Morning Music + Art Lab

Morning Music + Art Lab

by Sophia Moon Virtual Art Lab art labs creative play home activities music

(Ages: 2+) Monday and Friday mornings, every other week via ZOOM.
Upcoming dates: Mondays (Feb 1, 15, Mar 1, 15) | Fridays (Feb 12, 26, Mar 12, 26)
ESSEM INSIDERS (free) | Drop-ins ($15)

Our Music + Art series is a live virtual program on ZOOM featuring a fun singalong of classic/original kids music followed by a colorful and engaging art project. The main aim is to help little artists start building creative confidence and develop fine motor skills.

Click to register via Eventbrite for your preferred events.

Register Now

 

Butterfly Colorsheet

Butterfly Colorsheet

by Sophia Moon Virtual Art Lab art labs

Butterfly Week was the first theme of our Art + Explore Minicamp and in addition to creating amazing Cardboard Butterfly Puppets, our budding artists learned about the anatomy of a butterfly using a coloring sheet we digitally designed. We’re inviting you to take part int he fun by printing these color sheets at home and sharing this activity with your little ones. For best results with regular printing paper, you can use crayons, color pencils, and markers. If you are printing on a toothier, textured paper, you can explore paints and watercolors as well.

Also included is an outline of the butterfly’s basic anatomy so you can have a mini lesson included in your art project! Simply click on the image to download, print, and have fun! 🙂

Anatomy of a Butterfly:

 

 

Summer Art + Explore · Virtual Minicamp

Summer Art + Explore · Virtual Minicamp

by Sophia Moon MINI MAKER CAMP Virtual Art Lab art labs

 

Six Weeks ft. Weekly Summer Themes  ·

14 Self-Paced Art Projects and Creative Prompts

Enrollment is now closed. 

Essem’s Art + Explore program is a six-week exploration of summer themes. Each week will feature one main art/craft project and we’ve sprinkled in a few bonus mini project, creative prompts, or activities. The guided art labs are hosted on teachable and are self-paced. Our goal is minimal screen time (less than 30 minutes each week). Each little artist will receive a special Art Box with *all the supplies they will need to participate in each project. These projects are a really great way to creatively engage with your little artists (age 3-6) or stimulate your bigger kids (6+) with more independent art and craft explorations.

Our weekly themes invite each little artist to explore before participating in the guided art project. Each project has been thoughtfully created and curated to spark joy and inspire creativity so your little ones will enjoy the process and want to boast out loud, “I made that.” The weekly themes were chosen to especially delight young artists and each week will feature a different art/craft process or medium:

  • Bubbles · Artist Style: Jackson Pollack
  • Butterflies · Cardboard Puppet Creation
  • Flowers & Trees · Painting + Drawing
  • Waterfront · Cut + Collage
  • Bees · Coil Clay Hive Creation
  • Summer Sweet Treats · Mixed Media Project

Suggested age: 3+ with adult assistance, 6+ for adult supervision.

 

We are so excited to share this magical experience with you and your budding artists. Limited Art Boxes and Enrollment (60)

 

 

How it Works

First, you Enroll/Register your little artist(s) for the program by July 18th.

During the week of July 20th, you can pick up for your Art Boxes at the studio, opt into doorstep delivery (Charlestown families only), or we can ship anywhere in the U.S.

Every Sunday evening, starting July 26th (for six weeks) we will send you an email introducing the weekly theme, adult guides, and links to all projects associated with it on teachable. These project and classes be completed at your own pace. Please note: This is a seasonal 6-week program and will be accessible through the end of September to permit extra time to complete the projects.

*Art boxes will not contain scissors and common household items such as salt, cardboard, etc.

 

 

⋒ Frequently Asked Questions ⋒

My little one is not 3 yet, can they still participate? At the studio, we have definitely had the privilege of working with some very precocious toddlers who have a longer attention span than their older classmates. Trust your parental judgement and knowledge of your little one’s disposition. All little artists under 6 years of age will likely need adult assistance. The younger your little one, the greater you should expect your involvement to be. That said, we have had super engaged 18 month olds in our studio complete similar projects successfully (and very joyfully) with adult assistance (of course!) 

Is my child too old to participate? Never too old in my personal opinion. The mediums, concepts, processes that we are introducing are ones that mature artists spend their lifetimes mastering, crafting, and creating. While a lot of the concepts are designed for young artists to easily comprehend, they are by no means skills or experiences you can age out of. As an adult, my favorite part of what I do, is constantly exploring, experimenting, and creating. So, short answer, no. Your child is not too old to participate. 🙂

 

Superhero (Under A Mask)

Superhero (Under A Mask)

by Sophia Moon collaborations community music

Ack, I am so super excited to finally get to share this final music video of my original song, SUPERHERO (Under A Mask) created for the Punto Art Museum and the North Shore CDC to help raise awareness around vital public safety information, through art and music, more equitably to low income, immigrant, and minority neighborhoods. @urban.art.museum @northshorecdc

💫 HUGE THANK YOU to my two super talented friends, Masataka (Piano/Strings) and Jonathan Ulman (Percussion) for making this happen in quarantine and on such a short timeline. Your musical contributions really bring the song to a whole new level. Light and love to you both, @masa_keys @jmudrums 🌈♥️🌞

🤓 Recording and producing the song and video in quarantine with limited equipment and experience was a rewarding challenge that was made infinitely sweeter by the fact that I got to record with my sweet little pumpkin. My heart melts. 💕😭

· · · · · · · · ·

“Superhero (Under a Mask)”, a song written by Sophia Moon (Essem Art Studio) imbues virtue and goodness into the small act of wearing one’s mask during this Pandemic. Small kids, especially, find the act uncomfortable and annoying at best, so Sophia’s goal with this project was to inspire the noble and heroic inclination in us all. Credit line: Sophia Moon (singer-songwriter/ ukulele) Masataka Yamamoto (piano/strings) Jonathan Ulman (percussion) Ariana Sophia Crowson (background vocals, feature)

To download or share the song, click the download icon below.

At Home Art Supplies

At Home Art Supplies

by Sophia Moon creative play home activities

Hello there. I’ve been getting a lot of questions about materials for continuing creativity at home, and having tried a great many different materials at home and in the studio, I’m super happy to provide a list of economical, lovely to use art and craft materials. These recommendations are simply based on my opinion and I hope it helps as we parents embark on the joys of homeschooling and creating with our little artists.

For those of you who are local to Charlestown, where we live and have our studio, we love to support our local businesses, so I want to start by giving a shoutout to our very own Mockingbird shop. They’ve put together an Arts & Crafts section and here are some items that you might really love:

Ooly brand supplies are always great, Ariana and I especially love their color change markers, which are truly magic markers; and their Chunky paint sticks have a smooth buttery texture with vibrant colors that kids delight in as well. Check out the Mockingbird Arts & Crafts Aisle. Support Local whenever possible.

Here are some other items I think are really versatile, economical, and delightful to have at home. The setup is pretty basic – a set of vibrant watercolors, a good heavy weight paper that can withhold some water and mixed media work, colored construction paper, twistable crayons (which break less frequently than regular crayons) tacky glue for sticking things, Glitter Glue to add some sparkle. And lastly, a dry erase clipboard is just great for doodling and sketching out ideas.

Putting the “shopping list” aside for a second, I want to also point out that there are SOOO MANY ways to upcycle items in your own home—milk cartons, egg cartons, plastic container, straws, CARDBOARD (my favorite), dried flowers, aluminum foil, kebab sticks etc. When taking inventory of what you can create with, try to broaden your idea of what might work and save items for play.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask me! 🙂

Arteza Watercolors

Tacky Glue

Canson XL Mixed Media Paper

Sunworks Construction Paper

Crayola Twistable Crayons –

Dry Erase Clipboard

Glitter Glue

Oil Pastels

Paint Brush Set (Ikea)

Watersoluble Color Pencils (Ikea)

Requested additional links:

The pictured supply sorter/organizer 

No Cook Peppermint Play Dough

No Cook Peppermint Play Dough

by Sophia Moon home activities recipes

In the past I’ve shared a play dough recipe that I also love, but it required cooking over the stove and I found that Ariana couldn’t really engage in the process as much. This time, we modified a “no cook” recipe and we were able to work together more. We counted and measured out the ingredients, she mixed, and even when I mixed in the boiling water, she could sit next to me and watch. For that reason, I slightly prefer this “no cook” recipe.

Give it a try and let me know what you think! 🙂

 

Ingredients:

2 cups of all purpose flour

1 cup salt

3 cups of cream of tartar

2 tbsp of veg oil

1.5 – 2 cups of boiling water

*optional peppermint oil

*if you prefer pumpkin spice, add pumpkin spice

*optional food coloring

 

Directions:

Mix all dry ingredients. Add veg oil. Add boiling water. Mix with a large spoon. Let it sit for a few minutes. When sufficiently cool, start kneading. Enjoy the process. It is therapeutic.

You can add food coloring before or after kneading the dough.

 

 

FREE Daily Singalong · Instagram

FREE Daily Singalong · Instagram

by Sophia Moon community creative play studio

Hey Studio Families! 👋🏼 Hope everyone is healthy, happy, and well. There’s a lot of bleak news out there so it gives me incredible satisfaction to announce something I hope will SPARK some JOY! We are super excited to partner with our friends @growinggigglesctown to provide FREE virtual experiences for you and your little ones! Happy Dance 👯‍♀️
ㅡ
Every weekday (not a typo – read: every single weekday) at 10AM, tune into Growing Giggles Instagram page for “A Letter A Day”  and at 10:15 AM head over here @essemartstudio for a LIVE 🎶SINGALONG🎵 and an ART INVITATION for the day! This is the kind of screen time we are certain you can be happy about. 😊
ㅡ
*Fingers Crossed* 🤞🏼I have never done this before, at this frequency, with Ariana as my sidekick for a mommy daughter duo, BUT I do believe we could all use a daily dose of joy, so please overlook any blunders and do join us with your little ones. Wish us luck! Anything can happen!

 

 

⋒ Homemade Pumpkin Spice Play Dough Recipe ⋒

⋒ Homemade Pumpkin Spice Play Dough Recipe ⋒

by Sophia Moon creative play home activities recipes

Play Dough has become a huge part of our sensory experience at home and at the studio for our toddler Music + Art Labs. It’s a great way to keep little artists engaged on our weekly theme after their main art projects are completed . I tweaked a play dough recipe I found online and added pumpkin spice for enhanced sensory experience for our New England families who are largely Autumn Leaf Peeping, Sweater Weather loving, Pumpkin Spice adoring humans. Am I right? We have successfully used food coloring to further enhance the sensory play but also we just love a good old mound of un colored dough to knead, cut, roll, and play with. Pictured, we have our colored doughs and we’re using different beans, pastas, beads, kitchen toy tools, to take the play to many different levels. It’s a wonderful way to work on motor skills and let the imagination soar.

Here is the recipe! For the parents out there who are going to try this recipe out, tag us on instagram or Facebook – let us know if you made any modifications. Also, take five minutes and just enjoy the kneading process. Its therapeutic. I absolutely love it!

 

⋒ HOMEMADE PUMPKIN SPICE PLAY DOUGH ⋒

4 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 cups of salt

8 teaspoons of Cream of Tartar

4 cups of lukewarm water

4 tablespoons of veg oil

1 tablespoon (or a little more) Pumpkin Spice Seasoning

*optional food coloring and/or glitter

 

Directions:

Stir flour, salt, and cream of tartar in a large pot

Add water and oil.

Cook over medium/low heat, stir constantly until dough is thick and forms a ball. (This can be quite a workout for the arms once it starts to thicken up)

Remove from heat and place on wax paper or cutting board

To add colors, separate into chunks and add a few drops of food coloring. you can use plastic bags here but I find it hard to knead that way. So, use a pair of disposable gloves to spare my hands from the stains.

Knead dough. If there is a lot of cracking of the dough feels over cooked, you can fill a bowl of water and wet your hands as you knead the dough to work in some moisture.

*Stores for 3 months

*Super Pro tip: After playing with the dough, roll into a ball to maintain supple texture. If you notice it is getting dry or flaky, just wet your hands a little and knead some moisture back into the dough before storing.

 

Happy Creative Play, friends! ⋒

 

⋒ ESSEM is ONE ⋒

⋒ ESSEM is ONE ⋒

by Sophia Moon community studio

Hello… Sophia Moon here! My heart it so full… I can’t believe it’s been a year since we opened the doors to Essem Art Studio. So much has transpired… so many pivots, turns, lessons, and explorations. To all the Charlestown families and small businesses that have supported us, spread the word about what we do, created and collaborated with us, thank you so much. You keep us inspired and motivated to elevate our game every single day. It’s been a super fun ride… stick with us because it’s gonna get even better.

At Essem, our mission is to spark joy and inspire creativity in our community. We believe that, at any age, creative play and exploration helps us solve problems, manage stress, communicate better, and simply be happier. To that end, we have expanded our programming to include Creative Workshops in the evenings for adults (Paint Your Pet, Macrame, Still Life Paintings, etc); and we are introducing Mini Maker Camps for more immersive experiences for our little artists/makers in the coming months.

Our usual explorations in color and texture through paint/mediums have expanded to include the use of upcycled materials (cardboard, plastic, bottles, cartons, etc) and goodies foraged from nature (leaves, pinecones, twigs, rocks, acorns, etc). We are also dabbling in Clay Play; Printmaking; Free-form Sculptures; and thoughtfully honed crafts and activities to expand the imagination and empower artists and makers of all ages to make creative decisions.

This summer, we also introduced Music + Art Labs featuring a joyful and interactive singalong session that permit kids to be mindful of the lyrics and melodies. It is super exciting to draw from my extensive experience in music, songwriting, vocal performance, and voice coaching to teach kids to explore their voices and to appreciate the nuances in vocal expression and dynamics.

We love collaborating with likeminded, heart-forward individuals and businesses to bring art and joy to our community. The Kids of Charlestown exhibit, a collaboration with Zume’s Coffee House and Savvy Sitter Boston, is a colorful community art exhibit hanging at Zume’s through the end of September. In September, we will be doing a second installation at Grasshopper Cafe in collaboration with the Charlestown Community Center’s Summer Day Camp program – Kandinsky Kids Art.

We feel so privileged to be a part of this community and to be trusted to cultivating your creative experiences! Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!!