By Mary Stewart | The Selma Times-Journal

The city of Selma’s Ceramics Arts Program will host its annual summer art camp in coming weeks.

The longtime director of art camp, Candi Duncan, has been working with the camp for 40 years. She and her staff have created a schedule they know children will enjoy year after year.

“If they enjoy going the first year; they keep coming,” she said.

Camp one will run from June 12-16 and camp two will run from July 10-14. The camps cost $125 each, but scholarships may become available. The campers will be there Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m., and they will be served lunch. They will also attend camp on Friday from 9 a.m. until noon.

Each camp will host 60 participants, but Duncan wishes she could have more.

“We did buy benches to get more people in there, but that’s all I can take,” she said.

Duncan and her staff are working tirelessly to get ready for their campers.

“We do a tremendous amount of prep work so they don’t have to spend a lot of time with that,” she said. “They sit down, and they are ready to go and do their project.”

Duncan’s staff is full of some of Selma’s most talented artists, including Charlie Lucas, Vicky Sommerville and Cindi Stoudenmire. Some of these artists have been instructing at art camp for years.

“The children enjoy the interaction with [the local artists],” Duncan said. “It’s a great thing for Selma, and we are giving back to the community. I do have talented people who work for literally nothing to give to the program and to the children.”

Campers will be exposed to many different kinds of art during the week, and it ensures that there will be something for everyone.

“If you don’t like pottery, we do drawing; if you don’t like drawing, you might like making sculptures with Charlie,” Duncan said,” So, you get to do a lot of different things, and that way you might find one you really like.”

The art camp staff is prepared to make dozens of crafts, but the types of crafts may differ at each camp. Duncan decides on which crafts to make based on the ages of the campers so that everyone is having fun while learning.

“You can’t do anything wrong here,” She said. “They just express themselves.”

Both art camps are halfway full, and they will be accepting participants until they reach their maximum number.

Due to the limited number of participants, enrollment is on a first come, first serve basis. Children eight years and older are invited to participate in the camps this summer. Payments and enrollment forms may be mailed or delivered to the Dallas Academy Building.

For more information, call 412-8550, 874-2143 or 875-2193.