For parents looking for activities to help keep restless children busy until school starts, ArtVentures is providing hands-on arts education programs in the Ridley-Tree Education Center at the McCormick House.
Children ages 6 to 12 can participate in weeklong camps designed to teach a variety of art techniques in an inspiring atmosphere. The more popular program is held six hours a day, Monday through Friday, of which three camps remain this summer. Each weeklong class costs $250; a $35 discount is available for museum members.
ArtVentures manager Monika Molnar-Metzenthin said the cost of the program reflects the wealth of experience of the staff members. “That’s the main reason why we cost what we cost — we have really experienced staff,” she said.
The campers are grouped by age in four classrooms with a student-teacher ratio of about 8-to-1. Each classroom works on similar projects, but the more sophisticated designs generally come from the older groups.
The working environment is productive and fun, putting smiles on the faces of the participants and fostering loud chatter in the hallways — which themselves are covered with projects made by the campers.
Alec Flores, 12, was proud of his pyramid-style apartment building, with hanging gardens of babylon surrounding it. Kirra Cardenas, 11, stayed busy building a cardboard treehouse and a red geometric dome. Other designs included a hobit house and a bridge designed with Popsicle sticks.
ArtVentures also offers ceramics camps for children interested in working with clay. The three-hour, week-long classes, capped at 10 participants, are designed to introduce hand-building, wheel-throwing and glazing techniques. Campers are also exposed to spin art, by using a paint brush to make interesting designs on a potter’s wheel.
The clay designs include an elephant piggy bank, a dog/cat mixed creation and a fish with a bird nest on top of it.
“I went here for five or six years,” said Shayla Gordon, a sophomore at Midland School in Los Olivos. “This is a great art program.”
Gordon is one of many volunteers age 14 or older who serve as counselors in training for the program. They assist art teachers by preparing materials and helping students with their projects. Molnar-Metzenthin said it’s a great opportunity for high school students to fulfill their community service requirement for graduation.
Each year, more than 500 youths participate in the art classes. Click here for more information, or call 805.962.1661 or stop by the Ridley-Tree Education Center at McCormick House,1600 Santa Barbara St.
— Noozhawk intern Kenny Lindberg can be reached at news@noozhawk.com.