Rachel Holmes, right, teaches a “Jungle Explorers” class in black light June 28 in Greenfield.
Maribeth Vaughn | [email protected]
GREENFIELD – No school, no problem. Art class is still on, and in an atmosphere that promotes creativity and pride in ownership.
The Greenfield Parks and Recreation Art Studio hosts camps during breaks in the school year, and summer break is the perfect time for week-long exploring into multiple mediums.
“It’s self expression,” said teacher Rachel Holmes. “It’s important that they have outlets to be creative, have some ownership over something.”
Holmes taught two sets of classes in June – “Beach Staycation” and “Jungle Explorers.” This month, students are diving into the world of miniatures, creating castles and using tiny objects for furniture and decor.
Carefully brushing bright colors onto a clay bird in the glow of black light, Mitchell Petry said his favorite summer activity is baseball but art ranks up there pretty high as well.
“It’s just really cool,” Petry said about the glowing paint on his tropical bird.
Holmes said the class learned about how some birds have bright colors, so why not let students see the colors even brighter by letting simple tempera paint glow with a black light lamp?
“You get to have fun making creations,’ said Sydney Greenhut, 8.
The class also created treasure maps, mixed media paintings inspired by the work of Henri Rousseau, and seek-and-find animal projects. The classes are two hours daily for children ages 6-8; those 9-12 get three hours of instruction and a bit more complex projects.
Classes are in the lower level of the Patricia Elmore Center, located in Riley Park adjacent to the Kathy Dowling Aquatic Center. A fall mini camp “Crazy Colors” is coming up during fall break in October; there are also evening sessions throughout the school year, including “Gamer Life” in August; “Storybook” in September; “Clay Days” in November and “Giftable Art” in December. A complete schedule and instructions on how to sign up are located on facebook.com/greenfieldparksart. Registration is at parks.greenfieldin.org or 317-477-4340.
Holmes said students enjoy being able to build on projects throughout the week, and take home all of their creations at the end of camp.
“They have control, and this is something they can be in charge of; they can make it how they want.”
