Meet our Artists
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Mica Lee Anders | Visual Arts
Mica Lee Anders | Visual Arts
Mica Lee Anders is a visual artist who does mixed media work and photography. She teaches people of all ages how to create meaningful, well-composed photographs. She creates exciting curriculum by combining artistic concepts and techniques with fun, age-appropriate activities.
Mica Lee Anders received her Master's of Fine Arts degree in studio arts, with a focus in photography, from the University of Minnesota. She often incorporates her background in graphic arts and genealogical research into her artistic practice. She has taught participants from preschool age to older adults.
Learn more about Mica in her June 2016 Artist Spotlight interview.
In addition to the programs below, Mica is available for mural projects.
Sample Programs: Customizable To Site’s Needs
Residency
Photography Basics
Get to know your camera and learn to see through the camera’s lens. Students will learn how to shoot in a variety of photographic styles—from abstracts to Landscapes/Cityscapes. Each lesson begins with a discussion of composition and hands-on camera tips before students take pictures with their cameras.
Note: For a class of 30, site needs to provide 15 cameras minimum (2 participants per camera). Materials fee varies depending on project.
Wordless Picture Books
Combine literacy and the arts by creating wordless picture books. Students will explore published wordless picture books and examine the detailed images to learn about the structure of a story—beginning, middle, end—and basic story elements—setting and character development. Students will then use storytelling skills to create their own wordless picture books, featuring themselves as the main character, combining photography and collage to create the pages of their books.
Recycled Mosaics
Use bottle caps and other recycled materials to create an intricate mosaic for your school or community that is colorful, safe for any age-group or ability, and engaging! Mica will work with the site to come up with a design for the mosaic and will then lead the art-making workshops with site participants and staff. The final public art pieces can then be mounted indoors for all to enjoy.
Community Mosaics
Create a collaborative mosaic that is made by and for your community. Mica will work with your site to identify images or ideas that represent who you are and what you do. Site participants will work with Mica to learn different mosaic styles such as crazy paving and tiling patterns. These skills will then be used to create a community mosaic in the design made just for your location. The final piece will be assembled and grouted and framed to create a public art piece.
Story Quilts
Inspired by African American quilting traditions and styles such as scrap quilts and story quilts, students will combine painting, fabric, and visual storytelling to create pieces of art that share personal stories, biographies, or stories written in preparation for the residency. Participants will learn about famous quilters and see some of their work. They will discuss how a picture can tell a story, and use a variety of materials, some brought from home, to make quilt squares of their own. Quilts can be displayed in a community space for a culminating art show and story sharing.
Photography: Capture Your Joy
Participants will Capture the Joy found all around them. Be it the smile of a friend, a beautiful pattern on a piece of fabric, or the gentle crackle of a fireplace. Using a variety of photography styles--from portraits and still lifes to abstract images--participants will document their surroundings. During the workshops, participants will learn how to operate point-and-shoot digital cameras and will learn about basic photography techniques such as “rule of thirds” and “leading lines.”
Wordless Picture Books
If one picture is worth 1,000 words, then imagine the story one could find in the pages of a Wordless Picture Book. During this workshop series, participants will create their own Wordless Picture Books using a combination of photography, collage, and illustration. Participants will learn to shoot portrait and still-life photographs on digital cameras. They will then use prints of these images along with copies of personal photographs, magazine/catalog cutouts, and drawing to create a story without words.
