Children’s and Teen Art Workshops at the Watchung Arts Center

The Watchung Arts Center has announced the 2017-18 schedule for its Children’s Drawing and Painting Enrichment Workshop program for children ages 6-12, and its Teen Art Class for ages 13-17. The 10-week fall sessions will begin with the Teen Class on Monday, September 25 at 4:30 PM. Drawing Enrichment will be held on Tuesdays and Painting Enrichment on Thursdays, both at 4:30 PM. The fall sessions will run through December 19. A 10-week winter session and an 8-week spring session are also scheduled. The full schedule can be found at www.watchungarts.org/Classes.htm. All classes are taught by art instructor Monica Schraiber Otero.

The long-running Children’s Drawing and Painting Enrichment Workshop was listed in the March 2015 issue of New Jersey Family Magazine among "The Best Art Classes in New Jersey. In the Drawing Enrichment Workshop, young artists develop their natural ability, improve skills and explore new techniques as they learn the fundamentals of drawing. Students will use dry and wet media such as pencil, charcoal, oil or chalk pastels, India ink and watercolors as they discover how to sketch, shade and use perspective.

Students in the Painting Enrichment Workshop create realistic pieces or let their imaginations go as they learn how to use non-toxic acrylics on canvas boards. Young artists will produce colorful works as they learn the basics of traditional technique of painting, composition and the color wheel.

In the Teen Art Program, which began in an abbreviated 5-week session in 2016, students will explore drawing and painting techniques, and the use of different materials to create both representational and abstract projects. Participants will work with wet and dry media such as pencil, pastels and watercolors as well acrylic on canvas boards. Classes are geared toward improving skills and developing artistic ability.

Ms. Otero has taught Art at elementary and high school levels since 1991. She received her BA in Art from Rutgers University, Newark College of Arts and Sciences with a concentration in oil painting. In addition to teaching the Drawing and Painting classes at the WAC, she is the Director of the Summer Art Camp, and curates the Children's Juried Art Exhibition each year. She is a professional artist who shows her work in many venues throughout NJ. She is a member of AENJ (Art Educators of NJ) and the Contemporary Art Group.

The Watchung Arts Center, located at 18 Stirling Road in Watchung on the Watchung Circle, is a multi-disciplinary arts facility serving Watchung, the surrounding communities and the Tri-State Area. To obtain more information about upcoming performances, classes and workshops, and monthly art exhibitions, please visit WatchungArts.org or call 908-753-0190.