GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. — Summer Art Camp at The Art Center is in full swing, and there are still seven weeks left for children, ages five through twelve, to take part in an opportunity to explore many arts forms, learn new things, and have the opportunity to create their own art.

Every summer for more than 30 years, The Art Center has offered young people of Western Colorado the exciting opportunity to spend their summer learning about and creating art in a safe, fun environment.

Summer Art Camp consists of 10 individual one-week sessions, each one filled with art. Some of the subjects covered during the summer include painting, drawing, collage, pottery, sculpting, print-making, origami, theatre, music, installation art, cartooning, and much, much more! It is designed to keep young minds active during summer break and combines fun and engaging art projects with new concepts and ideas. The result is an exciting, fun-packed learning experience.

Summer Art Camp began Monday, June 1, and ends Friday, August 7, with a new session beginning every Monday. Space is limited. For enrollment or more information visit www.gjartcenter.org or call The Art Center at 243-7337 ext 2. Weekly tuition for The Art Center members is $90 and $115 for non-members. Extended hours are available on request.

2009's Summer Art Camp is partially underwritten by The Art Center Guild, Shaw Construction, Grand Valley National Bank, and the Grand Junction Commission on Arts & Culture.

The remaining weeks' classes are:

Week 4 June 22 - 26

Drawing Skills: Colored pencil techniques o Drawing animals & flowers o Watercolor, mixed media, nature collage o World of texture, fiber art and sculptures inspired by British sculptor, photographer and environmentalist Andy Goldsworthy

Week 5 June 25 - July 3 Masters in Art

Music: Stevie Wonder & Ray Charles o Visual artists: Diego Rivera, Frieda & Lawerence Jacob o Visual artists: George Segal, Jackson Pollock & Chiluly o Study the artist and then make art in their style.

Week 6 July 6 - 10

Clay projects: Pinch pot techniques "Mad Hatter Table" o Learning about the world of cartooning & animation o Creating your own cartoon characters o Making an installation: Undersea, tropical paradise, painting fundamentals, mural painting, landscape painting

Week 7 July 13- 17

The World of Manga: Explore and learn the basics of drawing these Japanese style cartoons which have taken America by storm o Explore color: Color pencil, watercolor and scatch boards o More installation work: Sculpting animals & plants o Finding Nemo meets Shark Tales!

Week 8 July 20 - 24

Clay slab techniques: Learn to make a dragon from clay o Batik/Tye-Dye Batik, a wax-resistant dying technique, is considered as national art in Indonesia o Tropical Paradise Discovery o How to make 3-dimensional sculpture

Week 9 July 27 - 31 Art Goes Green

Making step stools o "Green Mobiles", newspaper free-form jewelry, recycled painting on shoes o Installation: "Paradise" endangered animal painting o Shrinking pictures.

Week 10 August 3 - 7

Working with the art of theater o Building fantasy characters in clay o Superhero cartooning: Create your own superhero!

Lee Borden is the Events and Communications Manager