Ali LaRock

General Artist Information

Name: Ali LaRock
Artist Discipline: Visual Arts
Grade Level Preference: Activities can be adapted for participants of any age
Address: Bismarck
Geographic Availability: Bismarck/Mandan and surrounding area
Fee per-day: $300-$400 
Email: larockaa@yahoo.com
Phone Number: 701-527-9732
Website: www.alilarock.com

Biography

Ali LaRock is a visual artist working in Bismarck, North Dakota. She received her B.F.A. in painting from Minnesota State University Moorhead in 1998. In addition to actively exhibiting and selling her artwork Ali helps manage the Bismarck Downtown Artist Co-op gallery, and enjoys offering the creative process to people of all ages through residencies, weekend art classes, and summer camps.

Teaching Philosophy

“I believe art is for everyone regardless of age, ability, or prior experience. I teach basic techniques and process in a variety of media but then allow students to use this new knowledge to better express their own ideas, opinions, and visions. I strive to create a relaxing and positive environment so my students can feel comfortable taking risks during their creative process.” –Ali LaRock

Sample Residency Information

When immersed in the creative process students learn to take risks, and strengthen their critical thinking and decision-making skills. Throughout the lessons these habits of mind are often highlighted: observe, envision, stretch and explore, and reflect. By identifying these ways of thinking and making those visible for students during the creative process they can be used to strengthen student thinking and learning.

The intention of this programming is to provide the students with an in-depth art experience that allows for creativity and personal expression. Teaching artist, Ali LaRock, is a creative guide to participants as they explore new art-making techniques and processes to help

them better express their ideas. Below are just some examples of programming. Please reach out to visit about creating a project to fit your specific needs or themes.

Example of After-School or Summer Residency Themes

• Exploring Paint-learning a variety of brush techniques and approaches to acrylic and/or watercolors
• Modeling Clay Sculptures- learning to create three-dimensional forms with clay and how to use them to sculpt animals, people, or scenes
• Cartooning—students create their own characters while exploring facial expressions, poses, and details that bring each character’s story to life.
• Bookmaking- Exploring how people all over our world have made books and handmade objects for years to record information. Guiding students through making their own handmade books which they can use for personal writing or stories. Soft cover, hard cover, accordion books, scrolls, and mini books.
• Creating Musical Instruments from recycled and everyday material-students explore sound making with an artistic flair.
•  Nature Art-drawing, painting, and sculpting in and inspired by nature. Students might create outdoors while observing nature and/or use natural materials to create with. This could be sculptures, mobiles, or even handmade paper.