Wilmington abstract artist Ellen Priest has painted countless works - including a 17-year ongoing series of her expressions of various jazz recordings.
Throughout her career she's also instructed students and educators alike on techniques she's developed while working in her own studios -- and a year ago launched a website - EyeballItArt4Kids.org - where she's used her teaching experience with elementary art students to create a series of free and accessible art projects for children to do at home along with a parent or guardian.
As schools let out and parents scramble to find activities to keep kids busy that don't include tablets and television -- Eyeball It presents a unique opportunity for them to foster fine-art skills at a very young age while disconnecting from the ever more ubiquitous and two-dimensional world of digital devices.
Priest says Eyeball It relates her proven techniques for getting kids to use their brain and their eyes - teaching them to see their environment as an artist would.
"The life of Eyeball It really isn’t on the website. Eyeball It is a quick transmission of the instructional material in a way that’s free and accessible.”
On this week's Enlighten Me Delaware Public Media's Karl Malgiero sat down with Priest - who explained how getting kids to use their brain and their eyes - teaches them to relate their surroundings through the artistic skills they'll learn along the way.
This piece is made possible, in part, by a grant from the Delaware Division of the Arts, a state agency dedicated to nurturing and supporting the arts in Delaware, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts.