Art supplies wait for creativity during Dawn-Marie deLara’s classes for the youngest artists at Crossroads Carnegie Art Center in Baker City. (Lisa Britton/Baker City Herald)

3 classes are designed for the youngest artists

BAKER CITY — Dawn-Marie deLara is encouraging kids and adults to get creative with weekly classes she leads at Crossroads Carnegie Art Center in Baker City.

For her kid-centered classes, she looks to her own childhood for inspiration.

“What did I like at 10?” she said with a smile.

And she goes even younger — art isn’t often designed for the youngest artists.

“It’s all about getting their hands in the materials,” she said.

Art Play for Pre-K and Kinder, aimed for ages 2 to 5, meets from 9:30-10:30 a.m. on Saturdays. Adult participation is required.

Younger Artists Exploration is for ages 6 to 9, but older children are welcome as well. This class meets Saturdays from 11 a.m. to noon. Adult helpers are not required to stay with this class.

Both classes are ongoing, so students can drop in for a session any time. The cost is $10.50 for members, or $26 for nonmembers — however, Crossroads now offers a “pay what you can” option for everyone.

Each week’s projects, she said, are “open to interpretation.”

“I try to give them something inspiring,” deLara said. “I have an idea of what they’re going to do, and then let it flow. It’s super flexible.”

She is a mixed media artist who started working at a sign shop when she was 19 — “That was when signs were still hand lettered,” she said — and spent 20 years painting interior murals, and also worked with kids on school murals.

She was known, she said, as the “Goddess of Glitter.”

Her weekly classes introduce a variety of artistic mediums and techniques, which she said is good preparation for older student classes at Crossroads, such as Paul Hoelscher’s Young Artist Studio, which is held Fridays at 1:45 p.m. for ages 10 and older.

“By the time they get to Paul, they have an idea of what they’re interested in,” she said.

Artful Alchemy

On most Fridays, deLara leads Artful Alchemy from 6-8 p.m.

“Art with a magical twist,” she said.

This class is not held on the first Friday of the month, which is when new art shows open at Crossroads.

Although designed for high school age and older, younger teens are welcome with an adult.

On June 27, deLara first led a simple journaling exercise, then encouraged attendees to peruse a table with sticks, pine needles, buttons, fabric, thread and other trinkets to create a stick figure spirit doll. Upcoming classes are:

• July 18: Wire Wrapping Stones
• July 25: A Mermaid’s Message in a Bottle
• Aug. 8: Fabric Mache Bowl
• Aug. 15: Cup Runs Over — Playing with Watercolor Doodles
• Aug. 22: Making Magical Snail Mail
• Aug. 29: Enjoying the Bounty of the Harvest.

Registration is $21 for members, or $52 for nonmembers — or choose the “pay what you can” option.