POCATELLO — Local schools will adjourn for the summer in a few short weeks, meaning kids will be home during the day, and the classic phrase “Mom, I’m bored!” will most likely be uttered at least once during the first month of vacation.

    But, thankfully, many local organizations offer fun and educational summer activities for kids, including the Pocatello Art Center, located at 444 N. Main St. in Pocatello.

    Award-winning local artist and art teacher Linda Wolfe will host the art class “Journeys and Visions” for kids ages 6 through 12 during the summer.

    Classes for 6 to 8 year olds will begin on Monday, June 3 and be held each Monday  from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. through August 12. Classes for 9 through 12 year olds will begin on Thursday, June 6 and be held each Thursday from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. through August 15.  

    In the classes, the kids will learn how to use art techniques using colored pencils, watercolors and more to create collages and mixed media art work.

    The classes are on a pay as you go format, so kids can go to one or all of the classes for $5 per session. And all the materials are included. The pay per session format allows for kids to start a project and then come back to another session a couple weeks later to finish if they need to.

    Wolfe says that the students will be asked to use simple things such as shapes and colors to create the collages.

    “I want them to do something that is fun,” Wolfe says.

    Gabrielle Sivitz is co chairwomen for the Pocatello Art Center’s board of education. She is a graphic designer and painter who has a background in scientific illusion. She moved to Pocatello from Montana last year and quickly joined memberships to local organizations, including the Pocatello Art Center and the Pocatello Zoo.

    “I wanted to dive right into my new community and enjoy what makes Pocatello a great place to live,” she says.

    She also joined the Southeast Idaho region of the Idaho Watercolor Society in January. The group meets at the art center every month.

    Sivitz has a passion for art, not only as an artist herself, but because of the many benefits art and art education can have in a community.

    “Arts in the community is so important,” she says, “It creates a more interesting place to live and can help the local economy by attracting more people to the area. There’s also a real need for children’s art education in the community. Studies have shown that art education not only helps children to develop good cognitive skills and build self-esteem but also improves children’s success in other areas such as math and reading.”

    Wolfe agrees that art education is important for children because it helps them develop confidence and skills they can use for their life time.

    “Because you can’t fail at art students are more willing to take other challenges in life,” she says, “art programs can help improve parent-school relationships, attendance and community relations.”

    Wolfe started the art program at the Community Charter School and taught there for eight years. She also worked with the Idaho Commission on the Arts for 18 years as a teaching artist in residence and worked with the state program Very Special Arts of Idaho, working with children with disabilities.

    In addition to the children’s art classes, classes for adults are also offered at teh center, including a two day painting workshop with nationally known artist and Blackfoot resident Ken Spencer.

    Spencer’s class, “Using plein air sketches to create powerful studio paintings” will be held on May 11 and 18 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. each session. Registration deadline for the class is May 9. Call the art center at 232-0970 to register.

    The course will include instruction about composition and design, color harmony, color mixing, paint applications and edges, and will include plein air painting on location in Old Town Pocatello.

    Cost for the class is, for art center members, $110 for one day and $200 for both days. For non art center members, the class is $115 for one day and $210 for both days.  

    The Pocatello Art Center was started in the early 1970s and has grown ever since. The Pocatello Art Center Gallery and School at 444 N. Main in 2001 and have since expanded, offering several classes and events. Each year the center hosts the High School Invitational Art show and the Sagebrush Arts Festival. The Sagebrush Arts Festival will be held on September 14 and 15 this year.

    Sivitz and Wolfe both say that the art center hopes to increase its educational outreach in the near future. The New Knowledge Adventures (NKA) classes for people over 50 will be offered in the upcoming fall and spring semesters.

    For more information on the center go to www.pocatelloartctr.org.