Sculpting young artists

Audrey Lewis held dripping plaster strips in her hands before firmly pressing them both on the plastic mask in front of her.

The 10-year-old, her hands still wet and white with plaster, said her dad dressed up as a mummy for Halloween last year, and she hopes he does so again.

"I'm going to tell him to dress up as a mummy again and I'll make the mask for his face," she said, smiling.

Lewis was one of 13 young people, from ages 6 to 14, who attended a sculpture workshop Monday with Cape Girardeau artist Beth Thomas in a studio at Southeast Missouri State University.

The sculpture workshop was the last of four weeklong workshops, a collaboration between Southeast and the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri.

Each workshop focused on a different medium, such as ceramics, drawing, painting and sculpture.

Thomas said the goal is to nurture children's creativity and keep them mentally active during the summer months.

"The classes give the children something constructive to do," Thomas said. "We take the kids and make them more creative. It's enriching."

Carol Horst, art educator at Southeast, said at least 93 students participated in the summer workshops. She said through the program students learn about art production and art history.

"The kids are getting inspired by history, and in a fun way," Horst said.

The focus of this week's sculpture workshop is Egypt, a topic that piqued the interest of students such as Lewis.

"I read all about Egyptians. It's awesome," she said.

Brady Murphy, 7, of Cape Girardeau said he was so interested in the topic, he did his own research.

"I've been reading about it on the Internet. I started looking things up a couple weeks after school got out," he said.

On Monday, the project was to create a plaster mask of King Tut. Other projects this week include sculpting a canopic jar and sarcophagus out of clay, as well as a relief sculpture on hieroglyphics and a cat sculpture. Thomas said these projects are new and challenging for the younger students.

"These kids who are really interested in art want to have something to challenge them. This gives them a little something extra they wouldn't have in other classes," she said. "We're teaching them fundamentals but make it a little more difficult."

Horst said the half-day workshops give artistic students an outlet to celebrate their passion.

"Every child has their own passion, and for many it's art. Being creative is so good for the soul," Horst said. "This exploration is important in all places."

The students will choose one piece of art from each workshop to be on exhibit at the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri. The opening reception is from 5 to 9 p.m. Aug. 7.