Second Street Gallery has been hosting a monthly Family Studio Day since December 2021 and each Family Studio Day invites the community to get inspired by our current exhibitions through some creative prompts.

Some past examples of family-friendly activities / prompts include:

• January 2023: Visitors re-imagined Charlottesville and designed their ideal cities in two dimensional and three dimensional ways using a variety of mixed media materials with our friends from Draw Charlottesville.

• February 2023: Visitors designed custom Valentine’s Day cards for friends and loved ones with help from local artist and educator Ryan Trott. The main project involved printing with common materials such as cardboard, styrofoam and paint.

• March 2023: Prompted by a painting in James Everett Stanley’s exhibition, visitors re-envisioned how they see their favorite places and things in Charlottesville and beyond.! The Draw Charlottesville team was on hand to offer guidance and inspiration.

• April 2023: Botanical artist Lara Call Gastinger demonstrated her approach to sketching spring blooms and instructed visitors on how to draw dogwood flowers. Attendees also colored illustrations and made cards in celebration of Earth Day!

• May 2023: Visitors collaged and assembled a selection of paper plant leaves, painted elements, and other mixed media to craft their own “house jungle.” Exhibiting artist Brittany Fan was on hand to assist and share her love of houseplants!

• June 2023: Exhibiting artist Tobiah Mundt showed families the basic technique of wet felting. She demonstrated how to create snake-like forms that could then be painted and embellished with other materials.

• September 2023: Inspired by the current Teeny Tiny Trifecta 6 exhibition, guests created their own small-scale masterpieces.  Exhibiting artists were on hand to share their techniques and offer tips. September’s Family Studio Day was generously sponsored by Journey Group.

• October 2023: Along with Charlottesville-based artist Heather Owens, guests decorated pre-formed masks using fiber elements and a host of other embellishments. Just in time for costume season! October’s Family Studio Day was generously sponsored by Charlottesville Skin and Laser.

• November 2023: We drew upon exhibiting artist Mike Egan’s appreciation for stained glass to make our own colorful “windows” of tissue paper and tape.  Richmond artist and former teacher Ginny Krueger worked with guests to complete these simple yet cheerful sun catchers. A special round of thanks to Martin Horn, Inc. for sponsoring November’s Family Studio Day!

• December 2023: We played with a combination of seasonal stamps and mixed media materials to personalize holiday cards and gift packaging.  Artist Andrew Sherogan joined us for this decorating extravaganza, imparting creative techniques and good cheer. Special thanks to Daniel and Rosemary Chiacchia for sponsoring December’s Family Studio Day.

• January 2024: As a nod to exhibiting artist Akemi Ohira’s prints, guests arranged the colorful shapes and forms of fruits, vegetables, animals and flowers to fashion imaginative portraits. Artist Michelle Gagliano was present and shared a wonderful example for inspiration that helped guests tap into this unique approach. We are grateful to Harrison and Benjamin for sponsoring January’s Family Studio Day!

• February 2024: The Indigenous Art Takeover edition was coordinated in partnership with the Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection of the University of Virginia. Laura Josephine Snyder (SSG exhibiting artist and Kluge-Ruhe staff) explained the traditions of using earth-based materials, like bark and ochre, as well as the presence of native flora and fauna that appear in Yolngu art.  A central focus was also the aboriginal Australian flag, which participants got to replicate while also learning what it represents.

• April 2024: Taking inspiration by the vibrant shades of blue seen in Jac Lahav’s exhibition, we played with line and color. Charlottesville-based artist Roberto Kamide brought examples and showed guests how to “doodle” intersecting lines and add color to discover unique patterns and blue-infused block designs.