Young artists explore skills at Paradise camp

It may be the first time a group of kids were introduced to new types of art at the Paradise Center, where they were given the opportunity to demonstrate hidden art skills.

Nearly 20 kids age 6-12 received lessons in pottery, card making, painting, creative writing, drawing, stained glass and theater every morning last week 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., rotating from subject to subject from Monday to Friday. All week long, the kids at the Summer Arts Camp for youth, part of Paradise Center's Kaleidoscope program, worked on their projects and on Saturday they displayed their work for family and visitors.

"For many youth, this is their first introduction to several types of arts. They may be familiar with one or two, but our goal is to expand their familiarity with types of art they may not know," said Karen Thorson, who taught the painting on glass class, which entailed using black paint for a subject outline and then different colors inside the shape, such as leaves, fish, fruit, flowers and cars, although some painted their subject without the black outline. She said that the result was a stained glass look. The part that results in a "stained glass" look is done with glass paint specially formulated to be transparent.

"It went great; it was fantastic," said Janice Hanson, the center's event coordinator and the administrator for the camp. This was the first time the camp had a "Lads and Lassies" category for younger children, which included painting on canvas and rocks, clay and plaster reliefs and resin pours. There were only three children in the class, taught by Dave Williams of Plains and assisted by Chloe Monselet, a 10-year-old that Williams has been working with the last two years. Williams has given art classes to both adults and children and is going to the Philippines in December to teach acrylic painting.

The summer camp wasn't all about painting. Kathleen Hubka, director for the Paradise Players theatrical group, taught theater and creative writing, including a session on poetry. "We give them a little of everything because they might not know what they like until they try it," said Hubka.

This is the fifth year for the center to offer the summer art camp. The class was $50 a student, which covered most of the supplies, said Hanson. Cost for the Lads and Lassies class was $10 each. The kids spent 55 minutes in each class doing card making, pencil and pen, and creative writing on Monday and Wednesday and glass painting, pottery and theater on Tuesday and Thursday. They were broken down by age groups. Hanson said that four of the students were repeat campers and there were six sibling groups this year.

The Lads and Lassies met each day for about an hour. The students put the final touches on their work on Friday in preparation for Saturday's exhibit, where they showed their work and had the chance to explain how they made their art.

The center began the art camp in 2018, but had to suspend it because of Covid one year. The artists this year were assisted throughout the week by volunteers Cheri Seli, Michelle Furry, Laura McClanahan, and Gin Weber, who also served as the time keeper and rang the old school bell to signal their move to the next class. Former Sanders County commissioner Carol Brooker prepared the snacks each day. Limiting the number of students to six per class allowed teachers to provide individualized instruction, said Thorson.

It was the first time to teach at the center for Plains residents Mac Hall, who taught pencil and pen, and Delane Johnston, who taught card making. Johnston gave her students the choice of creating a Christmas, birthday or Father's Day card. Most chose to do a Father's Day card. The cards were multilayered with glued cutouts and stamps of different scenes. Johnston said most of them selected bears, wolves and owls. "This was a very creative class," said Johnston of the 9-10-year-olds students. She was particularly impressed with the talent of Aneliese Saap.

Hall has been involved with the Paradise Center for several years and has been a pen and ink and watercolor artist since he was a youngster. Some of his work can be found in the center's art gallery room. Hall enjoyed working with the kids and noted that he's observed some real talent in his students. "A big point I made with the students is that I was trying to teach them several techniques, but there was no right or wrong way to draw," said Hall, who added that he wanted them to enjoy drawing and not be concerned about who was the most talented.

This was Childress' third year teaching pottery. Using an oven baked clay of 25 different colors, the kids had two projects. They made multicolored beads that could be attached to a backpack and a wind chime project, strips of rolled clay suspended from pieces of wood. Childress, who's been working in clay for over 45 years and has had her business, Whistle Creek Pottery, since the 1990s, said teaching the kids was fun and she saw some creative colors and textures.

"I believe we are opening the door to possibilities for youth who have an interest in art," said Thorson, who's been a part of the summer camp since it began. "By offering a wide range of techniques in visual arts, performing arts, and literary arts, we are hopefully enabling youth to try new things, determine if they want to do more of one thing or another, and discover their own creativity," said Thorson.

Upcoming events at the Paradise Center include a school reunion on July 1-2 and the annual Artists in Paradise Aug. 3-5. The Paradise Players will put on a rendition of the "Odd Couple" Sept. 8-10. Next year's art camp will again be the second week of June, but Hanson said that the maximum number of children is 18.