Beginning next week, Art Camp 2005 will allow the younger residents of Dallas County to let their creativity flow.

“We started the camp in 1998,” said Candi Duncan. “We had one camp the first year, but it was so well received that we started having two camps.”

Duncan, the director of the Selma Ceramics Art Program, said that this year, a third camp has been added to the program’s offerings.

Camp I, which will run from June 6-10, will give participants opportunities to sew, glaze and stain ceramics, do printmaking, marbleizing, macram, weaving, or spooling, paint using watercolors, create scrapbooks, wire art, stamp art and Batik.

Camp II, which will run from July 11-15 will cover the same areas.

Operating from June 20-24, Camp III will offer advanced art courses. It is open to children who have been through Art Camp before and adults who wish to brush up on, or learn new art skills.

In addition to some of the courses offered in Camps I and II, Camp III will allow participants to knit, cross stitch/crochet and create gift bags and cards.

“This is such an intense program,” Duncan said. “There is so much prep work that the instructors have to do to have the kids turn out art work in such a short period of time.”

Duncan said that Camps I and II will take as many as 50 children each.

“We have two spaces left for Camp I and several spaces left for Camp II,” she said. “We’ll take people right until we fill it up. At times, we’ve taken people on the day of the camp.”

There are also several scholarships available.

“I haven’t had many apply for scholarships this year,” Duncan said.

To qualify for an Art Camp scholarship, a child must have an interest in the arts and come from a family that makes less than $20,000 a year.

“The camps are very fast paced and we have a schedule that we go by,” Duncan said. “We have six to eight instructors and kids are divided into groups. There are between 6-10 kids in a group and each group rotates every 20 to 25 minutes.”

She said that the groups are rotated in this way so that the students can be exposed to different levels and kinds of art.

“There’s something for everybody,” she said. “When it’s art, it’s your own expression. Whatever you do will be right.”

“It’s a lot of fun,” said Linda Oliver, who has been an instructor with the program for 18 years. “Just seeing the children’s faces when they actually finish a piece, shows that they are very proud of what they have achieved.”

In addition to traditional art, the children will be exposed to culinary art and domestic art.

“They all help fix lunch every day,” Oliver said. “Every day, we cook something different. They take turns washing dishes, setting the table and clearing the table.”

“My ultimate goal is to have children who come to camp – come back as volunteer instructors,” Duncan said. “We have had some come to camp and do that, but I’d love to have some more. We have a lot to offer down here and are just waiting for new members to come over.”

Art Camp 2005 is funded by grants from the Alabama State Council on the Arts, The National Endowment for the Arts and the Selma Arts Council. Camps I and II, which are open to children ages 8-16, operate Monday – Thursday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. On Friday, the classes will be held from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Camp III, which is open to children aged 11 and up and adults, will be held Monday – Friday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Lunch and snacks will be served daily in Camps I and II. The fee for each camp is $100.

For more information, please contact Duncan at (334) 874-2143.