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Community Corner

Summer Camp Helps Budding Artists Hone their Craft

Art at the Center offers a kid-sized studio and workshop mentality for children who want to create and experiment artistically.

If you’re looking for a summer camp that features art, not crafts and nurtures artists, not campers; then you might want to look into Art at the Center’s three days sessions.

Owner Kathryn Coneway, who you might also recognize from her columns on Hybla Valley Patch, said Art at the Center summer camps are all about exploring different mediums. 

Though some classes focus on bookmaking and others on moving sculpture, the creative philosophy remains the same.

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“I think it’s just great for kids to work with materials,” Coneway said.  “It’s nice for kids to have a place where they can do it.”

Buttons, wires, pipe cleaners and paint are just some of the building blocks children use to make mobiles and other moving sculptures.  Art at the Center’s space is crammed with all kinds of creative fodder and Coneway said it’s supposed to feel both accessible and technical.

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“It’s designed to be a kid’s studio,” Coneway said.  “We do a lot between drawing and building.  We’ll draw a plan and then work from that.”

One of the ideas behind Art at the Center’s summer sessions is the fact that creating isn’t always easy.

Campers share at the end of each day; discussing their frustrations and any solutions they found.  Coneway said hiccups are part of the creative process, but there’s nothing sweeter than celebrating a success.

“It’s a place for them to try something new and be treated as young artists,” Coneway said.

Most of the summer classes are geared toward children who have at least completed the first grade, though rising first graders are encouraged to attend certain classes.

There is still room in Art at the Center’s Animal Picture Writing camps which are offered later this month in both English and Spanish.  Tuition is $135.  To read a complete description of upcoming classes, click here.

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