Fuller Lodge Art Center calls its Summer Art Camp “The Best Six Weeks of Summer” for children from Los Alamos, surrounding communities and even foreign countries. Courtesy photo

FULLER LODGE ART CENTER News:

This summer 80 to 100 students age 4 through 6 grade filled the classrooms at Fuller Lodge Art Center on Central Avenue each week, while teens met for classes at Village Arts on DP Road.

Whether painting, drawing, sculpting, dying yarn and knitting or creating things from recycled materials, these young artists were exploring their creativity with enthusiasm and laughter.

To celebrate this next generation of artists, the Art Center will share the fruits of their artistic endeavors with the public in the “Summer Art Camp Showcase” beginning Monday.

The week-long showcase culminates with a cookies and Kool-Aid open house 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Aug 11.

The adults who teach at Art Camp are all artists, and look forward to sharing their working expertise with children in the summer.

Living Treasure Thelma Hahn brings her joy of art to the children and maybe even grandchildren of her former Los Alamos Public Schools students.

Cosby Lindquist just finished his master’s degree in fine arts in Ohio.

Joyce Yarrington lives in Hershy, PA and teaches art classes each summer while she visits her children and grandchildren in Los Alamos.

Katie Brousseau recently opened Warm Hearts Yarn with craft supplies and gifts in White Rock.

Casey Greenling is a clay artist who works out of the ceramic studio at the Art Center and pioneered the teen classes this year.

Dina Alexander started the wildly popular art class for 4-6 year olds, and will continue the program this fall.

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The Art Center began offering summer art classes in 1994 and the program has evolved over time into its current six-week format, with week-long three-hour sessions in the morning and again in the afternoon.

Some students sign up for both sessions and spend a supervised lunch hour on the lawn with high school student interns.

This year there were more out-of-town families bringing their students up to Art Camp for the day while a parent worked in town, as well as families here on vacation enrolling their children for a brief immersion into the world of art.

Connie Maness, a teacher who has led art workshops for children across the country raved about the Art Center. “I hope this town knows how lucky they are,” she said. “This is an amazing facility and the students are wonderful children.“

The Art Center would like to offer a public thank you to Diane Norwood, Josephine Boyer of Sonshine Art and the Beader Babes, all of whom donated art supplies for the classes, and to the Emily Bradley Foundation for providing scholarships for 20 students.

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The public is encouraged to visit the display Friday and Saturday. The Art Center is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday with free admission and parking.

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