The Tarble Arts Center is currently holding art classes for children again this year for kids aged 4-14. Children will participate in three different classes going on through the rest of this month.

The classes, held in Tarble, teach kids about a variety of art styles and techniques as well as different cultures and historical periods. Four and five year olds, the youngest group, are learning about art and customs from various regions in the Multicultural Art class going on all this week. Students are studying five different countries and creating projects that are native to that part of the world.

The Exploring 2-D Media class is offered to six to eight year olds and lasts until June 28. Children in this class will gain experience in a variety of media such as paint, printmaking and fabric. The students then use those skills to emulate the style of famous artists like Piet Mondrian, Salvador Dali, and Faith Ringold. Kids aged nine to fourteen are attending the class entitled A World of Folk Art where they learn about folk art traditions from Mexico, Africa, and Early America.

Kit Morice, Curator of Education at the Tarble, said the children get more intensive exposure to art techniques in the classes than they would in a regular classroom. “Our classes are very varied in terms of the offerings and the media they work with. Our instructors are professional artists or art educators. And also we have small class sizes so (the kids) get more one on one than when it’s a class of 25 or 30 kids with one art teacher.”

Also, many kids who might not be doing well in school will often benefit from different kinds of teaching. “There are kids that excel visually and learn in ways different from others so sometimes kids who might not be doing well academically in school really blossom in the art classes.”

Morice also stated that the museum setting of the classes offers a unique learning environment that children don’t usually get in an art class in school. Classes frequently discuss works on display in Tarble and will even incorporate styles from current exhibitions into their projects. As Curator of Education at the Tarble, Morice is heavily involved with promoting and improving arts education in schools; the Tarble classes are simply a way of further enhancing the instruction they receive in their normal classrooms.

The instructors of the classes are all experienced artists and art teachers coming from backgrounds in professional art and art education. Currently, 32 kids are enrolled in the three June classes with about 12 to 15 in a class. Several students return to the classes year after year to participate in the varying programs offered, with many younger siblings following in their footsteps.

Tarble has a long history of offering community art classes, having provided the service since opening in 1982. Now in its 25th year, the Tarble has continued to offer non-profit professional art instruction to Charleston and the surrounding area. All fees from the classes go towards maintaining the program, whether that includes paying the instructors or buying materials.

Morice was very pleased at the community reaction she has received from students and parents. “We get very positive feedback. Parents are very happy for (the kids) to get enriched art experiences beyond what they are already getting.” Many home-school parents, who might be more limited in what they can offer their kids, enjoy the classes as well. Some may lack the experience with art, or the necessary materials, and look at the Tarble children’s programs as great resources for their kids.