Summer Monster Comic Contest

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Create a comic strip with a monster as the main character!

Stay creative this summer and win prizes

  • Design your own monster! Have fun with it!.
  • Your comic must be at least 4 frames, fill an 8.5×11 sheet of paper, and have a title  
  • Comics can be Black & White or colored, but they should look finished. 
  • It can be funny or serious
  • A winning comic will have a short story or joke that relates to the monster’s characteristics, for example a butterfly with ears for wings might be the conductor of a weird bug orchestra because they love listening to music.
  • Creativity, attention to detail, and storyline will be considered when determining the winners. 

Submission guidelines  

Deadline: 8PM on August 21, 2021 on Monster Hunt Day!  

Ways to submit:  1) Drop off your original on Monster Hunt Day 2) Email images to Info@550arts.com or instagram direct message images to @studio550 3) Facebook message images to Studio550ArtCenter (Parents should submit for kids under 12 and please note photo guidelines below). 

 

Include the following:  

  • The creator’s name, age, and title of your project, and contact information (parent’s info, if youth)

Answer the following questions. 

  • What is your monster’s name? 
  • What is your monster’s favorite thing to do? 
  • Does your monster have any special abilities or talents? 
  • (youth only) How much help did you get from parents on this project? (none, some, or a lot?) 

 

Photo guidelines:  

We would like to at least see one picture of the overall project (try to frame the page in the corners of the shot and use good light!) and also include 3 close up shots of your favorite details.  

 

Additional information: 

  • These contests are open all ages, though submissions will be divided by age before judging
  • This must be completely the person’s original work.   
  • Submissions, winning or not, may be shared on the Studio 550 Instagram or Facebook pages.  
  • If your project is in the top ten, the original will need to be dropped off at the studio to determine the winners. The top ten projects will also be displayed in our studio for 2 weeks. Specific dates TBD, but likely in the fall. 
  • Family friendly content only.

 

Prizes: 

1st: Clay Workshop for two

2nd: A Take & Make home art kit 

3rd: Paint Your Own Pottery for two (Free table fees, pottery chosen to paint is an extra fee)

Plus, great prizes from Double Midnight Comics and the Manchester Historic Association!

New Summer Classes! Comics/Cartooning and Watercolors

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We are positively delighted to welcome Dan Atherton to our line up this summer.  He will be teaching two classes on Tuesdays – Comic & Cartooning and Watercolors!

Both classes are open to teens and adults and are geared towards beginners.

Dan is a NH native who graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Sequential Art from the Savannah College of Art and Design. He has contributed color works to DC and other comic titles, and created a webcomic for fun about Boston sports teams. He enjoys field sketching in a variety of media, and finds a special fondness for the unpredictability of watercolor.

Learn more about the classes here under “Paint & Pencil” class offerings.

Spring Cleaning Mother’s Day Sale!

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Find FABULOUS and UNIQUE Mother’s Day gifts!
Help us clear out old work to make way for the new!
Help raise funds for FIT-NH and Clay for Kids!
Price range: $1-$45, with many items $1, but most items $5-$20.
At the sale you will find:
– Discounted pottery made by staff and Studio members – bowls, cups, mugs, plates and more (all perfectly good, just older designs)
-Some “Seconds pottery” (items with small imperfections or blemishes)
– Older stained glass designs made by glass instructor Theresa Caulkins
– $15 “Empty Bowls” fundraiser bowls (all proceeds go to Families in Transition-New Horizons)
– $1 pottery to raise funds for Studio 550’s “Clay for Kids” Scholarship
– Plant pots and probably some plants!
Everything in the spring cleaning sale will be handmade, but If you are looking for something a little more unique, you can also shop out handmade gift shop, with artisan-made jewelry, pottery, glass, and more.
COVID INFO: All guests MUST wear a mask to enter and SANITIZE their hands before shopping. We will limit shoppers to 4 people to the room.

Springtime at the Studio

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Spring classes begin the week of April 12th! Come learn to:

  • Make your own cups, bowls, and more with a wheel throwing or hand sculpting clay class
  • Create sun catchers or full windows out of stained glass
  • Develop your drawing skills
  • or, create from home in an online clay class.

If you want to try out any of these before signing up for a full 10-week course (drawing is only 6-weeks long), sign up for a 1-day weekend workshop. We host them year-round!

Browse classes here: https://www.550arts.com/classes/

 

“Make it” a Date Night

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Keep it “hands-on” this Valentine’s Day! We have in-studio AND at-home options.

Come in to create together: We’ve added “Date Night Workshops” in the Pottery Studio for the weekend of February 13-14, though we do offer the workshop year-round if this weekend doesn’t work for you. Get a crash course on how to use the pottery wheel and then experiment and explore with the guidance of a teacher!

Class sizes have been reduced to 6 participants, masks required, and hand washing required on entry. If you have a group of friends you would like to share a workshop with, get a group of 6 together and we can reserve the workshop just for you.  See available times.

Pick up a pair of Art-at-Home Kits: Spend time together creating in the comfort of your own home! We have clay, mosaics, plant arrangements, and Paint-Your-Own Pottery Take-Home Kits available to pick from. These are also available year-round!  Browse the options here.

Snow Day Thursday 12/17/21

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Hello!

As much as we want to be in, our cars are no match for the roads at this point and the roads around the studio have not been plowed to a point where you’d be able to find parking easily. We are closed for the day! Students and anyone who had an appointment with us today has been e-mailed about how to re-book their visit.

Stay safe. Stay warm!

Studio 550 Staff

Happy Holiday Hours!

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As usual, we will be closed the week between Christmas and New Years! While there will be no grand family trip this year, it is still much valued time for some rest, relaxation, and 2021 planning.

 

We will be closed December 24th – January 3, and will open January 4th to finish out the Short Winter 5-week session.  The next 10-week class Session begins January 18th. Registration is now live online on the “classes” page.

Online Clay Sculpting Classes!

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Week 2 of the Fall session is underway and we are having a blast!

New pottery students are making cups  and bowls, and we’re learning some basic hand sculpting next week. Stained glass students made sun catchers in week 1 and are diving into their personal projects this week. The drawing students just switched classrooms to work on easels for the rest of the class, as they continue to study perspective, portraiture and proportions.

We just added new clay hand sculpting classes (both online and in person) to the schedule. One session starts in October and the session after that starts after Thanksgiving in November. If you are interested in making some unique and personalized holiday gifts, or if you are interested in a safe and distanced hobby – join in one of these classes!

There is enough material covered in one class to keep you happily playing with clay all winter.

Fall Session is Coming up Quick!

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September 8th: Online clay hand sculpting classes begin (View options here)

September 14th: In-person classes begin!

Adult & Teen Classes: Pottery, Clay Sculpting, Stained Glass, Drawing… Learn more!

Kids After School Classes (since they will need some NON-Screen time)… Learn more!

Monster Hunt 2020!

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We are bringing a little light and laughter to downtown Manchester on August 22nd. We are releasing 100 small red clay monsters in downtown for the 8th year! This family-friendly outdoor hunt is open to anyone, but PLEASE keep only one Monster, even if you see more, so the joy can be shared by the most people possible. 

We hope that by spreading art around town, we can encourage people to slow down and find joy in searching their city for something special.  No purchase is necessary, but Monster-Seekers and Monster-Finders are encouraged to stay downtown to eat, to help fellow monster seekers, and to discover what our city has to offer. 

The hunt begins at 1PM and goes until they are all found – which is usually pretty quick! From 1PM-3PM Studio 550 is hosting a number of low-cost crafty outdoor activities. There will be a $1 Pottery Sale to benefit the Clay for Kids Fund, to-go art kits and more. 

There will be one colored monster which automatically wins the recipient a gift card towards a workshop at Studio 550. In the past this special one has been a white albino monster, but since Studio 550 just opened a Paint-Your-Own-Handmade-Pottery studio with a rainbow of colors available, they wanted to commemorate the occasion with a rainbow-colored monster! 

Monster Finders get the immediate reward of being able to keep the monster they find. Partnering business, such as the Dancing Lion and Bookery Manchester will also have something special for anyone with a monster in hand. Contact the individual business for specifics of their offering. Other partnerships will be announced on Studio 550’s social pages as they develop.  

Monsters will be concentrated in the heart of downtown, namely Elm Street between Bridge and Studio 550, but also in parks and side streets. All Monsters will be placed in public places with a lot of foot traffic and in locations that are easily visible to pedestrians. Typically, Monsters like to hide in places that people see every day, but normally do not have a reason to keep looking. A windowsill, the corner of a bench, or a flower planter are all places Monsters like to hide, but they could be anywhere.  Monsters LOVE public art.