Ainsley’s Girl Scout troop visited the Frick Art and Historical Center in Pittsburgh. Henry Clay Frick was Andrew Carnegie’s business partner and a big part of Pittsburgh history. His house and grounds are now open to the public with several interesting sites…. there’s also a small cafe on the property where one can partake in a true afternoon tea! We came as a family to the cafe over Christmas break so it was fun to go back with Ainsley’s troop and tour the art museum (Henry’s daughter Helen loved art and collected so much that she built an art museum in 1969 so the public could see her collection).
After a tour of the Italian and French rooms where the girls learned about Italian religious paintings and French portraits they walked over to the art studio to create some art of their own.
Mrs. Steiner was an excellent host and teacher. The girls loved her and were enthralled by all she taught them. Their first project was a still-life monochromatic collage of a fruit bowl.
Their second project was a winter scene done with water colors.
I was super impressed with the Frick House Girl Scout event. It was low cost ($8 per girl) and included a fun patch for another $2. Plus, the program gets the girls on their way to earning the Painter badge from the Girl Scout badges.
The girls literally hung on every word that Mrs. Steiner said. They were respectful and courteous. They asked appropriate questions in the museum and engaged with her questions. They loved the history of the house and walking the grounds. In fact, several of them wanted to tour The Clayton (the family home) but we had to scoot on to the art studio. And the look on their faces when they realized they were going to make art projects was priceless.
Ainsley had a great time and showed off her three art projects (the third was a 3D box with a black and white theme) to everyone when she got home. It was fun to see her creating in the studio and having fun with her friends.
