Lakeport >> With funding dwindling and budgets being cut, art is becoming increasingly rare in public schools, especially elementary schools it seems. This leaves an unfortunate gap in education for many. It’s a gap the Main Street Gallery is hoping to fill.
“I think art provides a very special learning experience, a very special personality building experience, because unlike math or science or English, there isn’t a right or a wrong way,” said Barbara Lee of the Main Street Gallery. “It doesn’t matter what you do, you’re creating something that’s uniquely yours.”
With this in mind, the art gallery began offering the Summer Youth Art Camp two years ago. The camp made a variety of art classes available to children and adults over the course of the summer, and it was so successful, many parents didn’t want it to end.
In response, the Main Street Gallery, the Lake County Arts Council and two art instructors collaborated to organize a month-long series of classes to take place after kids were let out of school for the day, but before soccer practice. And so over the month of October the gallery will offer art classes every Monday and Thursday — for a total of eight sessions — for anyone aged six and up, of any skill level.
They’re calling the classes Art in the Afternoon. It’s a pilot project of sorts, to see how many people are interested. Classes are highly flexible. Students can attend one class on Monday and the next week show up on Thursday. And though it’s beneficial to attend all four sessions, attendees need not worry about missing a day or two. There’s no penalty and each class costs $15 no matter what.
The gallery will adjust classes based on feedback, and they’re more than willing to make changes. If all goes well, they hope to offer classes throughout the year. “Right now it’s kind of an experiment,” Lee admitted. “I’m just hoping that it’s a success. I really think it’s very much needed.”
Much like the Summer Youth Art Camp, Art in the Afternoon may be aimed at children, but adults are welcome to attend. All that’s needed is a desire to learn and create.
The Monday instructor is Lisa Nowak, a graduate of UC Davis who has been teaching both adults and children for 20 years. She began her instruction with homeschooling her own children, teaching them and their friends art. 4-H art classes followed and eventually she started instructing in schools. “I like teaching art because I see that both children and adults discover something new in themselves,” she explained. “The process of creating art is a peaceful, positive experience for people.”
Nowak incorporates art history into her teaching, so students have both the skills and knowledge to apply what they’ve learned outside the classroom. Living in Lake County, she also utilizes the natural beauty of Lake County, encouraging students to paint the lake, mountains and trees. “I think that by drawing and painting they become more aware of the world around them and more aware of the details and the wonder that surrounds us,” she said. “When they really look and see what they’re drawing they really get a greater appreciation of their environment. So that just enhances the value of their lives as well.”
Stephanie Del Bosco will teach the Thursday classes. Also with 20 years of experience teaching kids and adults, her favorite part of leading a class it watching how kids take the same materials and craft wholly unique projects. “I believe in Jesus and I believe he’s the most amazing creator of all. Look at all the amazing stuff that’s out there,” she said. “That creativity is in us. To grow that is fantastic.”
And with art being cut from curriculum, offering new avenues for creativity is more important than ever. Arts of any kind — painting, singing, dancing — have been proven to improve cognitive thinking, Del Bosco said. Listening to a Mozart symphony while studying math can help with reasoning, she added.
As Co-Chair of the Summer Youth Art Camp, Lee has witnessed first hand the benefits of art. When many kids first arrive, they’re shy and timid, but once they pick up that pen or paintbrush, everything changes. “The last couple years I’ve been involved in this, I’ve watched the kids just blossom in their classes,” she said. “I think it really is a wonderful boost to their self confidence.”
The first Art in the Afternoon class takes place at the Main Street Gallery in Lakeport this Monday, with classes following every Thursday and Monday after, through the month of October. Classes are from 3:30-5 p.m. and cost $15 each, totaling $60 for all four classes. To register call the gallery at 263-6658 and visit LakeArts.org for more information.
Jennifer Gruenke can be reached at 900-2019.
