Growing up in an art town

ARTworks’ after school program spans visual, performing, and literary arts. When students, 6 to 16 years old, entered the studio-classrooms in the fall session, they created paintings on bark paper, baskets with reeds, gargoyles out of clay, short stories with inspiration from maps of Beaufort County, mandalas with compasses, and delved into nature art and the black box theater.
When the classes ended, the students were asked what they had learned. Yancey Morena, said that he learned about “cutting the clay a certain way to make a box. People should make art so they can express themselves through a brush and their hands.” He mentioned that the clay class fueled his interest in origami.
Like all the students, the basket making crowd filled out the survey about what they most proud of, and what they had a hard time with, and the answer to both questions was often “my basket,” which means that these kids tackled the process and produced a piece of art about which they can feel accomplished.
Brenden Glover also took the creative writing class (his third at ARTworks) and said that “I could write a story about it, to tell people how to make baskets, and put instructions in.”
Felicity Swanson seemed to comprehend her early artistic career in very practical terms: “I’m not really an artist, but I can say that I am really good at drawing pictures.”
November and December classes for kids at ARTworks:
• Paper Making with Deanna Bowdish, for ages 10-16, November 15-17, skip Thanksgiving week, November 29 – December 1.
• Printmaking with Deanna Bowdish, for ages 10-16, December 6-8 and 13-15.
• Writing for the Stage with Heather Denardo, ages 9-16, December 6-8 and 13-15.
• Ornament Creations with Jean Norton-Torjussen, ages 6-9, December 6-8 and 13-15.
ARTworks is at 2127 Boundary Street, Beaufort 29902; 843-379-2787, www.artworksinbeaufort.org.