By J. Kathleen Thompson
The first session of Christina Lake Art and Artisan Society’s (CLAAS) “Free to Be Me” summer classes brought together 12 excited teenagers, 200 shiny glass beads and one local jewelry designer Lucinda Dupee – for a morning of blue and beachy bracelet making.
Serving also as educational co-ordinator of the summer classes, Dupee was delighted with the initial response to the new summer series.
“It was wonderful to see the kids lining up at the door for our jewelry class. And they were such keen students, I gave them all the opportunity to make a second bracelet,” said Dupee.
”This is the first time we’ve offered a series of summer art classes and should the response continue like this we will definitely make it part of our regular summer programming here at the Christina Lake Welcome Centre.”
A follow-up to the very successful winter “The Cabin Fever Reliever” classes, the “Free to Be Me” program is offered Tuesdays throughout July and August, with each session featuring a different instructor and art medium.
“We are offering these classes as part of our community outreach mandate,” Dupee explains. “We want to create an awareness of what’s going on locally in the performing, visual and educational arts. We are finding that this is a really effective way to connect people, not only to their ‘inner artist’, but to the artists that are living right in their community. It is gallery art ‘off-the-wall’, so to speak.”
Residents who attended the winter “Cabin Fever Reliever” series were treated to a variety of traditional and mixed media ideas using paper, jewelry, stained glass, fibre and food.
The workshops thus far confirmed for the summer are likewise leaning towards the fun and experimental.
Artist Ruth Murphy revealed the magic of crayola markers in “Crayola Painting” on July 18, Betty Martin demonstrated how to create “Zen Doodles” on July 25, Lucinda Dupee will help the class discover the print-making possibilities of leaves in “Leaf Prints” on Aug. 1, and Leah Carnahan is teaching the felting technique needed to make “Local Wooly Birds” on Aug. 8. Further descriptions of the classes can be found on the CLASS website: christinalakearts.com. A nominal fee of $20 or $25 covers the materials and expenses for each class.
“Our winter series qualified for a provincial grant and a donation from our Boundary District Arts Council,” Dupee said. “We have yet to attain that for our summer series, but I think that people will walk away from each class feeling it was good value for the one-of-a-kind art pieces they will have created.”
The “Free to Be Me” classes are held every Tuesday at the Welcome Centre during the summer: 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. for parent and child (ages 9-12) and 2-4 p.m. for adults (except for “Zen Doodles” which is 10 a.m.-12 p.m. for adults).
Pre-registration is recommended by calling the Welcome Centre at 447-6161 as most classes are limited to 10 participants (eight for ‘Zen Doodles’. Thanks to CLAAS., we have another good reason to spend time at the lake this summer.