Kids and instructors have a ball at Artworth

by Brian Schuette, Community Press

Artworth wrapped up the final week of their first art camp for children with an open house for the parents and community on August 18. The kids showed some of their handiwork completed over the previous week, including paintings, woodturning projects and ceramics, and they performed a short skit about a haunted house as well.
David Lyon, one of the organizers and instructors for the event, had the group of 28 students up to his studio the day before. Broken up into groups of seven, they rotated throughout the day to do each activity in turn. David had each of the children chisel out a spinning top on a lathe, which were then ready for painting. Under a shady tree, Jessica Smith had her groups work on watercolour landscapes and pastel drawings, and constructed kites with the children. Mara Brown’s groups learned about movement and performing on stage, playing monsters and scaring people entering their house. Following their play, they all formed a line and took a deep bow, just like the pros. Monica Johnston had her kids make ceramic pieces in clay that they then painted with various glazes to create different colours and textures. The artworks were then heated in a portable kiln, with glazes bubbling and the pieces glowing red hot, and when ready, Monica removed them to a fire pit to complete the process.
David found the whole two-week experience very gratifying, especially as the kids were so enthusiastic about their lessons. "I was blown away by what they’ve been able to achieve with pottery," he said between group sessions. "It was a rewarding experience not only in terms of the art made, but in the response from the community. We took out some ads and by the second one coming out, we were fully booked. There’s definitely a need within the community for this kind of event. We also had tremendous support from sponsors. The Warkworth Service Club gave us some seed money to get started, Kirkland Plumbing provided the Blue Loo for the two weeks, and Specialty Lumber in Colborne supplied the wood for the woodturning."
One thing the organizers of Artworth learned from this first season is that they need to allow more time for some activities. David thinks that rather than have 28 kids come to his studio for a day of turning wood on his lathes, he may limit it to just seven next summer, so they have a more intensive learning experience.