Arts & Entertainment
Community Stepping Stones Offering Art Programs for Adults
Arts organization is teaching low-cost art classes for adults this spring. Proceeds will help fund youth programs offered free to underprivileged children in Sulphur Spings.
Community Stepping Stones is calling on adults to find their inner Picasso.
A non-profit organization that provides free after-school and Saturday arts and services programs for underprivileged youth in Sulphur Spings, the center at 1101 E. River Cove St. is currently registering students for its spring adult art classes. This marks the first-time the organization has made such a focused effort to serve an older population.
“We’re doing it for a couple of different reasons,” said Melissa Phillips, teen and adult programming coordinator. “One is that it helps to bring in funds to help our (youth) programs, which are free. … And the second reason is that it brings in adults from the broader community rather than just Sulphur Springs. It could be an expanding of worlds for both adults and the Sulphur Springs youth. Really, our overall goal is to improve the community as a whole.”
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The spring courses include ceramics, basket-weaving, creativity training, rainsticks, Photoshop, visual poetry and journaling. Classes start at $125, not including lab fees, and run anywhere from two to four sessions.
Classes are suitable for all skill levels. Students need not worry about running out to purchase supplies.
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“You don’t even need to bring a pencil or paper,” Phillips said. “All classes, they supply everything.”
Community Stepping Stones was aiming for variety in its selection this spring. One class teaches students how to make rainsticks. Founder and Artistic Director Ed Ross is teaching a class on beginning ceramics, as well as ceramics for parents and children. All of the adult classes are taught by local experts, Phillips said.
“That’s important to us,” she said. “We want to support and encourage local artists.”
Community Stepping Stones was founded in 2004. They operate from the Mann Wagnon Park buildings and serve a very needy population. According to the organization, 85 percent of the community’s adults have never completed high school and its youth currently has between a 67 percent and 90 percent dropout rate, depending on the study.
The window for registering for the spring adult art classes is closing, as some classes begin March 5. For more information about the art classes, visit the Community Stepping Stones website.