LAKE FOREST PARK — Before class begins, art instructor Alicia Buck asks her students a practical question: How will they react if they draw a line that makes them unhappy?
Will they fall to their knees and weep, throw their hands in the air or pull out their hair?
Before waiting for an answer, she tells them if they encounter such a situation, it is best to don their “thinking caps,” take some deep breaths and try to figure out how the line can be transformed into something even better.
“We write with a permanent marker because what you create is going to be great,” Buck tells the children. “There are no mistakes in KidzArt.”
Many children in the Shoreline School District are honing their art skills by participating in an after-school activity called KidzArt. Weekly classes, usually lasting just over an hour, are held at five elementary schools.
At a KidzArt class at Lake Forest Park Elementary School on Monday, March 13, about 30 children gathered to participate. The children were divided into two separate classes: one for kindergartners and first-graders and another for second graders through fifth graders. A slightly different curriculum style is used for younger children.
The focus of each class is typically on representational art and in Buck’s class, she taught her students how to draw a cat, which involved explaining the different shapes that comprise the animal. Step by step, each child started with a circle for a head and eventually added eyes, whiskers and a body. The children typically complete one drawing per class.
One young artist, 7-year-old Blaire Mulcahy, first-grade, has participated in the class for several sessions. She hopes to learn how to draw a wolf and rabbit.
“My favorite part is I can draw animals,” Mulcahy said about the class.
KidzArt franchise owner Susan Martin founded the local branch of KidzArt about three years ago. Martin, 42, mostly runs the business end of the franchise while three certified instructors teach classes.
She became interested in starting the franchise after hearing excellent feedback about KidzArt and realizing it could be beneficial to provide art classes to school-age children. Art classes have been scaled back at many schools, she said, although some school teachers continue to do art projects in class.
“One reason I started this business is the Washington State Public School System in the elementary level has discontinued art teachers,” said Martin, of Lake Forest Park.
In addition to organizing programs at elementary schools, Martin also offers summer camps and classes at the Shoreline Center and free classes on occasion at Lake Forest Park Towne Centre.
Martin does not have a professional art background, but rather worked as an accountant before taking time off to rear her three children. When she eventually decided she wanted to go back to work, she knew she didn’t want to be in an office all day.
“I did art classes growing up, but if you had asked me 10 years ago if I would end up a teacher I would have laughed,” Martin said.
There is limited overhead to run the business, as Martin works from home and besides payroll, the only other cost is art supplies.
Buck, of Lake Forest Park, first became involved in teaching KidzArt classes after her son took an art class from Martin. Before the class, her son was drawing round heads with a line for a body. After taking a few classes, she noticed marked improvement.
“She had him drawing sea urchins coming out of water and dogs that were snarling,” Buck said. “I just thought, ‘wow.”’
Buck, who formerly taught middle-school English and history classes, began teaching art classes after persuasion from Martin. She is continually impressed with how students learn to turn mistakes into something more creative.
“I had a 4-year-old say ‘here is what I would do,’” Buck said. “She encountered an obstacle, but plowed right through it.”
Many children who enroll in the art classes have participated before; some rotate through depending on other extracurricular activities and certain sports seasons.
“We try to come and stay for fall, spring and winter,” Martin said. “But sometimes the schools say they want to try something else.”
Three sessions of the weekly class are offered per year: fall, winter and spring. The art classes are given in-kind support by PTA groups at each of the schools and each session lasts eight weeks.
Usually two scholarships are offered to students, and Martin is currently striving to expand her business and form business partnerships with area retailers in order to offer more scholarships.
“I am typically able to fulfill all requests,” Martin said. “I haven’t turned away a scholarship student yet.”
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