The Arts Council of Brazos Valley, or ACBV, is continuing its Kids Summer Art Camp and Saturday Adult Art classes this summer to foster creativity in the community.

There are two upcoming sessions from July 12-16 open for registration for the Kids Summer Art Camp. First is “Art Around the World” with Rose Santos, where kids can explore art from around the world, focusing on famous artists, traditions and cultures each day. The other class is “Printmaking & Monster Pottery” with Brandi Walden, where campers can make a whistle to play, or a “sound monster” for phones using clay, then learn about the different ways to printmake. 

In addition to the art camp for children, ACBV has an array of Saturday adult classes, the next one open for registration is “Built by Hand: Coil Building Cups with Jacob Jimerson” on July 10. ACBV Executive Director Sheree Boegner said one thing she loves about ACBV’s summer Adult Classes is that they are designed for all skill levels.

“You can be at the beginning stage, or you can be an advanced artist,” Boegner said. “There’s always something that these teachers can help you with to grow as an artist, no matter what skill level you have coming into the class.”
The pandemic has enabled more people to rediscover their talents with art, Boegner said. 

“We got questions about if we had classes for adults, because with Pinterest and social media, there were tons of people showing off what they could do,” Boegner said. “We started getting calls with people saying, ‘That’s great, you have stuff for kids, but what about me?’ So our Programs and Event Manager started emailing lots of teachers, because a lot of them have a little bit of time, and they wanted to share a Saturday to teach someone how to do art.”
The council’s mission is to make art accessible to all visitors and residents of Brazos Valley, Boegner said, which they do through advocacy, promotion, funding and partnerships.

“I just really encourage people to explore art, because it can do some amazing things for you —especially for your mental health,” Boegner said. “All of the classes are amazing. I took one, and it was nice to know that it didn’t matter where I was in my skill set, that the artists were able to help me either remember how to do things, and then teach me how to do different techniques.”

ACBV artist in residence Krislyn Koehler recently taught a summer animation camp for kids and said the summer camps allowed for a casual environment.

“I got to really connect with and be friends with the campers since it was a small group of older kids,” Koehler said. “It was fun since we all got to know each other and we made something cool together.”

Art is an enriching activity that teaches you skills and expertise that anyone can carry into every other aspect of their lives, Koehler said. 

“Growing up, art was something for kids to do as a hobby, and for adults, it was just something for rich people to do,” Koehler said. “But I really encourage anybody to sign up and come give the art classes a shot so they can learn something and meet people. There’s a lot of really great artists and dedicated people that are making this happen.”

For more information and a full list of camps and classes, visit the Arts Council website and Facebook page.