The Mann Art Gallery let young artists explore with clay and animals at their Free Art Day on Saturday.
Kiara Levesque is an art educator at the Mann Art Gallery. Levesque has been working for the gallery since last June and comes in occasionally to lead art events and assist Lana Wilson.
Levesque said this choice came naturally after seeing how popular clay was in previous Free Art Days.
“Every month we kind of bounce in between things,” she explained. “We always have multiple different mediums for kids to work with. But every time that we have clay out, clay is the first thing that kids always go to.”
Levesque said observing how the participants reacted to clay helped choose the direction the day went.
“All of the kids love playing with their hands and getting all messy, so we thought that it’d be a good idea to have a whole bunch of clay out for everyone and have something centred around that,” she explained.
Animals were also an easy choice. Levesque said they are easy to create and fun.
“Everyone knows what animals look like. Kids love cats and dogs and everything, so having something that they know is inviting for everyone.”
The other appeal of clay is that it can be quite tactile. according to Levesque.
“When I was a kid, I loved to get messy,” she explained. “I know that kids love to actually get their hands on things. Drawing is one thing, but then also being able to shape and mould things with your hand, I’ve seen, is a really big appeal.”
Although the afternoon had just started, Levesque said the crowds had been pretty steady.
“We’ve been pretty busy. As soon as we opened, we had people come in, and then there’s kind of been a steady flow since then.”
Free Art Day at the Mann Art Gallery will continue each month throughout the summer.
