Summer art camp hosts finale

Last Saturday a small crowd gathered in the Hot Springs Senior Center to see the grand finale art show to the Hot Springs Summer Art Camp.

The camp, organized by Linny Gibson, initially started on June 16 and officially ended on July 26. It was held within the Hot Springs Bible Church and the Trinity Lutheran Church. The camp had a total of seven staff members who taught four different classes: music, drawing and painting, sculpture and filming.

During the show, that lasted for from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., children were able to showcase all of the things they learned over the six weeks worth of classes. Children displayed ceramic pieces, to drawings, to papier-mâché animals and creatures. Students who had designed their own musical compositions were even able to play them in front of family and friends.

Joan Nevarez, the founder of the first art camp that began about a decade ago, performed a special composition called the Whale Song. It consisted of a string instrument trio accompanied by a flute. And while the music was a big hit of the show the video class presented a 15-minute highlight reel of their own self-scripted video projects.

“They actually thought out the editing and it was a great way to do it,” Scott McCumber said, the co-teacher of the video class. He explained that while he helped out a small amount with the editing and giving the kids direction, that the kids did the majority of the work.

“It’s a great performance; I think it turned out great,” McCumber said.

Blaine Carr, age 9, acted and helped produce one of the class video’s “How ToŠ” segments, entitled “How to Throw a Touchdown Pass.” Carr acted out how to catch a touchdown pass while professional game commentary and music played in the background.

Carr said the class was one of his favorites because he liked using the camera. “You have different shots and you can zoom in and zoom out,” Carr said. He also added that he wants to make more films in the future. Specifically, Blaine said he wanted to produce and act out an entire football game next time.

Jeannette Carr, the mother of Blaine and her other son Tyler, age 7, said that she was impressed with the camp and was glad that it gave her children a taste for the arts. “My boys are very sports oriented and I want them to be well rounded,” she said.

Jeannette also liked the dedication she saw in all of the instructors at the camp. “I just appreciate the hard work and organization that these [teachers] put into it,” Jeannette said.

Melissa Blue, one of the Music teachers at the camp, thought the show was unique because of its dynamic presentation of the arts. “The unique part about this show is being able to bring all the modalities of art into one big celebration,” Blue said.

Blue instructed her students how to create their own music and was amazed at how receptive they were. “I wondered if I was giving them too much of a challenge,” Blue said. “But the kids rose to the occasion. I’m looking forward to next year and the kids have given me ideas to make it even better,” Blue said.

Lance Clemons, a local community member who stopped by to see the show, said that he enjoyed the music and liked the education that the kids were receiving. “It will give them a jump start into music and give us something to do as adults, and it also gets the community out,” Clemons said.

Naomi Fox, the drawing teacher, said that she liked the great amount of artwork in one place. She also said that she thought the silent auction of the children’s artwork at the event would help the program for next year. “It’ll be a big boost,” Fox said. Nevarez explained that while the program would use some of the proceeds to fundraise and help with costs that the children would be allowed to keep 25 percent of anything they sold.

Nevarez also prepared a speech for the event where she thanked the community for their support for the camp and their appreciation for the arts. “I’ve been privileged to have worked with these kidsŠ” Nevarez said in her speech.