Shelley's Style Art Lessons

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Introduction: Most art teachers have you copy something they've done. I'm not interested in teaching you to be a copier. I want you to be a creator. I will have you copy techniques, I will have you copy a style, but I want you to be the creator right out of the gate. I am a self-taught artist and therefore have come up with my own ways to create a mood or an image. That's what I'll teach you, but I'll also teach you the standard way. You can choose which way is best for you. I think the most important difference between myself and other teachers is the relationship I always seem to create with my students and their families. I believe art should be incorporated into the structure of the kids' lives so we talk about what they're learning in school and often use it as a stepping stone to creation....learning about plants and photosynthesis? We'll creating a still life showing the calyx and stamen of the flower. Taking geometry? Let's apply what you know and construct a building blueprint. We'll figure out angles while learning how to represent the various parts of the building. Are they reading a book about dinosaurs, then we'll paint, sculpt or draw dinosaurs...and learn about the different types and that we have no idea what color they were. I like making young friends and becoming friends with the parents. It's hard to stay unattached to these kids. I love talking to them during our lesson and listening while they share their week with me. I love to see the pride in the kids' faces when they create something wonderful and far beyond what they thought they could do. It's especially rewarding seeing the pride with which they show their work with their parents. Art has an amazing ability to bring peace to the artist. You can get all your frustrations out in the work. Students leave a lesson feeling resolved and in control again. It's wonderful to have the ability to bring this to my students.

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Exceptional 5.0

7 reviews

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Ana H.

Sep 1, 2013

Shelley has taught my 2 kids for 3 years since they were 3 and 5 years old. She is very talented in every kind of media. This was a fantastic opportunity for them to get creative at young age. She teaches with many kinds of mediums including clay, pastels, watercolor, charcoal, face painting, acrylic, balloons, and crafts etc. and introduced new project and theme every week. My kids have fun and a great learning experience. They are looking forward to their art lesson. They never get bored to learn with Ms. Shelley every week. She is kind, nice, funny, always smiling, and understanding. My kids have one hour lesson per week. After each lesson, Shelley always told me what they had accomplished their artwork that week. Sometimes, she assigned a light homework and my kids love to show her what they did during the week. My daughter enjoys the art lessons. She got award from Santa Clara County Young Artist showcase 2013. Her artwork will be displayed permanently at Santa Clara County Office of Education. We are so pleased with Shelley's teaching ability and professionalism and we highly recommend her as an art teacher to your kids or anyone who is interested in art and would like to improve the skills.

Shelley's Style Art Lessons's reply

A teacher can only be judged by her students. The only reason I'm good is because you provided me this quality children to begin with:) Your kids are 2 of the sweetest young people I've ever had the privilage to spend time with.

Catherine B.

Oct 18, 2013

Our son has had the privilege of calling Shelley Capovilla his art tutor since 2010. She is a warm, creative, and professional artist who has lovingly overseen our 12 year old son's technical, fine-art education for the past three years. While I, myself, would not ever have considered myself artistically inclined, I happily audited a few sessions with Shelley and throughly enjoyed the opportunity to learn more about watercolor (something I'd always wanted to try and was too chicken before :0) Shelley has also shared her amazing face painting capabilities for our younger child's birthday parties (and beautifully customized to his theme, Angry Birds!). She adorned my hands with henna tattoos for a Bollywood party, too (her work received rave reviews)! Her skill-set is vast, and she is highly gifted within a board range of mediums. While we originally had sought Shelley's services for a purely technical, classic fine art education we found our son benefited from her extensive knowledge beyond just the scope of composition and color values! Shelley, as a person, is just as overwhelming diverse and lovely as her artistic abilities. Being a mother of two sons herself, she's mentored our child regarding the social gauntlet of middle school and early adolescence, she's been overwhelmingly supportive of his creative ideals, and a fierce advocate for his passions and interests in spite of them aligning with most people's idea of a "traditional art" education. For example, it was comic book drawing and "spy buildings" that got him started in the beginning. He's had the opportunity to work with a variety of mediums and techniques, as she believes a true artist is able to improvise and be creative outside their artistic comfort zones. He now is seriously considering going to an art high school in a couple years, and we very much attribute his positive outlooks and associations with art and design to Shelley's considerate care. For all of these reasons and more, I highly endorse Shelley Capovilla to any family seeking commissioned art services or a comprehensive art instructor!

Stephanie C.

Nov 29, 2012

Shelley has provided our community with her warmth and kindness. My residents have received her very well, and have thouroughly enjoyed her classes She is obviously an incredible artis, but beyond that one of the best teachers of her art. We are blessed to have her as a part of our community Stephanie Carter Carlton Plaza of Fremont Activities Manager

Kay F.

Nov 29, 2012

I have been taking lessons from Shelley for one year. Prior to this Ihad never drawn anything; let alone paint. Shelley has taught me so many things that I never thought I could do. She is a very talented and extremely patient teacher. Her lessons are moderately priced and she is just fabulous. I highly reccomend her for anyone.

Aidong C.

Dec 17, 2012

Shelley comes to my home to teach a group of 6-7-year-old kids drawing every Monday. She is a great teacher. Loving, caring, humorous and most of all, she teaches kids how to observe and how to translate their thinkings into their drawings. Parents in our group all have very good feedbacks on Shelley's drawing class. We love her class.

FAQs

What types of customers have you worked with?
I love teaching both children and adults, but when it comes to teaching I am hired more often to teach children. I do many things including tile painting for Mondavi Winery, portrait work, murals, face painting and henna work. Teaching is the only stable thing I do.
What advice would you give a customer looking to hire a provider in your area of work?
Look farther than a degree. A degree says someone can learn. It doesn't say someone can teach. My degree is in drafting, but I'm an excellent teacher. My students love class with me, feel safe to experiment, feel safe showing me all their stuff and feel safe talking to me while we go through our lessons. There's also the point that it's quite possible to be an o.k. teacher but a sub-par artist, so you need to look at the teacher's ability to create on the fly. Can the teacher give an example at the moment it's needed or can she/he only bring up printed things they have filed or googled? Ask them to draw a sample lesson. If they can produce on the fly, then they can teach your kids how the maneuver around an issue by example. Also, make sure your prospective teacher looks at the student and not just you when you meet them. Don't hire a teacher because she/he connects with you, but find one that connects with both you and your student.
What questions should customers think through before talking to professionals about their project?
There is a perception of what an artist should look like or act like. Any creator looks at the world a little differently, but that doesn't mean we're all on the cusp of society. I don't have 3 colors of hair, I'm not pierced head to toe and I don't have a tattoo (though I have designed quite a few and it's quite possible you'll catch me in a temporary henna tattoo).

Shelley's Style Art Lessons

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