Summer fun in class? (7/16/05)

It’s summertime — time for 90 degree temperatures, little league championships, and most importantly, summer vacation.

Every year kids are free from books, homework, and tests. Instead, they are free to play, have fun, and take classes.

Take classes?

Yes, that’s no typo. Students from Adams, Jay and Mercer counties have been taking classes through the Arts in the Parks program since 1977.

Arts in the Parks is a program that introduces young people to the world of visual and performing arts through classes that are taught by artists from throughout the country. It’s designed for students who have completed the first grade or higher. The workshops are sponsored by Arts Place in Portland and are free to attend due to the generosity of Arts Place donors. Every summer there are over one hundred free workshops open to students that touch upon drama, photography, printmaking, and drawing, just to name a few.

According to Arts Place of Portland, thousands of students have participated in these programs during their summer vacations — including myself.

Arts in the Parks was always something I looked forward to each summer in Dunkirk. I was excited to choose which classes would fill my vacation time. I especially enjoyed all the pottery classes, which is evident in the amazing collection of cups, plates, and even “The Birdie Hotel”, which was a birdhouse that never hosted a birdie, but instead has crumbled away over the years in a milk box that sits on our front porch.

A few of my other “treasures” created over time were found during the spring cleaning of our attic.

I opened a box of my things, and my mom and I immediately burst into laughter at the sight of one of my masterpieces, perhaps the crown jewel of my collection. “The Wand” was created in an Arts in the Parks session consisting of bending coat hangers into a shape with a handle at the end, covering the structure with papier maché, and painting it. I decided to transform my wand into a green airplane. I would say the plane probably wouldn’t fly very far these days, seeing that its wings are a little lopsided and the handle used to support the plane looks as if its taking a nose dive straight for the floor.

The next item found in my “Arts in the Parks gallery” was a collection of blue and red paper squares that I had made from scratch. The homemade paper class was fun. However, the only memory that really sticks with me was throwing the paper mush on the side of the shelter house in Dunkirk and watching it harden in the sun. To this day, I still have an exact replica of the shelter house bricks in the park.

Who can say they had a well-established art collection by the time they entered fifth grade?

Over the years, I created masks, jewelry, learned Irish dance and tie-dyed my own t-shirts.

As I began thinking about all the fun I had had during Arts in the Parks and all the treasures I had saved over the years, I wondered if kids were having as much fun in their classes as I did.

I decided to take a peek into a recent Arts in the Parks workshop and find out for myself.

I arrived Wednesday afternoon during a “Mask Madness” class. The scene was familiar — newspaper table cloths, egg cartons filled with lively, brilliant colors, and the splatter of paint on every chair.

Students in this class were painting masks they had made in a previous workshop, which were constructed out of milk jugs and paper cups. When I arrived, everyone was excited to dig in to the freshly poured paint and began creating their masterpieces.

Kyra Braun, 7, of Portland was designing a one-of-a-kind pig mask sporting some yellow shades. She has participated in over four workshops this summer, but agreed that “Mask Madness” was by far her top choice.

Her favorite part of class is on the top of everyone’s list — papier maché.

“(I liked making masks) because the paste was all gooey and slimey,” she said with a quiet giggle.

Kathryn Braun, 10, of Portland, another participant in the workshop said her favorite workshop this summer was pinata making because she likes the process of papier mache and is similar to making masks. Plus, “you get to fill it with candy at the end!”

This is the third year Kathryn has participated in Arts in the Parks workshops.

Overall, everyone left covered with at least one paint mark on their bodies, but also with a smile because of the fun they had during their mask making workshop.

Arts in the Parks classes will continue until the end of July. Walk-in registrations are still being accepted at the class site on a space availability basis. To find out more about Arts Place and its programs, call (260) 726-4809.[[In-content Ad]]“I found your apron. You left it in here,” said Morgan Kaufman, 8, as she handed her teacher an apron with a bright palette of colors splattered all over its surface.

Peggy McCarty smiled, tied on her apron, and started digging into a cardboard box full of fresh paint bottles.

“I love to work with color,” she declared.

Even though she makes her way each summer from Fort Wayne to teach workshops, her home has also been at Arts Place for over 20 years.

McCarty began working at Arts Place in 1983 as a staff visual artist. Over the eight years she held that position, one of her main duties was coordinating the Arts in the Parks program. She was responsible for setting up workshops and attracting artists to the program.

In 1990, she moved to Fort Wayne after getting married, but she did not leave Arts in the Parks behind.

Now, she returns to Portland as an artist and continues to teach about ten workshops each summer. She instructs classes that teach students how to make prints, paint, blend colors, and draw. This is the 22nd year McCarty has been teaching workshops at Arts in the Parks.

What keeps her coming back year after year?

“I really enjoy working with the kids,” she noted. She has had many of the same students in a number of workshops over the years and has developed a friendship with them.

McCarty really enjoys her involvement in Arts in the Parks, which is crystal-clear through the big smile on her face that never faded during her two -hour mask making session. Even when things got rowdy and someone fell off a stool, her attitude never changed.

“I want you to have a good time, but don’t get too silly,” she simply stated.

She started oil painting when she was 12-years-old and hasn’t stopped since. Recently, McCarty decided to take her art interests a step further and obtained her teaching license last year from University of Saint-Francis in Fort Wayne.

Her interest in education came after a one -year substitute art teacher position she held in Fort Wayne. She enjoyed working with her students and teaching them about her love of art.

As of now, she is still substituting, but hopes to pursue a career as an art teacher in the near future.