For three weeks, children from ages six to 14 will have the opportunity to be engaged in the world of art by taking part in classes that will be offered to them this summer.

There are three art classes being offered to children, each divided into a different age group. For 4- and 5-year-olds, there is “An Art Media Adventure,” which is designed to expose children to different art media and processes, including clay, paint and drawing.

Painting I is being offered to 6- to 8-year-olds. The class is being taught an introduction to painting techniques. The students will use opaque paints and will be taught how to properly use their tools, color and how to design their composition. Art history will also be included in the class, giving the students a chance to learn about different painting styles and painters.

The Mosaic Workshop will be for 9- to 14-year-old students. In this class, the students will be participating in the project of creating a stepping stone, which will be used outdoors. Glass or pottery will be used to make the mosaic designs for the project and, because of this, teaching the children how to safely handle their materials, and other procedures, including how to properly handle glass, will be stressed throughout the class.

Kathyrn Morice, Curator of Education and teacher of the Mosaic Workshop, believes each of the three classes will be beneficial to the students who are enrolled in them.

“It should expand their exposure to visual arts,” Morice said.

Tricia Hyder, an art major who graduated from Eastern in 2005, said she thinks the problem solving aspect of the class will be beneficial to the children.

“The problem solving, I definitely think, is a big benefit of the class,” Hyder said. “I introduce the material and give them the tools that they need. It’s not like I sit down with them and do a Bob Ross thing in class.”

In order to keep the children’s attention, the class lengths are also different with the older children having longer sessions than the classes held for the younger children. Hyder also has strategies that she uses to engage the students.

“I have a lot of pictures to begin with and I make the pictures relevant to them and talk about experiences they might have had or what they could imagine themselves doing,” she said. “Then, right away when they come in the door, I talk to them and get to know them a little bit so that they feel there is a connection.”

Hyder will be teaching the two younger groups and Morice will be teaching the 9- to 14-year-old students. Each of the three classes is six sessions long, meeting on Tuesdays and Thursdays for three weeks starting today.

Spenser Nobles can be reached at 581-7943 or [email protected].