Spark Arts is a Brooklyn-based afterschool and summer enrichment program for elementary school aged children.
Our mission is to cultivate a sense of wonder and respect for nature and cultural traditions through artistic expression and outdoor play.
02/19/2026
Alongside plasterwork, machine sewing, and stitched fabric appliqué inspired by American folk art, our 6–13-year-olds have also been exploring depth and perspective through the creation of layered 3D tunnel books—a form of accordion book first developed in Germany centuries ago. Each miniature scene is a delight to behold, ranging from serene Japanese landscapes to a wildly imagined land of bubble tea characters!
This week, one class learned about Tibetan sand mandalas, their purpose, symbolism, construction, and destruction. Our students selected a Guru Rinpoche mandala to work on and did a phenomenal job! More to come next week!
A day of basket making in the park with Spark Arts!
11/11/2025
A perfect fall craft! In two of our classes, we learned about daily life, homes, health practices, diet, and ways of passing time shared by the Northeastern tribes like the Lenape and Haudenosaunee. Commonly, the husk of the multi-use corn plant would be used to make dolls. We heard the legend of the No Face Doll, whose vanity caused the Great Spirit to remove her face. The corn husk doll is traditionally made without a face, as a reminder of the importance of humility.
We made our own corn husk dolls and designed clothing for them! These joyful and imaginative kids came up with an intricate story and home set up for their new dolls, complete with food pantry, beds, and more!
11/03/2025
Patience is the name of the game in the art of stone carving. Here are some of our stone-carved works in progress. Our kids learned to create Chinese seals, used to stamp names on official documents or artwork. We closely inspected real examples of Chinese seals and were inspired by their detail and precision. We used carving tools to begin the lengthy task of carving the top of our seals into 3-dimensional shapes and animals. Once we got the hang of it, many of the kids deemed the experience “sooo satisfying” and we couldn’t agree more!
Just this month, our 6-13 year olds have been getting acquainted with these materials and more!
🌿 Banana leaves for Thai festival decorations
🌿 Stone for Chinese stamp carving
🌿 Palm sheaths for pouch sewing
🌿 Raw hide for making shadow puppets inspired by those in Cambodia, China, India, and Indonesia.
🌿 Corn husk for making corn husk dolls
🌿 Yarn and silk for weaving
Keep an eye on our posts to find out more about each of our projects!
10/19/2025
It’s been a wonderful fall season of classes so far, and we’ve been busy planning exciting things ahead, including winter and spring classes! In addition to our ongoing weekly Traditional Arts classes (not listed yet!) we’re introducing mini classes on Wednesdays and Saturdays for young crafters and nature lovers in NYC.
🌺 Linocut printmaking (2 Wednesdays)
🌺 Arts of Japan (4 Wednesdays)
🌺 Basketry (2 Wednesdays)
🌺 Make Natural Paints (1 Saturday)
🌺 Paper Making (1 Saturday)
🌺 Natural Crafting (1 Saturday)
Stay tuned for more classes announcements and private class dates, and visit our website or the link in bio to learn more!
09/22/2025
It’s been incredible to be back at fall after school classes, where we’ve deeply enjoyed creative communal time outdoors! Our students have been inspired by Mycenaean and Peruvian embossed gold masks as well as ornamental metalwork from around the world. Spark artists applied newly learned techniques to create relief work on personalized bookmarks, bracelets, ornaments, pendants, daggers and masks!
Look out for exciting new class announcements coming soon!