Arty Smarty helps kids explore creativity

Donna Golub teaches portraiture to her students at Arty Smarty, offering art classes for children at her Camano Island studio. An experienced advocate of art for youth, Donna Golub started offering art classes for kids in her studio last fall. The owner and lead instructor for Arty Smarty, Golub has a passion for showing children how to explore their inner creativity.

It’s focused on the joy of art so that children can reap the benefits of creative thinking, said Golub, who strives to fill the gaps left by cutbacks in schools.

“Many enrichment programs are being lost,” she said.

It’s also a relief from pressures on students to meet academic standards. Golub is concerned that children are so focused on testing that they are missing out on the simple pleasures of creating.

Arty Smarty encourages children to explore and learn with guided instruc- tion. The students learn about a wide range of artists, styles and the use of various art media, from watercolors to clay.

For more than 10 years, Golub has been teaching and coordinating art education for preschool and elementary-aged children. She built a successful volunteer based art program at Utsalady Elementary School on Camano Island and in the Lake Stevens School District, where she also taught an after school art program.

At Arty Smarty, classes for preschool to middle school ages are offered one day a week in six-week sessions and they are now registering for spring sessions.

Services include “Arty” birthday parties and art camps in the summertime.

For information, visit www.artysmarty.net.