Awed by Artwork
YMCA program provides activities
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The Inter-Mountain photo by Taylor McKinnie
Elaine Grisel, owner of Ceramics with Class in Elkins, helps Abram Howell with painting his ceramic cat Wednesday morning.
ELKINS -- Kids from the Elkins-Randolph County YMCA Summer Camp got the chance to pick up a brush and paint a furry friend at Ceramics with Class on Wednesday.
The Elkins YMCA 2023 Summer Camp brought the youngsters, ages 6-8, down to Ceramics with Class to paint small ceramic statues of dogs and cats.
Eager to participate, the kids sat down and began working diligently to paint their new furry, or in this case clay-based, friend. Many kids chose to paint their figurine to match their pets at home, while others chose to paint with their favorite colors.
Kids from the camp's older group, ages 9-11, arrived later in the day to paint and glaze larger figures of snails and turtles.
"It's a very good program (the Summer Camp)," Elaine Griesel, owner of Ceramics with Class, told The Inter-Mountain. Griesel helped the kids pick out their colors, offered advice on painting and blending, and chatted with the kids as they worked.
"This is around our seventh or eighth time coming (to Ceramics with Class), and Elaine is so great with them," said Nicholas Casey, Youth Program Coordinator at the YMCA. "Our camp days are especially busy, so it's so nice to come and let them just sit down and find something that keeps them entertained. Elaine does so well with them, so we'll come back anytime."
The kids also visited Papa John's earlier Wednesday morning, enjoying a lesson on Italy and learning how to make pizzas.
The theme for the camp this week is "Around the World." Today the kids are scheduled to visit the Kump House, the former home of Gov. Herman Guy Kump and current location of the Kump Education Center, for a multicultural lesson.
On Friday, Samantha Phipps, a Spanish teacher from Elkins High School, will come to the YMCA to give a Spanish lesson.
Registration for the Elkins-Randolph County YMCA's After School Program begins at the end of July. For more information, visit elkinsymca.com.
To learn more about Ceramics with Class, visit their Facebook page.