New Youth Art classes at MAC find success and expand for the summer
A Youth Arts program, “Art With Julie,” put in place this past January at the Mendocino Art Center, is finding a solid niche in Mendocino and Fort Bragg communities. Developed and taught by Julie Karlonas, the two classes are open to specific age ranges.
The classes meet in a sunny art room filled with shelves of art materials, supplies, manipulatives, long tables, and a sink. The Toddler Art Program for ages two to five meets on Tuesday mornings from 10:00 am to 11:00 am and runs in six-week sessions. Karlonas said, “They get artistic experiences they’re not going to get anywhere else.”
Mothers accompany the youngsters, sometimes with younger siblings in tow, as they move at will through stations for painting, printmaking, collage, drawing, and manipulatives of all kinds. The weekly offerings are constantly changed, and the young children never have to wait for a space at any station.
The class for older children, ages five and up, also meets on Tuesdays from 3:30 pm to 5:00 pm for six-week sessions. Openended projects challenge various age groups since the activities are differentiated for age and ability. The program is project-based and is not tied to required lessons.
Karlonas noted, “Kids by age nine think the only good art is a piece of real art. Because they lack the skill set to create that, it’s when most kids stop making art.” Children requesting a specific “how-to-draw” lesson are provided with examples in multiple art styles by recognized artists and have discussion time with Karlonas. Then, provided with a step-by-step manual, these children strike off independently.
Julie Karlonas presents these children with various art media, providing high-quality materials not generally found in school classrooms, let alone a family’s home. Canvas for painting, quality watercolor, printmaking, and rice paper are readily available. Various paints, art pens and pencils, brushes, fabric, and clay abound. The Center has an operating kiln.
Karlonas has thirty years of experience providing art to children as young as eleven months and to adults as old as ninety-six. She has a BA from Sonoma State University in printmaking and a Masters from St. Mary’s College in Moraga in Montessori Education.
She has written four books for Montessori teachers on sharing art with children and is also a national Montessori teacher trainer.
Karlonas has also taken classes for herself at the Mendocino Art Center for twenty-five years. She said, “I always knew I would have a place here at the Art Center. I didn’t know what it would look like.” Last October, she approached Executive Director Martin Betz with her proposal for a youth art program. It was up and running in a matter of weeks.
Karlonas came to Fort Bragg through a teaching career in the Petaluma area, and the family took many trips to the Sonoma coast over the years, followed by ranch life in the Capay Valley in Yolo County, which is still the family property.
Her youngest son was a commercial fisherman, and Karlonas and her husband scouted for property for him. Eventually, they checked out Fort Bragg. Julie was sold. “This is perfect,” she recalled. “The Art Center was going to be the center of my universe,” she added.
Karlonas now lives parttime in a “tiny” house out on Simpson Lane built just for her needs. Meanwhile, her husband maintains their ranch property. The temporary living arrangements for both of them is part of Karlonas’s earlier vision for herself. “I was working on having it happen for me,” she explained.
Teaching at an art center has become a pinnacle that Karlonas can claim. “This is by far the best space that I’ve had to provide art on a regular basis,” she said. Comparing her program to an art program in schools, Karlonas said, “A child has a very different experience at an Art Center. It’s like going to the museum and seeing the real stuff.”
Karlonas also offers free Family Arts Events every six weeks. The program is drop-in bases and meets on scheduled Saturdays from 3:00 pm to 4:30 pm. Interested families should check the Mendocino Arts Center website or the Advocate/Beacon Calendar of the Week to find upcoming classes.
For the summer, Karlonas will be on hiatus for the regular Toddler’s and Children’s classes, but she will be running three sessions of summer camp for ages five and up. Each session is a full week from 9:00 am to Noon through the month of July. Session I is Mask Making; Session II is Animals in 3-D; and Session III is Clay Days.
For more information about these summer camps, registration, and fees, contact Julie Karlonas at juliekarlonas@yahoo. com or call her at 530-9081524. More information is also available on the Mendocino Art Center website at mendocinoartcenter.org.