The Art of Hawai’i
CSA Summer 2025
Registered Students
Scroll down to find the lesson for your student age group: Preschool, Kids, Tweens, Teens.
Text or email the image or video clip of your completed project. Include your first and last name.
Email Ms. Maria at womeninthearts@gmail.com or text (407) 900-5918
Deadline: All projects are due the Saturday they are released or no later than the following Saturday by 10:00 AM ET. Depending on the project, the latest time to start would be the Thursday or Friday before the deadline.
Awards: Participants who complete and submit all projects on time, are eligible to receive a prize in person, at the end of the session on July 26, at the Awards Ceremony, Hiawassee Library, 11:30-1:00 PM.
Welcome!
Enjoy a curated selection of lessons organically merging art and science learning.
Lesson No. 3
Released: July 5
Due: July 5-July 12 before 10:00 AM ET.
Instructor: Susan Torregrosa
Preschool
Photography
This lesson is recommended for ages 3-5
Parental assistance: Yes
Photography Courses Inspired by the work of artist Helen Thomas Dranga
Each course draws inspiration from the tranquil landscapes and soft storytelling style of Helen Thomas Dranga, engaging students with age-appropriate photography projects using cell phone cameras.
Tiny Landscapes: Nature Through My Eyes
Focus: Observational skills, texture, and color
Dranga Inspiration: Soft pastel landscapes and nature scenes
Activities: Take a short, guided walk around the yard, or a safe outdoor area with the mission to find and “collect” colors that match a printed palette inspired by Helen Thomas Dranga’s paintings (soft blues, warm creams, mossy greens, gentle pinks, and purples). Children can point out or place a sticker on the printed color chart below, when they find a match in nature or surroundings.
The goal is to deepen the students’ observation skills using Dranga’s signature color style, and help them see the world as an artist, in a new gentle way, as Helen did.
Explore textures through tactile items like leaves, cotton, and flowers.
Match colors found in nature to Dranga’s palette of colors (picture below).
Practice framing your photo with your fingers before using your phone camera.
Take three photos of a natural scene where you found Helen's color palettes (with adult guidance).
Helen T. Draga , Color Palette, View From Makiki
Helen T. Draga, Color Palette, Punaluu Mokapu Peninsula
How to submit your photos:
Make a collage with all your photos.
Format: jpeg, jpg, png only
Submit via Email: womeninthearts@gmail.com or text: (407) 900-5918
Explore more about digital photography at the library's resource page: ocls.info
Kids
Photography
This lesson is recommended for ages 6-8
Parental supervision: Yes
Story in a Scene
Focus: Telling visual stories, basic composition
Dranga Inspiration: Scenic compositions with story-like elements
Activities:
Learn about foreground, middle ground, and background. (Identify these layers in the painting and in your images)
Use toys or paper figures to build scenes
Take 3 photos of one place at different times or angles
Apply gentle editing filters for softness
Final Project: “My World” triptych, a set of 3 images of a favorite scene, using your toys in the photos to tell a story. Use this portrait painted by Helen Thomas Dranga as inspiration for colors, light direction and softness.
Helen T. Dranga, A Polynesian Girl
How to submit your photos:
Make a collage with all your photos.
Format: jpeg, jpg, png only
Submit via Email: womeninthearts@gmail.com or text: (407) 900-5918
Explore more about digital photography at the library's resource page: ocls.info
Tweens
Photography
This lesson is recommended for ages 9-12
Parental supervision: Yes
Painting with Light
Age Group: Tweens (Ages 9–12)
Focus: Light, shadow, mood, and deeper composition
Dranga Inspiration: Serene mood and use of light in landscapes
Activities:
Study light in Helen Thomas Dranga’s paintings, where are the shadows falling? What time of day do you think they were painted?
Take photos at various times to study natural lighting, noticing how the light sculpts the items in your photo and makes them three dimensional.
Experiment with color softening and subtle filters to mimic Helen's work.
Final Project: “Moodscape” series 3 to 5 artistic photographs that explore light and different emotions you might evoke by using light at different times of the day. Title the photos with the way they made you feel.
Use these paintings by Helen as inspiration.
Helen T. Dranga, California
Helen T. Dranga
Helen T. Dranga, Hawaiian Landscape
Helen T. Dranga, Punaluu Mokapu Peninsula
How to submit your photos:
Make a collage with all your photos.
Format: jpeg, jpg, png only
Submit via Email: womeninthearts@gmail.com or text: (407) 900-5918
Explore more about digital photography at the library's resource page: ocls.info
Teens
Photography
This lesson is recommended for ages 13-18
Parental supervision: Yes
Modern Romanticism: Visual Poetry
Focus: Intentional storytelling, emotional depth, advanced editing
Dranga Inspiration: Romanticism, storytelling through scenery
Activities:
Explore Helen Thomas Dranga’s life and artistic voice
Notice her color palette and that she often uses a layering effect in her work.
Practice creating a sequence or theme
Refine photos using advanced mobile editing tools
Final Project: “Whispers of Place” photo essay — 6 to 10 cohesive, expressive images with an artist statement, tying your visual story to themes in Dranga’s work: landscapes, people in their native environment. Use Helen’s paintings below as inspiration.
Resources:
Artist Statement: A written explanation of an artist's work
Helen T. Dranga, Hilo Bay
Helen T. Dranga
How to submit your photos:
Make a collage with all your photos.
Format: jpeg, jpg, png only
Submit via Email: womeninthearts@gmail.com or text: (407) 900-5918
Explore more about digital photography at the library's resource page: ocls.info
Coming Up Next
Lesson #4 | July 12 | Mixed Media
