COMMUNITY
Lani Carney - Children’s Art Teacher
At Featherstone Center for the Arts
Profile by Anne McCarthy Strauss
In 2005, art instructor Lani Carney was asked to create a young children’s arts program at Featherstone for the Arts, Martha’s Vineyard’s only year-round community arts center with classes and activities for all ages. She developed a program of year-round art classes for children and the Magic Garden Summer Camp. A Saturday Arts Adventure class and an additional five classes comprise the year-round curriculum. The summer 6-week program is both peaceful and dynamic for children.
An art class with Miss Lani, as she is known by her students, includes a lot more than painting. “I always read at least two stories during a class,” she says. “I tell the children that, as artists, they are creating visual stories – stories without words. We also walk at some point during each of the two-to-three hour classes. We may forage for materials for an assemblage, or take our leftover snacks to the cows and chickens.”
Situated among six acres of unspoiled woods and meadows, Featherstone maintains the feel of a working farm. “In this setting, the children develop an appreciation for nature,” she says. “We are teaching children about the world by looking at art, and about the art by looking at the world.”
When the children’s program began, the lower level of one of Featherstone’s five buildings on a rural campus in Oak Bluffs was converted into a full professional studio for children. Everything from the chairs to the easels is scaled to fit the size of Miss Lani’s students who range in age from three to eight.
“Teaching art to children fills my heart to overflowing,” she says. Recalling a watercolor class for six three-year-olds, she talked about the thrill the children exhibited as they watched their paints fizz as they applied them to pre-soaked paper using a wet-on-wet technique. “I thought my heart would burst as I watched them realize they could observe the flow of the color. I’m am a conduit who provides the children with the opportunity to create art. They are the talented ones.”
The young art students use mediums that include water-color, pastel, charcoal, watercolor pencils, collage, flower petals, sunflower art, silk and sand painting, copper, wood, clay sculpture and mosaics. All of the materials are art illustrator quality, a mandate Miss Lani insists on.
With a master’s degree from the University of Oregon, Lani Carney was a professor of child development for 24 years before moving to the Vineyard twelve years ago from her native Pacific Northwest. When she first reloca-ted, she worked as a substi-tute tea-cher. “I substituted at every school on the island for seven years,” she said. She loved learning about the families on-Island. Then, she was asked to create Featherstone’s children’s program.
“It’s important that people know that scholarships are available to the children of all abilities,” Miss Lani added. “Thanks to the benevolence of our suppor-ters, I’ve had some children with me for several years on full scholar-ships.” But signing up early is a must for students. For the past three years, the 102 spots in Miss Lani’s summer program have been filled before spring for which she is very grateful.
An art class with Miss Lani, as she is known by her students, includes a lot more than painting. “I always read at least two stories during a class,” she says. “I tell the children that, as artists, they are creating visual stories – stories without words. We also walk at some point during each of the two-to-three hour classes. We may forage for materials for an assemblage, or take our leftover snacks to the cows and chickens.”
Situated among six acres of unspoiled woods and meadows, Featherstone maintains the feel of a working farm. “In this setting, the children develop an appreciation for nature,” she says. “We are teaching children about the world by looking at art, and about the art by looking at the world.”
When the children’s program began, the lower level of one of Featherstone’s five buildings on a rural campus in Oak Bluffs was converted into a full professional studio for children. Everything from the chairs to the easels is scaled to fit the size of Miss Lani’s students who range in age from three to eight.
“Teaching art to children fills my heart to overflowing,” she says. Recalling a watercolor class for six three-year-olds, she talked about the thrill the children exhibited as they watched their paints fizz as they applied them to pre-soaked paper using a wet-on-wet technique. “I thought my heart would burst as I watched them realize they could observe the flow of the color. I’m am a conduit who provides the children with the opportunity to create art. They are the talented ones.”
The young art students use mediums that include water-color, pastel, charcoal, watercolor pencils, collage, flower petals, sunflower art, silk and sand painting, copper, wood, clay sculpture and mosaics. All of the materials are art illustrator quality, a mandate Miss Lani insists on.
With a master’s degree from the University of Oregon, Lani Carney was a professor of child development for 24 years before moving to the Vineyard twelve years ago from her native Pacific Northwest. When she first reloca-ted, she worked as a substi-tute tea-cher. “I substituted at every school on the island for seven years,” she said. She loved learning about the families on-Island. Then, she was asked to create Featherstone’s children’s program.
“It’s important that people know that scholarships are available to the children of all abilities,” Miss Lani added. “Thanks to the benevolence of our suppor-ters, I’ve had some children with me for several years on full scholar-ships.” But signing up early is a must for students. For the past three years, the 102 spots in Miss Lani’s summer program have been filled before spring for which she is very grateful.