Art Around the World | Learn Art & Culture with Peoria Art Guild at the Museum

Art Around The World Draft2

Art Around the World | Free Weekly Art Classes!

Join us for a new creative adventure each week, as you learn about and create art from regions all over the world! Renowned art teachers, Nana Ekow Maison & Ana V. Fleming, will help you create global art, from the ink wash paintings of East Asia to the clay amulets of Ancient Egypt. Attend one time or attend every week, these classes are FREE to all!

Preregistration is encouraged. Click here to register.

Two FREE sessions every Friday from July 1 to July 29:

  • Morning Session: 10AM - Noon - Ages 8-14
  • Afternoon Session: 1PM – 3PM - Ages 15+ (Adults are welcome!)

Art Around the World

  • When: Fridays, July 1 – July 29,
  • Time: 10 AM – Noon & 1 PM - 3 PM
  • Where: Peoria Riverfront Museum Auditorium
  • Taught by: Eugene Maison (Nana Ekow) and Ana V. Fleming
  • Cost: FREE

In partnership with Peoria Art Guild with funding by Illinois Humanities Council.

 

Course Schedule

July 1
Morning: The Art of Adinkra (Nana Ekow)
Afternoon: Sumi-E and Beyond: The Art of Traditional Ink Wash Painting from China, Korea, and Japan (Ana V. Fleming)

July 8
Morning: Sumi-E and Beyond: The Art of Traditional Ink Wash Painting from China, Korea, and Japan (Ana V. Fleming)
Afternoon: The Art of Adinkra (Nana Ekow)

July 15
Morning: The Art of Adinkra (Nana Ekow)
Afternoon: Amulets of Ancient Egypt: The Symbolism of the Butterfly (Ana V. Fleming)

July 22 Morning: Amulets of Ancient Egypt: The Symbolism of the Butterfly (Ana V. Fleming)
Afternoon: African Creatures as Motifs and Their Meanings (Nana Ekow)

July 29
Morning: African Creatures as Motifs and Their Meanings (Nana Ekow)
Afternoon: Sumi-E and Beyond: The Art of Traditional Ink Wash Painting from China, Korea, and Japan (Ana V. Fleming)

 

Course Descriptions

Sumi-E and Beyond: The Art of Traditional Ink Wash Painting from China, Korea, and Japan Sumi-E and Beyond: The Art of Traditional Ink Wash Painting from China, Korea, and Japan
This class will discuss the unique materials, techniques, and aesthetic principles associated with ink wash painting traditions from China, Japan, and Korea. We will look at artists whose work exemplifies the principles of the sumi-e or ink painting style and use those models to produce our own work. Students will have the chance to create their own ink wash paintings using traditional brushes, paper, and expressive mark-making.
Associated Animals: Siberian Tiger, Giant Panda
Dates: 7/1 (Afternoon - adults); 7/8 (Morning - youth); 7/29 (Afternoon - Adults)

Amulets of Ancient Egypt: The Symbolism of the Butterfly
In this class, we will discuss the history and significance of protective amulets - small pendants, charms, or sculptures - from Ancient Egypt. We will look at examples of these amulets from collections, including the Egyptian collections at Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and discuss the significance of the butterfly, in particular, in ancient Egyptian art. Then, students will have the chance to craft their own amulets using clay and sculpting tools, working from reference images of butterflies and other animals typically found in amulet form. For adult classes, we will use SuperSculpy oven-bake clay, which is a malleable clay capable of achieving a high degree of detail, and sculpting tools. For youth classes, we will use non-toxic Crayola air-dry clay.
Associated Animals: San Francisco Silverspot Butterfly (mainly); (also: Bighorn Ram)
Dates: 7/15 (Afternoon - adults); 7/22 (Morning - youth)

The Art of Adinkra
This class will encompass the traditional and contemporary lifestyle and fashion of the people of West Africa (particularly Ghana). We will discuss the Adinkra symbols, their meanings, their uses, and how the adinkra cloth is made. Also, we will look at other more contemporary textiles in West Africa, such as tie-dye and batik. Finally, students will create their own narrative adinkra cloth using original hand-carved adinkra stamps from Ghana. Repeat students will get to explore a studio version of tie-dying or batiking.
Dates: 7/1 (Morning - kids); 7/8 (Afternoon - adults); 7/15 (Morning - kids)

African Creatures as Motifs and Their Meanings
Great works of art have been created by African artists employing imagery of animals. In this class, we will explore some animal and insect motifs and their meanings from diverse African cultures. Then, we will make screen prints of these creatures and develop our own motif of a chosen creature.
Dates: 7/22 (Afternoon - adults); 7/29 (Morning - kids)

 

Meet the Instructors:

Eugene Maison (Nana Ekow) is a Ghanaian American artist based in central Illinois. He is an accomplished artist with extensive experience coordinating art exhibitions and working with artists to help them cultivate their creative gifts.
Maison holds a Master of Fine Arts degree in Interdisciplinary Arts Studies from Bradley University in Illinois. He currently serves as the Director of Fine Art at the Foster Gallery at FUMC Peoria and teaches part-time at Bradley University.

Ana V. Fleming (she/her) is an artist and educator currently based out of Peoria, Illinois. Ana received her Master of Fine Arts degree in Painting & Drawing from the University of Notre Dame in 2021, and currently teaches drawing classes at Bradley University and Illinois Central College. She is passionate about enriching student's lives by fostering deeper engagement with art history, technical knowledge of media, and creative exploration.

 

These classes were inspired by the upcoming Andy Warhol Endangered Species Exhibition. This exhibition is made possible by generous support from Art Bridges and local sponsorship from Visionary Society and Illinois Arts Council Agency.

Andy Warhol: Endangered Species is organized by Art Bridges with works drawn from the collection of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.