Written By Olena Riznyk
PARKHILL – Paint, cardboard, flowers and paper mâché have filled the classroom at the Parkhill Artisan Collective this summer.
The collective has been running eight weeks of art camps for local children, each with a different theme and new projects.
Morgan Stevenson, who planned and has been running this summer’s camps, said she does not want children simply copying an example in front of them. “I love when they come up with their own ideas,” she said. “This is what we’re going to kind of work on, but you can add your own details, your own colours, your own fun.”
Over the summer, children have created art from recycled materials, painted projects inspired by famous artists, worked with flowers and other pieces of nature, tried abstract painting and made cards, masks and paper mâché projects. The final week, August 24 to 28, features fairy tales and mythical creatures.
The camps are kept small, usually with no more than 10 children at a time. “We have lots of familiar faces in here,” Stevenson said, adding that even children coming for the first time usually connect quickly with the rest of the group.
Stevenson said the activities are flexible enough for children of different ages and abilities. “I think anybody would really be able to come and do it,” she said. “There’s not a lot of limitations.”
For Stevenson, the building itself is also familiar. She grew up in Parkhill and remembers coming there when it was still the community library. “I remember coming up and checking out books when I was little,” she said. “I like that this space hasn’t gone to waste.”
She said the gallery has given the building a new purpose, but there are still people in Parkhill who do not know what is there. “There’s so many people who walk through the doors and say, ‘I’ve lived here all my life, and I didn’t even know this existed,’” Stevenson said.
The summer camps are only one part of what happens at the gallery. Workshops and other art programs are held throughout the year, and children’s art classes have also been offered outside the summer months. More details about upcoming programs and events are available on the Parkhill Artisan Collective’s website.
Stevenson said the collective is still working to get more people through the doors. “We need a little bit more exposure,” she said.
