11The Clallam County Family YMCA threw open the doors of this two-room schoolhouse on Saturday to welcome artists such as Hailey Christiansen, 3, and her mother, Jenn; Nicholas Chapin, 5, of Sequim, and his dad, Michael Adragna, along with Michael Delikat, a longtime resident of Port Angeles who recently picked up an electric guitar.
On Saturday afternoon, Delikat played a lusty “La Bamba” with his teacher, Thom Davis on the resonator mandolin, as people browsed among the coffee, cookies, clay and other art supplies.
Davis, who plays Delta blues and more at spots such as the Blackbird Coffee House and Wine on the Waterfront in Port Angeles, hopes to pique the interest of other would-be guitarists, from teens on up.
Already Cheryl Martin, art coordinator at the YMCA, is one of Davis’ students. An avid scrapbooker for years — the original owner of My Favorite Memory in Port Angeles — she’s relishing her newest art form.
“I’ve been taking beginning guitar,” Martin said, “and just loving it.”
That’s what this school is about, she added: Trying out new things and letting your inner voice sing.
Busy Bees, spring break
For youngsters, the Community Art School offers Early Art Exploration, also known as Busy Bees, for children age 2 to 4 and their parents.
The classes will be held Thursday mornings starting March 12.
Then there’s after-school Art Explorers for the 5- to 8-year-olds on Wednesdays. And for the 9 to 12 crowd, Art Quest will happen on Tuesdays throughout the spring.
Introduction to guitar for youths age 12 and up begins April 13.
And during spring break from March 30 to April 3, teens can try the “Snap This!” photography camp while the younger kids age 5 to 12 can get in on clay camp and make bedroom accessories — bookends, desk clocks, lamps and mirrors.
“We want to let kids try out different media,” Martin said. “The goal is to be more open-ended, to give them materials to create their own vision.”
Grown-ups are invited to join their children at some of the Sunday afternoon craft classes.
The Easter-time “mom and me” program on March 29 is open to kids age 6 and up plus one parent, and then there’s a Mother’s Day gift class on May 3.
Adult classes
The school offers adults-only classes too, including a three-session introductory course in digital photography starting March 7.
Among the fine art classes are the March 19 stoneware bird-feeder session and an introduction to glass fusing on May 21 and May 28.
“It’s My Life,” author Jerry Kraft’s memoir-writing class, is a six-week program offered on Mondays beginning March 16 and Thursdays starting March 19. Life experience, but not writing experience, is necessary for the course geared toward people age 50 and up.
For those poised to dip toes into the art-school pond, there’s “Spring Clean Green,” a March 8 class on how to use common supplies to wash clothes, household fixtures and even yoga mats.
Bath and body
On March 15, the Sunday afternoon craft session is titled “Bath & Body 1: Lotions & Lips,” and on April 19 and 26, adults are invited to curl up with their “quillows,” quilted pillows that spread out into blankets.
The Community Art School, across the alley from the YMCA’s main building at Third and Francis streets, is in the Y House, which was until last summer a teen drop-in center.
When it closed in August, YMCA Executive Director Dan Maguire said the Y could no longer shoulder the center’s $50,000 annual budget alone.
Maguire and his staff are working on rebuilding a teen program, Y Development Director Getta Rogers said on Saturday. The Y’s main gym continues to offer sports and wellness programs for teenagers.
Rogers hopes to see the art school — which is double the size of the old art room inside the YMCA — grow into its more spacious surroundings by mixing children, teenagers, adults and seniors of various backgrounds.
Rogers emphasized that anyone can apply for financial aid for any YMCA program, be it gym membership, child care or one of the Community Art School courses.
Martin, meantime is determined not to let the recession rein in what goes on in her school. She looks forward to diversifying the course offerings and wants to hear from would-be students.
“Anything you can dream up, we can offer that class,” she said.
“The opportunities in here are limitless.”
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Sequim-Dungeness Valley Editor Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-681-2391 or at diane.urbani@peninsuladailynews.com.
