Youngsters get art intro
Published 7:22 pm Thursday, December 16, 2010
Preschooler Katherine Conrod was confused about where she would get the snow for her snowglobe.
“Does it come from the sky?” she asked Suffolk Art League executive director Linda Bunch.
Perhaps Katherine was remembering the snow that fell on Monday, but this particular snow would be scooped into a tiny jar filled with water. Katherine then screwed on the jar’s top, which had a tiny deer glued to its underside.
Katherine and two other classmates were making snowglobes at the Suffolk Art League’s young artist classes Wednesday at the Suffolk Museum. The classes help introduce preschoolers ages 3 to 5 to the arts, Bunch said.
“We like to get folks interested in the arts as young as we can,” she said. “If they have a really good experience in a museum at a young age, they’ll be more inclined to visit museums as they get older.”
The monthly classes always feature projects that are appropriate for the age and season, Bunch said. In addition to making snowglobes on Wednesday, the students were coloring pictures of stockings hanging above a fireplace and making their own Christmas tree ornaments.
Stephanie Freel brought her daughter, Polly, and Katherine, a playmate, to the young artists’ class Wednesday. A former teacher, Freel said she brings her daughter to the young artists’ classes every month.
“It gives them a different critical thinking skill,” she said. “You open up those pathways.”
Dana Adams brought her granddaughter Wednesday. She’s been involved with the art league since its inception and still has projects her daughters made in classes at the museum.
“She likes this kind of stuff,” Adams said of her 4-year-old granddaughter.
Bunch, who plans each of the workshops, focuses more on the process rather than the results, she said.
“We try not to emphasize the finished product,” she said. “At this age, it’s more about having fun with art.”
The classes typically are held on the third Wednesday of the month. There is a small registration fee. For more information, call the art league office at 925-0448.