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. 🙂

 

⋒ Cardboard Rainbow ⋒

⋒ Cardboard Rainbow ⋒

by Sophia Moon art labs cardboard creations

Doesn’t really get more magical than this… we made lovely cardboard rainbows in our Art Lab today. Little artists/makers will explore colors of the rainbow, sort through our colorful crafting options, make thoughtful and creative decisions, and give their nimble fingers a chance to fine tune small detailed actions.

Following the lead of some of the amazing kids studios around the world, we are starting to include some up cycling in our Art Labs. We’re super excited to get into a series of Cardboard Creations. Stay tuned for more fun up cycling activities.

 

Art Lab: Colorful Wooden Frames

Art Lab: Colorful Wooden Frames

by Sophia Moon art labs

For this week’s Music + Art Labs, we have a special art project – painting and decorating custom wooden picture frames. Our little artist and maker friends will have colorful and sticky fingers/hands in the end, but will also have a final project that will be a family keepsake for years to come! ♥️🌈🤩 Hope to see you there… Monday’s Lab is for 5 and under and Wednesday’s Lab is open to all ages.

We painted the first luscious layer of color on these wooden frames so our little artists and makers can come and get right started… 🙂 There will be glitter, buttons, wood pieces, foam stickers, and all kinds of fun decorations.

⋒ Music+Art Labs ⋒

⋒ Music+Art Labs ⋒

by Sophia Moon art labs studio

Music + Art Labs combine interactive singalong, movement, story time, and a super creative art project for little artists (1.5 – 4.5). This combined approach affords focus and flexibility and creates opportunities for the little artists to get involved in creative play and exploration. Little artists will explore a variety of mediums, have rich sensory experiences, and learn to make marks and small creative decisions. Art Activities will occasionally incorporate lessons in letter, number, and color recognition in a loose and fun way and kids get valuable socialization time.

For all Art Labs, we explore age/level appropriate mediums through guided activities and graduate to more complex mediums over time. All kids must be accompanied by an adult (adult to kid ration must be 1:2).

Private Play Dates · If the available Art Labs don’t work with your schedule, families can coordinate to have private art play dates with their little ones. The minimum number of participating children is 6 and we can accommodate a wide range of ages.

Check out of some of our favorite studio projects below!

 

 Cardboard Avatars  (Self Portraits)

Pumpkin Painting + Decoupage (Halloween)

 

Cheerful Christmas Trees

 

Fishbowls

 

Itza Pizza Party

 

Frosty Ornaments

 

 

 

⋒ Zume’s Art Exhibit: Kids of Charlestown ⋒

⋒ Zume’s Art Exhibit: Kids of Charlestown ⋒

by Sophia Moon art labs community

We are super excited to partner with local hot spot, Zume’s Coffee House (Main Street; Charlestown) and Savvy Sitter Boston to bring a community art experience to the kids of Charlestown. Zume’s walls, usually adorned with the gorgeous canvases of rising local artists, will be dedicated to featuring the art work of Charlestown kids during the months of July, August, and September.

The summer themed art project—abstract florals—will be painted at Essem Art Studio during dedicated Art Lab sessions under the guidance of Charlestown resident and abstract artist, Sophia Moon throughout the month of June. Moon has been hosting Art Labs in her studio since last September, providing kids (and their parents) the opportunity for creative play and exploration. Savvy Sitter Boston—in the service of providing local, dependable, trustworthy and fun babysitters—will assist in facilitating the Art Labs.

The nominal fee to participate will be $5 per child. The fee will reserve a spot for each child in a dedicated Art Lab (typically $25/ per child). The canvases, paint, supplies, and hours of labor to bring the show together are being donated by the women behind the three local businesses – Debra Ball (Zume’s), Lauren Kuruc (Savvy Sitter Boston), and Sophia Moon (Essem Art Studio).

Registration is simple. Choose the date/time below and purchase a session for each child you wish you register.

June 8 | 9:30 am
June 22 | 9:30 am
June 22 | 10 am

*If the above times don’t work for you, you can schedule a private playdate to participate in this community art project with your fellow Charlestown family friends, please email us and we can schedule something. (Minimum 4 kids for a private art playdate)

Art Labs at Allo ★

Art Labs at Allo ★

by Sophia Moon art labs

In May and June, Essem Art Labs, run by yours truly (Sophia Moon) were hosted at Allo Playspace in the Navy Yard every other Wednesday at 10am. It was super fun to meet new little friends. We love the staff over at Allo Boston and look forward to future collaborations!