And more kids’ summer fun

I regret having been on vacation while kids in our Summer Program made wooden boats and sailed them on Jamaica Pond. It sounds like it was so much fun.

Kids Summer Program, June 21-25

Week 2 of our Summer Program for Children came to a close. What a talented, creative, fun bunch of kids.

They took home go-carts, amazing mobiles, cardboard portraits and photo portraits, altered photographs and photo albums, cardboard houses, pencil holders, 3-D collages, indefinable and wonderful pieces of art – and a lot of skills and connections with new friends and old.

Week 3 is underway, with wooden mini-racing cars, pincushions and pillows, giant animals, a painted town, and other painting and drawing as well.

We’ve moved our photos to our Facebook page. You can watch the Summer Program unfold before your eyes as we continue to upload photos each week.

Has your child enjoyed the Summer Weeks so far? Give us a good review on yelp.com.

Summer Program for Children-First week ends on a high note

What a great week it’s been. The first go-carts have gone home with their proud makers, complete with license plates and racing stripes. The Fabulous Fabric crowd were too shy for a fashion show. Last thing this afternoon, two teams on self-designed catapults armed with water balloons. (We’ll post those photos next week. One more house item: we’re working on ironing out some formatting issues we’re experiencing here. Bear with us and we’ll have things looking better soon.)

Boston Magazine sent a photographer this morning. Look for the Eliot School among great kids’ programs in the August issue.

And in a free moment, please contact Governor Patrick and urge him to keep the Mass. Cultural Facilities Fund in this year’s state budget. This great fund pays for building improvements at cultural organizations across the state. Click here to find out more.

More kids at work

There’s a lot of excitement here as the week winds to a close. One more day! Tomorrow we’ll see completed go-carts, books made of prints, a fashion show — and the kids will all view each others’ work.

Kids’ summer program – June 14-18

Our Summer Programs for Children are off to a great start. Go-Karts, fashion, printmaking, wooden boxes, landscapes with houses, photography… we’re bustling with activity. This group of kids is so industrious and focused, we are all impressed, proud to host these emerging artists and artisans.

Shopping for Good

Get some holiday shopping done early and support a good cause at the same time – the Sidney Borum Health Center in Boston’s South End, which serves young people often left behind by traditional health care.

Bid on gifts from Dec. 1 (6am) to Dec. 7 (8pm EST).

We’ve donated an exciting new workshop: Burning Art & Design onto Wood, with talented pyrography artist Cecilia Galluccio. Starting bid: only $30, a third of the $90 list price!

Here’s the direct link.

Other items include gift cards (as good as cash), sporting events, performing arts tickets, collectors’ items and more.

It’s another idea from Eliot School student, supporter, and Beth Israel Deaconess CEO, Paul Levy.

Open Studios

Although it keeps threatening to rain today, crowds keep passing through the Eliot School, and yesterday, a quintessentially beautiful fall day, our building was streaming with people.

It’s always an exciting weekend for us, as many of our teachers have work on display and so many people pass through our doors – really hundreds in the course of an hour.

We’ve had about two dozen artists in the yard and indoors, showing their art and their crafts. Friends have crossed paths, money has changed hands, artists have met their audiences. Three of our teachers – dollmaking, spinning, and gilding – have demonstrated their crafts to rapt passersby. And many people have signed up for classes.

If you haven’t been, there are still 3 hours left as it’s only 3 o’clock still on Sunday afternoon.

Photos by Charlie Rosenberg.

Eliot School’s school programs

With Labor Day around the corner, it seems we may partner with a dozen schools this fall, providing art and woodworking for after-school and – new for us – during the school day.

Now that we have a blog, we’re ready to boast about some of the outstanding work done with our school partners last spring.


In Roslindale, Irving Middle School students worked with Mitch Ryerson to design an awesome bench, then built it with Mike Molinari. Frank Pettorossi helped behind the scenes. Ellen Pierce worked with elementary school students to create the tiles that decorate their wave-shaped facades. For a couple of spring weeks these gorgeous, colorful benches flanked our front door. One now sits outside the Sumner Elementary School; the other, outside the principal’s office at the Irving School. Check them out!