Get Excited About Summer (Art) School!

You know that little creative spark you feel as summer approaches and you shed your seasonal depression for a new, rosier outlook on life? Thankfully, there’s a few options around Eugene to indulge your creative side and work on your art, whatever your age or skill level. If you need to get the kids out of the house before you can even think about being creative, Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art and Emerald Art Center have summer art classes and camps for kids. JSMA has four art camps throughout the summer: Animals around the World and Build, Play, Create are for elementary-aged children and focused more on general exploration. Art Exploration Camp for Transgender and Gender Diverse Youth and Time Travelling Through Art are for middle schoolers and provide a more focused environment. Emerald Art Center divides its camps into two groups: “Explore” — camps meant to expose kids to a breadth of mediums and skills — and “Focus” — camps that center around a particular skill or medium. Most of these are meant for kiddos between 9 and 17 years old. For the adults in the room, New Zone Art Gallery and Emerald Art Center are good places to look for summer art activities. New Zone offers year-round live figure drawing sessions and art workshops, which are both places for new and experienced artists to be creative in a communal setting, and give and receive advice. Emerald Art Center offers classes on all types of painting, drawing and printmaking and are taught by professional artists from around Lane County. “I really believe that art will change you if you let it,” says Debbie Williamson-Smith, communications manager at JSMA. “It is great for mental health, for wellbeing, for joy, for processing feelings. Our founder, Gertrude Bass, really believed that world peace could be created by understanding each other’s cultures through art.” — Will Decker

Explore camps are July 7 through Aug. 7, and Focus camps are Aug. 11 through 21 at Emerald Art Center, 500 Main Street, Springfield. Camps start at $170 for one week. For more information visit EmeraldArtCenter.org. Animals around the World is July 20-24; Build, Play, Create is July 27–31; Art Exploration Camp for Transgender and Gender Diverse Youth is Aug. 17–21; Time Travelling Through Art is Aug. 24–28 at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, 1430 Johnson Lane. Each costs $225. For more information visit Jsma.uoregon.edu/Events. New Zone Gallery is open noon to 6 pm Tuesday through Sunday at 110 East 11th Avenue. For more information visit NewZoneGallery.org.