SUMMER ART PROGRAM LETS KIDS DREAM & DRAW

Dreaming may be fun, but the Southeast Missouri Council on the Arts has made sure kids have more to do this summer than daydream.

Kids are putting their dreams to work in art workshops that teach them hands-on skills like painting, drawing and working with clay.

The workshops have become so popular over the past few years that this year there is a waiting list to get in, said Beverly Strohmeyer, executive director of the Council on the Arts.

"I think it's gotten so popular with parents through word of mouth," she said. "Each year has a different theme, and the kids like to come back year after year because it's something different every time."

The first two-week session of classes begins June 18 and the second begins July 23. There are two sessions a day, one for kids age 6-10 and another for ages 11-15.

All classes are held in the art building at Southeast Missouri State University and are taught by teachers who have master's degrees in art education.

"The kids learn a little bit of everything," Strohmeyer said, "They are even introduced to art history through slide presentations and guest artists. They'll take field trips to the (university) museum and Kent Library and get to see some of the architecture on campus."

This year's theme is "Dream & Draw." Kids will work with pastels, paints and clay, and explore the world of art a little further than they do in school, she said.

"We figured out they get as much art training at the sessions as they get in a whole school year when they have art one day a week or twice a week for 30 minutes," she said. "With three hours a day, they can really do a project and they can do more in-depth things."

Strohmeyer said the art building on campus is the perfect place to hold the classes, because it has the proper facilities and it is air-conditioned.

But space is limited, and the art council's long-term goal is to be able to hold sessions in its own facility.

"At this point we are glad to have what we have," she said. "The art classrooms on campus are perfect because they have the table and chairs, sinks and water available, but the space is limited because of other classes going on there."

Strohmeyer said she'd like to be able to accommodate at least 60 more kids in the classes, the number that is now on the waiting list. About 120 youngsters from Cape Girardeau and surrounding towns are enrolled in the upcoming sessions.

Teachers are Carol Horst and Brenda Seyer.

The program began more than seven years ago. Sessions were held in art classrooms at Schultz Middle School and Central High School. Two years ago, they were moved to Southeast.

Strohmeyer said one of the pluses to having the sessions on campus is that the art building is air conditioned.

"The art classrooms at Schultz and Central High were not air conditioned and in the summer months, when it gets so hot, it's really difficult for the kids to enjoy what they're doing. We had to find a place that was cooler," she said.

The sessions are not just for kids who have a special talent for the arts, Strohmeyer said.

"It's for kids who like to draw and are interested in art," she said. "They don't have to have any art ability to be in the classes."

The younger group of children, ages 6-10, do somewhat different projects than the older kids, ages 11-15. There is a $50 registration fee for each child, but financial assistance is available.

"If a child qualifies for a free lunch at school then we only charge them half the fee," she said. "We want all children to be able to be in the program, and the fee may be hard for some parents, especially if they have more than one child who wants to participate."

The program received state funding in its early years until it was well enough established to pay for itself. All supplies are provided.

"The program is definitely self-sufficient now," she said. "It's been really popular and it keeps getting bigger."

Strohmeyer said the sessions let children explore art for themselves and discover what they like to do or are good at.

"It gives them a little better background in the arts than what they get at school," she said.