Learn How To Make Your Own Jewelry

Jewelry making is a timeless art form around for centuries. It is a way for individuals to express their creativity and personality through wearable art. With the rise of DIY culture and sustainable fashion, jewelry-making is becoming increasingly popular. If you are looking to learn how to make your own unique pieces of jewelry, East End Arts offers jewelry making classes year round. 

Dana Neger-Lagos is a well-known jewelry-making teacher in the East End Arts community. Her beginner silversmithing and metalsmithing classes are perfect for those who are just starting out or looking to refine their skills. With Dana’s guidance, you learn how to use all the tools needed to create beautiful jewelry pieces.

In the class, Dana demonstrates various techniques, including creating textures on copper, dapping shapes, and exploring different finishes such as matte, satin, and high polish. You also learn basic principles like sawing, soldering, filing, and bezel setting. Each week, Dana gives a demonstration of one of these techniques, which you then practice while creating unique art pieces such as rings, earrings, and pendants.

One of the great things about jewelry making is that it is an accessible art form for all levels of experience. You don’t need to be an artist to take this class, and all levels are welcome. Whether you are a complete beginner or have some experience in jewelry making, Dana’s class helps you expand your skills and create beautiful pieces that you’ll be proud to wear or gift to others.

Not only is jewelry making a fun and creative hobby, but it is also a sustainable one. By creating your own jewelry, you can reduce your carbon footprint and contribute to the growing movement of sustainable fashion. You can also support local artists and makers by sourcing your materials from them, which is a great way to connect with your community.

Taking a jewelry making class at East End Arts is not just a great way to learn a new skill but also a great way to support a fantastic non-profit organization. East End Arts is dedicated to promoting art and music education in the Long Island community through classes, community events, private lessons, and more. By taking a class, you are supporting their mission and helping them continue to provide valuable art programs to the community.

In addition to jewelry making, East End Arts offers a wide range of art classes and programs for all ages and levels of experience. From painting and drawing to photography and ceramics, there is something for everyone. Their experienced and passionate teachers are dedicated to helping students explore their creativity and express themselves through art.

If you are looking to dive deeper into the world of art and Long Island culture, we have an art gallery that showcases local artists’ work. Their exhibits range from contemporary to traditional art and showcase a diverse range of styles and mediums. Visiting their gallery is a great way to connect with the local art community and support local artists.

In conclusion, jewelry making is a fun and accessible art form that is perfect for those looking to express their creativity and expand their skills. Dana Neger-Lagos’s jewelry-making class at East End Arts is a great way to learn how to create unique and beautiful jewelry pieces while supporting a fantastic non-profit organization. With a wide range of art classes and programs, East End Arts is a valuable resource for those looking to connect with the Long Island art community and unlock their creativity.

Why Buy Art? 5 Convincing Reasons for Beginners to Start

Have you ever thought about buying an original piece of art but hesitated? We understand how intimidating buying art can be, especially when it’s new to you.

Don’t let the fear of buyer’s remorse stop you from buying art. You don’t have to spend a fortune to surround yourself with beautiful paintings, photographs, and sculptures. Art improves your environment and your spirits. 

Here are 5 reasons you should buy art. So, next time you see a piece you love, buy it! You’ll improve your life and the life of the artist. Why buy art? Why not!

Art Makes You Happy!

The top reason to buy art is that you love the piece and the emotions it provokes. Did you know that viewing art releases dopamine? That’s the same chemical associated with romantic love. When you love a piece of art, you are truly in love.  

It may be the mood the piece evokes or a memory it brings to the surface. Maybe you just like the shapes, colors, or images. No matter the reason if you love it – you should buy it. Don’t live with the regret of unrequited love, buy the art you love.

It Enhances Your Unique Environment

Art is a part of any well-appointed home. Designers incorporate art to set moods or provide a pop of color. The colors, patterns, and designs in the artwork are the finishing touches to any room. Art can complement or contrast with furniture, fixtures, and textiles. 

Interior designers and decorators agree every room needs a focal point. Art creates a natural focal point. Art can set the color palette for the entire room. Select accents that use the shades and tones from your art. Coordinate with contrasting colors. When you buy art as décor, it informs the rest of the room design. Why buy art? Because art is beautiful and rooms without art are boring and one-dimensional!

Art Inspires

Art is a source of inspiration for the viewer. Gazing at a piece of art evokes emotions and can spark memories. Art reminds us of man’s ability to create something meaningful from seemingly nothing. That thought is inspirational. In a world filled with limits, art reminds us of the boundless freedom of the artistic spirit that lives in us all. Whether you create art or enjoy the art of others, you’ll find inspiration in art.  

Original art doesn’t necessarily cost more than the mass-produced items you find at Ikea and Home Goods. But it is much more meaningful. And buying art is inspirational for the artist as well. That’s especially true when you buy art from local artists. Whether you place your beloved piece in your home or office, it is sure to spark conversation and this builds further interest in the artist.  When you purchase art, you validate the artist, and this validation inspires the artist to create more. 

Collecting Art

Many people buy art to add to their collections. So why collect art? When you buy art as a collector, you are part of a community of art appreciators. The community may be built around an artist, style, medium, or genre. 

Art collectors preserve history and pass on great art so that isn’t lost to the ages. The pieces they add to their collection all tell a story. It may be of the search for the piece, how they felt the first time they saw the piece, or even how the acquisition felt. Ask any collector about any part of their collection and be prepared to hear a fabulous story!

And don’t think collecting art requires a big bank account. Original pieces from local artists and galleries can be quite affordable. And don’t forget to consider signed and numbered artist prints. They cost less than originals but will always be more valuable than mass-produced pieces from the big box home decor store. 

Buying Art as an Investment

As your art prowess and your collection grows, you may turn to art as an investment vehicle. Instead of making a purchase for aesthetic or emotional reasons, some people buy art solely for its intrinsic value. Unlike other investments that are subject to market volatility, art tends to increase in value slowly over time.

Art is absolutely not a liquid investment, but if you are looking to diversify your portfolio, consider investing in art.

Investing in art requires careful research and the counsel of a successful advisor. Just as you rely on the counsel of experts for your stock and bond portfolio, you should rely on the expertise of an advisor well-versed in art investment. 

Investment-grade art may be available in your own community. Established and mid-career artists are certainly less risky than investing in an up-and-coming artist, but the price per piece may be higher.

East End Art’s MLK Portrait Project Featured In The News

We’re excited to share that East End Art’s MLK Portrait Project has been featured recently in multiple news outlets.

The 7 Powerful Benefits of Music Education for Children

Music inspires creativity. Just like the benefits of art for children, the benefits of music education in early childhood last a lifetime. Even if your child doesn’t embrace music until later, the benefits of music education in High School gives your child a competitive edge both in academia and future careers.

Music education benefits the bodies and brains of developing children, and they don’t even realize it. They think they are just having fun with sound, but they are building muscles and neural pathways while developing skills that will help them in adult life. Here are 7 ways music education benefits children. 

#1 Improves Motor Skills

Learning to manipulate the keys on a keyboard or horn, the strings on an instrument, a bow, or use drumsticks builds muscle strength and flexibility. It increases control over small muscles in the hands, arms, and feet. Dexterity isn’t the only benefit.  Playing a stringed instrument improves gross motor skills as both sides of the body must work differently and together at the same time. By learning bilateral and unilateral body movements, the brain and body improve. Studies show locomotive ability increases as well as neural networks in children exposed to music. 

From learning to clap in time with open hands to playing an instrument, music education for children improves motor skills.

#2 Develops Memory

Dartmouth College researchers find that musicians consistently outperform non-musicians in memory tests. Music education teaches children to read music, play the proper notes on their instrument, and follow the lead of a director.  Executing these processes simultaneously relies on the memory center of the brain.

There’s a reason that children worldwide learn to sing their alphabet. Music helps memorization. Studies in the US and Japan find that music doesn’t just help us retrieve stored memories, it helps us cement new ones. 

#3 Builds Hand-Eye Coordination

Hand-eye coordination occurs when the eyes can direct a task that the hands carry out. When a child learns a new instrument or learns a new piece of music, they must create the required notes using the correct hand motions. Eyes shift between notes on paper and the hands to ensure the correct sound is produced.

Just as playing sports improves hand-eye coordination, learning to play an instrument improves hand-eye coordination as well. 

#4 Improves Listening 

Music isn’t processed by the center of the brain dedicated to speech. That’s why stroke victims who lose the ability to speak can still sing. Researchers find that children who received music training show differences in the thickness of the auditory areas in the right versus the left hemisphere. This is a sign that music training impacts brain structure. Engaging in music enhances listening skills as both sides of the brain are engaged. 

Nina Kraus, a brain researcher at Northwestern University, says “music training leads to changes throughout the auditory system that prime musicians for listening challenges beyond music processing.” 

Music is like a workout for the brain to keep it toned. 

Auditory learning required by music education courses requires your child to form relationships between sounds and meaning. Your child’s brain gains the ability to assess the relevance of information-bearing elements in auditory signals. So, even in non-musical contexts, like a classroom lecture, musicians learn and remember more than non-musicians.

#5 Helps Math Skills

Music and math are related, no matter how different they may seem. Engagement in music is about exploring sounds and this exploration improves math skills. You can’t engage in music without developing pattern awareness and counting skills. These types of skills contribute to success in mathematics. For example, even young children learn to recognize the repeating verses and choruses in music as patterns. Pattern familiarity is crucial for exploring and understanding mathematical formulas and equations.

Understanding fractions is easier when you already grasp the half note. Measures and time signatures help with understanding ratios.

#6 Increases Self-Discipline

Making music requires practice. The more a child practices, the better they get. This self-perpetuating feedback mechanism teaches cause and effect. The requirement to practice regularly builds a high level of self-discipline that can be applied to other areas of study. The effort and patience required to learn music create powerful building blocks for study habits that benefit their academics too.

#7 Builds Self-Confidence

Engaging in music education helps children build confidence about who they are and what they can achieve. Music classes bring students together in a social setting where they must learn to work as a team. As they build individual strengths, they also build the ability to work with others confidently.

When a child performs, they conquer fear and receive a tremendous boost in their confidence. These skills help them navigate life as adults. Children that participate in a music competition as part of their education learn powerful confidence-building lessons. Music competitions teach children to win and how to manage defeat. 

Setting and achieving goals, whether it is a new instrument, a new piece of music, or a new technique builds true self-confidence.

Long Island Music Education for Children and Teens

Music education is important for children of all ages. Even if your child takes up an instrument in their teens, they still reap the rewards for the rest of their life.

The East End Arts & Music School offers private and group lessons, lessons in sound engineering in our world-class recording studio, performance opportunities, the chance to collaborate with master musicians, and summer camps. There are programs for high school students who plan on pursuing music in college and sessions for kids who want to play in a band.

Music education programs are available all year and for all levels. Scholarships are available for those who qualify.

Explore music education at East End Arts & Music School.

The 5 Must-Know Benefits of Art for Children

Parents want to give their child every opportunity to grow and succeed. But with only so many hours available in a day, it is hard to choose from the wide range of extracurricular activities available. You don’t want to overload your child, but you want them to engage in activities that are fun and teach skills that will help them in school and in adult life.

You can’t go wrong with art as an extracurricular activity. The benefits of art for children extend far beyond the classroom and stay with the child well into adulthood. 

Here are five ways art benefits students of all ages.  

#1 Builds Fine Motor Skills and Neural Connections 

Creating through art teaches fine motor skills, promotes neural development, and improves visual-spatial processing. Each of these improvements can be applied to academic study subjects such as reading, writing, math, and science. 

Art establishes the physical and neural network necessary to achieve success in other endeavors. 

When children hold a paintbrush, pencil, crayon, or pen and then draw lines, curves, dots and dashes they gain dexterity and coordination. Just the act of mixing colors, cutting something with scissors, or squeezing glue out of a bottle requires coordination. From creating with playdough to tearing strips of paper for paper mâché, these hand motions require coordination with the eyes and increasing levels of strength and manual agility. A young child’s early scribbling increases hand strength so that writing is easier. 

Art engages multiple senses. Depending on the activity, children see, hear, touch, and smell. And of course, what small child hasn’t tasted paste or glue? By engaging the senses neural synapses fire away creating more and more neural connections. Increasing the size of the neural network can improve learning performance. Research shows additional connections make it easier to learn a new task. But children don’t see making art as learning, they just think they are having fun. 

Creating art requires visual-spatial processing as well. As children grow through their art, their visual-spatial processing improves. With each drawing or painting, objects gain the correct proportions and relationship in size. That’s improved visual-spatial processing in action!

#2 Enhances Creative Abilities and Encourages Imagination 

When a child creates art, they experience real-world achievement. Taking an idea from inspiration to a finished product requires logical thinking and problem-solving skills as well. These thinking skills translate to other areas of life where problem-solving is essential.

Art teaches children to think outside the box.  Through their art, children learn how to be original, how to discover through manipulating colors and textures, and how to innovate as they create new ways to tackle the same subject. Children engaged in art in elementary and middle school become better thinkers and once they enter the workforce, they become innovators in their field. 

Almost everyone knows Leonardo da Vinci was an artist and inventor. But what about Samuel Morse? The founder of the Morse code and pioneer in the field of electromagnetics was also an accomplished painter

John Audubon is known as much for his scientific work as he is for his art. But those are people from the past, what about current-day creatives?

Barbara Corcoran, Queen of New York real estate, says creativity is vital to success in business. In one interview she shared, “I was labeled the dumb kid in school because I couldn’t read or write. But from a young age, my mom made sure I knew my biggest strength was my imagination. My imagination took me further than book smarts ever could. I learned to use my creativity in business, and it was the secret sauce to my success.”

#3 Improves Communication 

They say a picture is worth a thousand words for a reason. By making art, children learn to speak without words and to express emotions and feelings without tears of joy or outbursts of anger. 

Through art, a child learns to express feelings and memories using more than just words. For children that are coping with trauma, the loss of a parent or caregiver, divorce, or other distress, making art can be an avenue for release and create a sense of relief. 

During the turbulent teen years, art allows young adults to express the jumble of feelings and emotions they may keep locked up inside.  For many teens, art becomes a cathartic experience that provides an avenue of relief.

All children benefit from reducing big feelings and ideas to a more manageable size. By manipulating movement, size, and color children gain a sense of control. 

By boosting their ability to communicate without words, children find a voice they didn’t know they had. Oral and written communication skills can improve as a result. 

#4 Boosts Self-Esteem

When they see the results of their own work, children are self-validated. Their boost in self-esteem comes not from the words of others but from their own sense of accomplishment.

Where math, science, and grammar classes are filled with right and wrong answers, with art there is no good and bad. Incorrectly solving a mathematical problem can be frustrating and upsetting. Until you memorize the formula, you fail again and again. But trying a new art medium or style doesn’t result in success or failure. That’s because exploration is just as important as the finished product. 

Children enjoy a gain of authentic self-esteem through their art exploration. They are less focused on their own lack of confidence and more focused on what they know they can achieve through their efforts. This creates a positive feedback loop that improves self-esteem as they stretch and try new things.

#5 Builds Connection and Community

Art immediately creates a common ground for children who may feel socially uncomfortable or awkward around their peers. Making art side-by-side builds an instant community. Children learn to support the efforts of others, have empathy for the feelings of others, and most importantly how to have a good time in a group setting like at the East End Arts Mosaic Festival

Confidence replaces feelings of insecurity and anxiety as art brings children of all races and backgrounds together for a common purpose. 

Long Island Art Lessons for Children

The East End Arts & Music School offers group and individual lessons in a variety of mediums. Programs are available all year and scholarships are provided for those who qualify.

Click here to explore art classes at the East End Arts & Music School.

Posted in Art