Berkeley Arts Council and Berkeley County Libraries Offer Free Saturday Art Experiences

UPDATE: April Programs Start Saturday April 2

Berkeley Arts Council and Berkeley County Libraries
Offer Free Saturday Art Experiences
What Will YOU Create?

This spring, Saturday elementary school and preschool visitors to the four libraries in Berkeley County will have opportunities to play the ukulele, construct a colorful collage, and paint with watercolor pencils. All events are free and open to the public, and take place on a rotating basis in the children’s section of each of the county libraries.

The program, called #MindKraft, is jointly sponsored by the Berkeley Arts Council and the Berkeley County public library system. On Saturdays during March, April, and May, Berkeley Arts Council artists and Berkeley County library staff will offer two parallel creative sessions: one for children now in grades 1-5; another for tots in kindergarten or younger.

“#MindKraft is about an explosion of new art experiences for the youngest citizens of Berkeley County,” said Berkeley Arts Council president and CFO, Malinda Shaver. “We’ve put together a creative program that is sure to delight and inspire each child, and we invite parents to join in the family fun.”

Planned classes are as follows:

March: #MindKraft Ukulele. String musician Ernie Bradley of Hedgesville, WV, will introduce students to the ukulele and to strumming and singing in an informal back-porch style. An intergenerational jam will take place at the end of the class, with preschoolers singing and playing kazoos, elementary school age students singing and playing ukuleles, and interested parents singing and playing their own C-instruments which they are invited to bring for the jam. The elementary school age class will be limited to 20 children; ukuleles will be provided for use during the class.

The schedule for #MindKraft Ukulele follows: Sat., March 12, 11 am-noon at Martinsburg-Berkeley Library; Sat., March 12, 1-2 pm at Hedgesville Public Library; Sat, March 19, 1-2 pm at Musselman South Berkeley Library in Inwood; and Sat., March 26, 1-2 pm at North Berkeley Public Library in Falling Waters.

April: Epic Colors and Shapes. Using Matisse as inspiration, artist Hilda Eiber of Falling Waters, WV, will help children experiment with combinations of different colors and different shapes to create something pleasing to the eye. Using this experience, students will make collages out of construction paper to take home. Next, Eiber will lead a group project where everyone cooperates to make a giant collage out of newspaper end rolls. The preschool group will make snail collages.

The schedule for Epic Colors and Shapes follows: Sat., April 2, 2-1 pm at Martinsburg-Berkeley Library; Sat., April 9, 1-2 pm at Hedgesville Public Library; Sat, April 16, 1-2 pm at Musselman South Berkeley Library in Inwood; and Sat., April 23, 1-2 pm at North Berkeley Public Library in Falling Waters.

May: Kings and Queens for a Day. At the beginning of each class, mixed media expert Judith Becker from Hedgesville, WV, will give each participant a cardboard crown and a nice piece of watercolor paper on which she has painted the outline of a head with a crown. Using watercolor pencils, students will add features to the outline. Then they will divide the face into sections and in each section draw something they would do if they were king or queen for a day. Finally students will take brushes and, with water, dissolve the pencil markings into watercolor paints. The preschool class will make paper plate dragon puppets.

The schedule for Kings and Queens for a Day follows: Sat., May 7, 1-2 pm at Martinsburg-Berkeley Library; Sat., May 14, 1-2 pm at Hedgesville Public Library; Sat, May 21, 1-2 pm at Musselman South Berkeley Library in Inwood; and Sat., May 28, 1-2 pm at North Berkeley Public Library in Falling Waters.

The Berkeley Arts Council is a 501(c)(3) non‐profit organization incorporated in West Virginia working to ensure that Berkeley County has a vibrant, vital arts environment by promoting awareness, understanding and appreciation of the literary, visual and performing arts in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. The Berkeley Arts Council is on the Web at www.berkeleyartswv.org.