PORT ANGELES — Two new after-school clubs for children, with Port Angeles teacher, artist, actress and parent Sarah Tucker at the helm, will start in early January at the Camp Fire Club House, 619 E. Fourth St.
First comes the Marine Debris Art Club, offered for fourth- through sixth-graders every Monday beginning Jan. 4. These sessions will go from 3 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Then another Marine Debris Art Club section, this one for first- through third-graders, will meet on Wednesdays starting Jan. 6, with sessions from 2:30 p.m. to 5 p.m.
In both clubs, Tucker, creator of marine-debris sculptures for Port Angeles’ annual Dungeness Crab & Seafood Festival among other events, will work with students on new marine-debris art projects. They will use beach debris already collected by Coastsavers volunteers, Tucker said.
For information about the statewide organization and its efforts, see coastsavers.org.
Tucker will also welcome guest speakers, who will come to club sessions to talk about the impact of marine debris, as well as ways to solve the problem across and beyond the Peninsula.
In addition, students will have a chance to prepare artwork for public display around Clallam County.
“I’ve been talking to folks in charge of Rainfest 2016 in Forks, and the Rainforest Arts Center is already set to host the next Trashion Show on May 27,” Tucker said.
“So I will be helping the kids to create magnificent fashions for this event, as well as helping to make marine debris art for Fish on the Fence,” the public art project at Port Angeles’ City Pier.
Also in January, Tucker will open the new Forte Drama Club, with two sessions.
First- through third-graders meet from 2 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. every Tuesday beginning Jan. 5.
The fourth- through sixth-grade students then meet from 3 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Thursdays starting Jan. 7.
Seasoned drama teacher
Tucker, whose recent work as an actress has included “The Nutcracker” in Port Angeles this month and “A Chorus Line” at Peninsula College in June, is also a seasoned drama teacher.
In the Forte club, she’ll help students develop communication skills and increase their confidence in public speaking and social interaction, all while learning about the elements of theater.
The fee for Tucker’s after-school clubs — either drama or marine debris art — is $60 per month per child or $15 for drop-ins, including supplies, juice and snacks.
The Campfire House, adjacent to Jessie Webster Park, is being used many mornings, afternoons and evenings by various groups, Tucker noted.
She looks forward to it becoming a busy place, full of exuberant students.
For more information about the Marine Debris Art Club and Forte Drama Club, contact Tucker at 360-775-4154 or sarah@tuckerart.com.
