BECKLEY — Local children were at the Cynthia Bickey Art Gallery Thursday for the last session of “Art Explorers: a Study of the Past,” an after-school art program that provides an artistic foundation and creative outlet for school age children from third to eighth grade. a total of 29 children, representing Beckley-Stratton, Bradley-Prosperity, Daniels, Maxwell Hill and Sophia, were enrolled in the program that began in October. Since then, students have been introduced to prehistoric art, impressionism and pop art by BAG youth chairman and trained educator Kristi Huff, who is also owner of Studio 109 Photography at Harmony. Thursday night’s lesson focused on creating an additive sculpture based on the work of American pop artist Wayne Thiebaud, whose most famous works are of cakes, pastries, boots, toilets, toys and lipsticks. “We did a three-dimensional additive sculpture based on the work of Wayne Thiebaud. it is called an additive sculpture because you are adding pieces of clay little by little to create the bigger piece. Thiebaud’s paintings look so life like, so this lesson focused on three dimensional aspect of his work, the colors he used, the detail of his work, and translating that into sculpture,” Huff explained. Due to the ever dwindling presence of art curriculum in the public school, this program is more relevant than ever, she said. the goal of the program aims to teach essential learning skills such as problem solving, creative self-expression, life lessons and teamwork. Originated by the Oglebay Institute, Art Explorers is implemented by the Beckley Art Group and secured through a grant from the Beckley Area Foundation by Tamarack. Steve Cassle, professional development coordinator for the Tamarack Foundation, explained they originally wanted to take the program into the school systems, but due to a funding shortage, it was developed as an after-school program instead. Off to a slow start, the program began with six children and grew to its current size of 29 simply due to word of mouth, he said. “the program teaches 13 different time periods ranging from prehistoric up to modern day. Each class opens with the kids becoming familiar to a lot of visuals to give examples of art work done by three artists. Students learn about the artist, their technique and what made them famous,” he explained. not only do the kids learn the terminology of art, they also learn about basic aspects such as line, composition and design. Lessons are presented in a step-by-step format and relate to the art movement by presenting hands-on projects that mimic the styles of that time period, he said. Materials of an unusual nature such as patterns, tools, inks, clay and more are included with each lesson. “Art teaches how to truly be creative. If you think something, see something, or dream something in your mind, you can create beautiful artwork with it,” Cassle said. “Art teaches how to take your dreams and thoughts and apply it to something creative and tangible. Art teaches not only how to work with your hands — which is obvious — it teaches to work with the mind. it gives great examples for the kids to follow, and it is problem solving, so it teaches how to get over certain hurdles.” Ron Dewitt, artist in service for Tamarack and program director for the Tamarack Foundation, spoke about the importance of art in education and said this program teaches more than “just art.” “It’s been proven that people who have art in their classrooms do better in science and math. Art opens up the mind to be creative and unfortunately in our school systems today, with all the testing, that creativity is extinguished. “This is really core curriculum that can be incorporated into every single program in schools. though we would love this to supplement art education, in many cases this may serve as the only exposure some students get.” Dewitt said the Clay Center did a study two years ago that evaluated the art programs in every county in the state. With only 10 counties receiving a passing grade, the need for more programs of this nature is evident. he added at least 15 counties had no art program due to funding shortfalls. “For the community to step up like the Beckley Art Group did for this program, it speaks to the importance and validity of the program which has become a huge success. as the volunteer run program comes to a close for 2011, it is the hope of all those involved to continue to offer this enriching program for years to come. a new application has been submitted for another grant to continue the program in 2012. to learn more or to get involved, call Beckley Art Group at 304-253-9226 or visit beckleyartgallery.com. — E-mail:
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