Schack Art Center’s Teen Night activities go online

Teen Night at the Schack Art Center in Everett has gone virtual to keep up with the quarantine times.

Since 2012, the Schack has held these events during the school year where, once a month, teenagers are welcome to meet local artists, make art, have snacks and watch glass blowing in action. The free events are for teens 13 to 18.

“We really missed everybody in March,” said Abby Powell, spokeswoman for the Schack Art Center. “We really love our youth programs, and it’s really important for us moving forward in this new age of uncertainty.”

In the online activities this month, teens can log on for four instructor-led activities — blackout poetry with Angie Louthan, a gratitude journal with Mary Peterson, macrame with Jules Anslow and a colored pencil abstract with Anna Mastronardi Novak. Each activity takes about 30 to 45 minutes to make.

Just go to www.schack.org and click on “Teen Night” under the K-12 Programs tab to watch the how-to videos or see a PDF of the lesson. The projects will stay up on the website until the next Teen Night on May 21.

Blackout poetry: Rip a page out of a book and black out all the words except for the ones that form a poem.

“That one is so neat,” said Anslow, who organizes the Teen Nights. “It has you think outside of the box and look at things differently. You’re taking what’s there and seeing something new in it. It’s very therapeutic.”

You’ll need a torn-out page from a book, a pencil and a black Sharpie. You might also want to grab cardboard on which to mount your book page, with glue or mod podge, if you have them.

If you don’t want your artwork to be all black, find your choice of colored markers, crayons, colored pencils or paint and a paint brush, as well as a paper towel and an ID card.

Gratitude journal: Glue several pages from a book together to create the front and back cover of a journal. Add your own paper to the inside, and tie or sew the sections together. Embellish the covers with mixed media you find around the house.

You will need a book, scissors, glue, a hole punch and an X-Acto knife. Embellish your journal with thread or yarn, beads, buttons, scrap paper, feathers, stamps with stamp pads and inspirational quotes.

Macrame: Learn how to make a key chain or a bracelet with the macrame technique of tying knots.

“I think it’s a great basic skill to have because you can apply it to so many different things,” Anslow said of her own activity. “The kids can really adapt it to whatever they want to make with it.”

You’ll need two different colors of cord or string and scissors. If you have them, you can also gather a board, binder clips, beads, a drill and drill bits.

Colored pencil abstract: All you need is paper and colored pencils for this activity.

Draw abstract lines with a pencil on a sheet of paper. Then get creative and color in an abstract design.

You’ll also find on the Schack website a variety of links for more activities, including a coloring page made by Everett artist Rosemary Jones in honor of the high school graduating class of 2020. Download it, print it and color it in with your school colors.

“We really want to celebrate and promote young artists,” Powell said. “We feel that with all the trauma and change, it’s even more important to have the arts as an outlet for the youth of Snohomish County.”

If your teen makes art with these tutorials and would like to share it with the Schack Art Center, email it to apowell@schack.org or post it to social media with the hashtag #schackteennight.

Teen Nights will return to the Schack from 6 to 8 p.m. on the third Thursday of the month when it can reopen.

Sara Bruestle: 425-339-3046; sbruestle@heraldnet.com; @sarabruestle.

If you stream

Schack Art Center presents Virtual Teen Night via video and PDF tutorials by three or four artists who each share how to do one art project. Go to www.schack.org and click on “Teen Night” under the K-12 Programs tab. Check back on the third Thursday of the month for new activities.