Beginning in May 2017, Pike County Extension Fine Arts began offering free monthly art classes to the general public. This effort began as a way to provide arts enrichment to a wider range of people without the necessity of long-term commitment or specialized skills like many of our other opportunities may require.

Over the summer months, we had several rock painting classes in response to our community’s interest in painted rock scavenger hunts, an activity in which individuals paint rocks, hide them locally in an outdoor location, and post pictures and hints about where the rocks are located so that others may go find them. For the month of October we had a “magic wand” crafting class where children and adults decorated their own magic wands using tree branches and craft supplies. During November and December, we held a rustic star ornament making class using tree branches and art supplies.

All of our classes have been a lot of fun for everyone in attendance, with many people commenting that the relaxed, open-ended atmosphere allowed them to feel more creative, as opposed to the structure and pressure some may feel in other art classes where students are expected to follow certain steps in order to achieve a particular outcome. While there are definitely benefits to teaching in a more structured way, we intend to keep our monthly art classes accessible to all regardless of skill level or experience.

So far, we have had a total of 93 people sign up for these classes. The clientele we have welcomed to these classes includes a wide range of ages from toddlers to senior citizens, a variety of education levels, mental and motor skills, socio-economic backgrounds, and races. We even had a boy scout group attend one of our summer rock painting classes. These monthly art classes have also proved to be a great activity for entire families to enjoy together, allowing multiple generations to create and problem solve together. Many attendees have returned two or more times, and we plan to continue these monthly classes and have even considered increasing their frequency due to their success.