ArtSkool 2019

TASI’s annual summer camp combines creativity, education

Keeping kids busy doing something other than being glued to phone or computer screens is always a challenge, and The Art Studio, Inc. is again hosting its stimulating, annual two-week ArtSkool, July 22-26 and July 29-Aug. 2, at the 720 Franklin St. location in downtown Beaumont.

What’s new this year is something for the younger kids, ages 5-7, the ArtSkool Mini going on July 15-July 19. These sessions will be only from 9 a.m. to noon each day and costs $100 for the full week with snacks and materials included. Class size is limited.

“We’ve had such a demand to offer something for younger students,” Gina Garcia, ArtSkool director, said. “The regular sessions are for older kids and teenagers and are a bit more physically challenging. The mini is designed for the younger kids’ skill and physical level.”

For the regular sessions, parents can sign students up for morning and afternoon sessions that offer printmaking, mixed media projects, ceramics and raku, film photography and papier maché. Students get exposure to all the sessions each week and get to show off their work with an opening reception each Friday evening.

Brittany Tanton, instructor for the afternoon drawing sessions section, said the camp offerings have something for everyone.

“The camp itself creates friendships, positive experiences, and helps campers build on their love for art with new skills and techniques,” she said.

Tanton, who teaches art at Silsbee High School and will also teach camp at the Silsbee Ice House Museum, said she loves teaching students of all ages and enjoys the positive experience ArtSkool gives to campers.

“I would like campers to leave with learning basics with finished products they are happy with and confidence in their own personal drawing abilities,” she said.

Parents and students are reminded to “dress for the mess” and to pack a sack lunch. The famous Studio pink lemonade, along with water, will be available to attendees. Parents should not drop off students earlier than 15 minutes before classes begin nor pick-up students any later than 15 minutes after the end of the sessions.

“It’s a fun and ex­­­citing art experience. Students get to practice different mediums — it’s not just some random class where kids do a specific project,” Tanton said. “They get to explore and learn techniques. It is an art education class, not just busy work.”

Garcia said she sees the program as something for students to build on.

“Students that come to Artskool really get a foundational exposure to art,” she said. “Our hope is that the classes encourage kids to explore their creative side more, and that the classes also give them some of the technical knowledge of how to produce their ideas and how to problem solve.”

Garcia said she saw the idea germinate when her daughter Paisley was a student in the program.

“We give students the tools and knowledge so that when they go home they can continue to be creative and work on their ideas,” Garcia said. “We’ve had students like Avril Falgout that took one session and then took their interests to the next level with winning major art contests and earning scholarships and study abroad opportunities.”

Port Neches native Falgout, then 17, won the 2015 TASIMJAE (The Art Studio, Inc. Member Jurored Art Exhibition) competition over 66 other entries and was invited to the Lawndale “Big Show” for contemporary art in Houston. She is also graduate of the Texas Academy of Leadership in the Humanities at Lamar University and after completing that program was accepted into an art history degree program at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland.

“It’s learning at your own pace,” Garcia said. “It’s very individual, and students get to make what they want and develop their own ideas, and The Studio wants to share that process with other kids in the area.

“This is an opportunity for students of all skill levels. The class builds their confidence. It’s a chance for them to build on their ideas to the next level if that is what they want. We say to the kids that, ‘Hey, you have this talent within you. This a chance for you to develop it however you want.’”

Garcia said students are broken down into age groups and experience levels so they can pursue their interests. Some students return to ArtSkool for multiple years, and Garcia said not all the students will need the same instruction or direction to begin work.

Garcia said she hopes students leave with the skills and tools to grow and to create art in their day-to-day world at home.

Regular classes are for ages 9-15 years-old, and each session, morning or afternoon, is $100 per week for a combined weekly cost of $200 for both sessions including all classes. Morning sessions are from 9 a.m.-noon and afternoon sessions are from 1 p.m.-4 p.m., Monday-Friday.

There is a weekly exhibition each Friday evening from 5 p.m.-6 p.m for the students and their family and friends. Students take their projects home after the reception on Friday.

For more information, call 409-838-5393, or visit www.artstudio.org.

Story by Stephan Malick, ISSUE staff writer