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Art smart
Plymouth Arts Council offers year-round classes for children
There is a bit of science, some math
and a lot of creativity involved in the
summer art programs at the Plymouth
CommunityArts Council.
Young students soon become aware
that experiments involved in their
classes involve both science and art.
“I like doing the fun experiments
and I like the teachers here,” said Ivy
Turnquist, 11, who'll be an East Middle
School sixth-grader this fall. She's in
the Plymouth Canton Arts Council
Experimental Art (PCAC) summer
youth camp at the building on Sheldon
Road.
In the nearby “Inside Outside
UpsideDown” class, based onworks of
Dr. Seuss, Lisa Howard, PCAC execu-
tive director, said to six students, “Walk
around it and see if it's interesting
from all the angles. This is 3-dimen-
sional. Your paper is flat.”
The building was bursting with cre-
ative youngsters. The PCAC has Young
Artists camps for ages 5-7 in summer,
with additional programs for older
children, up to 18, and adults.
“It differs a lot,” Howard said of
summer youth programming. “During
the school year, we don't have a lot of
time with the kids.” The PCAC has
drop-in school-year offerings for kids,
whichhelpswithbusy schedules.
“Summertime is a time for them to
just kind of unwind,” said Howard,
noting the creative focus of the ses-
sions.
Outside for a picnic table snack,
Turnquist was joined by friends
Madeleine Haynes, 11, a sixth-grade
Millennium Middle School of South
Lyon student, and Charlie Palko, 9, a
fifth-grader at Canton's All Saints
School.
Day manager/instructor Chelsea
Murray of Northville was being helped
in the Experimental Art class by Alexa
Elkouri of Canton and Haleigh
Czarnecki of Northville. Josh England
of Canton fills in for Murray as day
manager and is Howard's theater
camp assistant.
The students crowded around the
classroom table as Murray used a wax
crayon for a design. She said, “The
wax kind of protects it.” A brush she
demonstrated with created a
“snowflake effect” withwax, andwater
onpaper.
The students used water and even
salt for an “under the sea” look prior to
the fish design work set for the next
day.
Howard, in the next room, showed
the pipe cleaner “tree” designs. She
shrunk Styrofoam in the oven for
painting based on Dr. Seuss' “kind of
fun and fantastical books.”
The Experimental Art class has
gone through different names, incor-
Julie Brown
Staff Writer
Chelsea Murray is the center of attention as she teaches an Experimental Art
technique to children at the Plymouth Community Arts Council.
A smiling Talia Conte, 6, shows her
pipe cleaner “tree” based on a Dr.
Seuss book to Lisa Howard, Plymouth
Community Arts Council executive
director.
