Art classes for kids, Celina Record

Local business provides art instruction to Celina children Lisa Ferguson, lferguson@starlocalmedia.com May 19, 2016 Besides sharing the same first name, Kelly Allard and Kelly Engelbert have a lot in common. The women, who are neighbors in the same Celina subdivision, are both professional artists who are passionate about helping children explore their creativity. Last year they started a business called Celina Creative Arts and hosted a series of summer art camps for kids at the Whimsy Finds store, 229 W. Pecan St., on the city’s downtown square. They will be back at it again this summer with a pair of camps for children age 6 and older. The aptly named Art Camp kicks off June 13-16 with lessons in drawing, painting and clay sculpting, followed by an art history camp July 11-14. For kids age 9 and older, a camp called Paint Big will be offered June 20-23, followed by a watercolor and ink camp July 18-21. The camps cost $85 per child with the exception of the Paint Big camp, which is priced at $130. All of the necessary art supplies will be provided. Celina Creative Arts will be featured at Friday’s installment of Celina Farmers Market Friday Nights on the Square, where the business will offer free face painting for youngsters. Engelbert, who studied fine arts in college, is a fixture at the biweekly Farmers Market where she sells her handcrafted artisan jewelry through her other business, Kelly Co. Creative Arts. “Celina just didn’t have anything like this for a long time,” Engelbert, who has lived in the city for two decades, explained of the lack of extracurricular art instruction for children. Allard, who studied graphic design at the University of North Texas, is classically trained in painting and drawing techniques. She formerly taught art classes to children in McKinney where her work was also displayed in a gallery. As part of the 90-minute art history camp sessions, the women introduce youngsters to some of history’s most famous artists and challenge them to replicate their best-known works. Last year’s subjects included Vincent Van Gogh, Georgia O’Keeffe and Georges Seurat. “We kept [the history] really brief and then just went into the work because [kids] are more interested in getting their hands dirty and painting,” Allard explained. “Some of the kids really did some nice work and they just amazed at themselves,” she said. “I don’t know how many times I heard, `I never thought I could do this,’ or `This is the best thing I’ve ever done.’” Engelbert said the children often “get so focused” on their work. “You can see the kids who are perfectionists and … they’ll paint six layers of paint before it’s right. And then there are the kids who don’t worry so much and they’re free with their colors. “I just love that,” she said. “They just get so into what they’re doing.” At the end of the summer, the women hung the children’s art for a “gallery night” event at the store. “It made them feel like they were awesome,” Engelbert said.