tools in one of our classes that evoked a sensitivity to his crisp shapes, agitated clouds, windswept wheat, and cyprus trees!
We will try to increase our understanding of Van Gogh’s rhythmic reed pen drawings— dots, squiggles, loops, and staccato bars standing for color and brush strokes!! Amazing we might say, the expanses of marks! Yes, your lines, your sketches, by your own hand, your lines… to date, that we have captured often, 21 marks to create your “original” works… Van Gogh would be happy for you!! Yes!
November 8: Keith Haring: Art is For Everybody!
The BROAD Museum in Los Angeles showcased Haring’s works several years ago. The 1980s artist worked as if there was no tomorrow! Sounds like a man we would like to learn with, and indeed we have held his inspirations close at hand. Thousands of his works, ranging from large murals to comic strips, to designs for snowboards, skateboards — his imagination holds “no bounds”!
Remember this is the artist that showed us that a set of 3 lines, radiating from a figure, indicates movement, with more lines (marks) added, to suggest emotions like exuberance and sadness. The art of radiant urgency—perhaps. Witty, brevity! Yes!
A pop artist… we shall study his maze-like visions—and remember, after covering ¼ of a canvas, he, often stopped, for he was satisfied. Do not feel that a painting has to be vast… simple visions have merit!!!
November 15: PROTECT, PRESERVE, RESTORE …
Our friends, upstairs in our 1820 House (where our studio is located) have taught youth to love our environment. The Upper Valley Trails Alliance helps all of us blaze new trails. We shall invite Randy Richardson, development office, to visit us. We are going to create on canvases that reveal “our love for paths”—trails that honor our Earth! Her richness is special and our special day is “to her” our respect.
Chappy is always in our hearts!
It is My Hope
From commitment to a our Children's Art Studio and vibrant classes in 2025.
Our untiring emphasis on art education and our collaborative sensitivity to our artistic families...
That the Children's Art programming extends energies, resources and talents in ways that enliven our town of Norwich.
Thank you for including opportunities in the arts in your lives.
— Miss Lani
Lani Carney earned a B.A. in Sociology and a M.S. in Education from the University of Oregon, and a HERS Certificate from Wellesley College. She has taught many courses including Psychology of Adolescence, Child Development, and Psychology of Adjustment. Lani served as Consultant to Dartmouth Medical School and the Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center on minority student recruitment and diversity issues.
Lani's program focuses on the principles of The Jane Goodall Institute: Roots and Shoots Program which professes that young people, when informed and empowered, realize that their actions do make a difference and can indeed change the world.
Children’s Art Studio
“Art is the highest form of HOPE. If it has any strength, at all, it will outlive the vagaries of history!”
– Richard Serra, Artist