Senior starts art program

Senior art major Rebecca Ezell started the organization Art Stop for Kids last month to provide an art outlet for local elementary school kids.

Known to its members simply as ASK, the organization’s members worked on art projects with local kids during its first volunteer day this past Saturday.

“I knew I wanted to start this event when Pam Longino the gifted teacher at Blandy Hills Elementary came to visit the art department here,” Ezell said.

Neither Blandy Hills nor Midway Elementary have art programs and Ezell wants to help expose the kids to art.

When she was a kid, Ezell went to a place called “Sugar Time.” This is where she got the inspiration for ASK. The event involved crafts and fun and was a great break for busy parents on a Saturday afternoon.

Ezell did make some changes from “Sugar Time.” ASK is a free program and the only thing the kids need to bring is a lunch.

Some of the crafts the kids participated in were making clay pot creatures, aluminum foil scratch art and a memory board for the older kids.

“We wanted to do crafts that were appropriate for each age group so they could get the most out of the experience,” Ezell said.

All the materials for the crafts were donated by various sources. Kendall Stiles, The GIVE Center director, and Bill Fisher, chair of the art department, helped Ezell collect materials. Ezell is also a member of Alpha Delta Pi and said that her sorority sisters helped her raise materials as well.

“After I sent out e-mails to people in the Art Department and Mr. Fisher sent out some e-mails donations started coming out of the woodwork. It was amazing,” Ezell said.

The crafts ASK does are based off of the materials they have so it was important that they get a lot of donations.

Julia Allen, a junior art major, is the secretary of the organization. She was very excited about the program and being able to share her love of art with kids.

“We had about 80 kids sign up for the first event which is so great. I think it will be awesome for the younger kids to bond with us college students,” Allen said.

Amy Kemp, a junior and the historian for the organization, was also excited about working with the kids especially after finding out they did not have an opportunity to work with art in their schools.

“I joined because I wanted to be a part of this program that is able to provide these children with a creative outlet. I understand how important this is in a child’s life,” Kemp said.

The treasurer of the club is Candace Lattanze, a junior. On Saturday she worked with the kindergarteners and helped them make the clay pot creatures.

“I joined because I love being around kids and working with them,” Lattanze said.

This past Saturday was the first ASK event for kids, but it certainly won’t be the last. They plan to start back in September and hold events from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. the second Saturday of every month.

Posted by Danielle Paluga on Apr 30 2010. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry