By Marilynn Young | LB Indy
A group of inspired grade-school girls meeting at a local art gallery have transferred their imaginations into a gallery show of self-portraits currently on display through Feb. 14 at Laguna Coffee Co.
On Tuesday afternoons, creativity flows freely as Finley Janssen, 10, dips her brush and paints “fire” on her escaping butterfly work. Levi Cook, 9, expresses how she changed a unicorn cat into flying turtles. And Jaiden Spence, 10, perfects pointed ears on her up-side-
down avatar during an assignment that requires their imaginations to roam at an Artist Republic Gallery class in Laguna Beach.
“I like how you can’t do art wrong, ” says Jaiden, who, like Finley, attends Top of the World Elementary in Laguna. She’s taken private art classes at the gallery for the last year.
The girls themselves decided to give their class an official name, The Art Fort. They receive private instruction from Stephanie Snee, 25, a Laguna College of Art and Design graduate, who leads them to develop their own artistic style and explore new techniques.
The students work in a spectrum of mediums: oil, watercolor, ink, clay, charcoal, collage and found object. “Teaching art to this level is a great experience and very rewarding because they are open to all ideas,” said Snee.
Torrey Cook, owner and director of Artist Republic Gallery, carved out the time to create the after school art class with other parents because she felt there was not enough fine art teaching in the current public school classrooms. Her daughter Levi attends school in San Clemente.
The state Board of Education sets academic visual and performing arts standards in kindergarten
through 12th grade classes. Even so, Laguna sets no art guidelines in the curriculum, said Darlene Messinger, the assistant superintendent for instructional services in the Laguna Beach Unified School District. “Teachers can plan their own art schedule and are very creative in their classrooms,” she said.
The popular art program Meet the Masters and led largely by volunteers introduces elementary students to famous artists and artistic styles. The program is taught sporadically. Art classes are offered as an elective in middle school and a year of art instruction is a high school graduation requirement. Laguna Beach High School offers a spectrum of choices that fulfill the requirement, including music, ceramics, digital media, dance, theater, photography or studio art, Messinger said.
She said a district committee was recently established to strengthen fine arts program as the state’s arts standards are in flux.
In the meantime, those lucky enough to find refuge inside the Art Fort dabble in artistic pursuits every week.
The Art Fort meets on Tuesdays, 3:15-5:15 p.m. at Artist Republic, 1175 S. Coast Hwy. The cost is $80 per month. For more information, contact [email protected].
The Art Fort show at Laguna Coffee Company, 1050 S. Coast Highway, is on display until Feb. 14.
