By Renee Worthing
Staff Writer


  In studio 7 at Heartwood College of Art in Kennebunk, instructor Scott Tubby tosses a ball of clay on the potter’s wheel. He wets his hands and forces the clay into a tight ball. As the wheel spins, he uses his thumbs to apply gentle pressure to the center of the ball. The eyes of Sea Road and Consolidated School students widen as the gray blob of clay blossoms and rises upward, taking the form of a jar.
  In another room, Wade Zahares asks for suggestions from students seated around him as he uses wide sweeping strokes with a pastel stick to map out a drawing. As he adds a house, a silo and cars to the sketch, he talks about perspective.
  “Now that I know my sun will be here, I know the shadows should go this way,” Zahares says as he adds shadows and shading to his sketch.
  The students were participating in the second annual “Heartwood Bound” project, which ran from May 15 to May 22, and was funded by the Education Foundation of the Kennebunks to introduce fourth and fifth grade student to the arts.
  Sea Road Art Teacher Darlene Nein says last year only students from Sea Road participated in Heartwood Bound, but an increased grant from the Education Foundation allowed Consolidated School students to attend this year.
  “The arts are really supported in Kennebunk,” Nein says. “We are very fortunate to be in MSAD 71.”
  She says 365 students from the two schools were to circulate through the school during the seven days, each day meeting with artists and instructors in 10 different mediums including ceramics, pastel, drawing, watercolor, photography, jewelry and cartooning.
  During one deomonstration, Sea Road students Erykah Condon, Brianna Desmarais, Stephanie Ramos and Amanda Borden crowd around Alice Carroll as she shapes a piece of silver into a ring.
  Moments later, Carroll lights a soldering iron to attach a stone to her creation.
  Each class, limited to 10 participants, gives students an opportunity to interact with the artists.
  In the cartooning room, artist Andy Sawyer, garners suggestions for a cartoon character and then draws a piece of toast on a white board. After he explains how different cartoon eyes could convey an emotion, the students choose which kinds of eyes are appropriate for the “cartoon toast.”
  Sawyer asks for names for the character and when given three names – Bob, George and Kat, he combines the name to “Bojorkat the Toast,” eliciting laughter from the students.
  Further character development by Sawyer and the students creates Bojorkat, a tie-clad piece of toast, searching outer space for his missing toaster.
  “It gets them out of the school setting,” Nein says. “It gives them the opportunity to meet the artists using different styles. Each artist has a distinct language to express their art.”
  Nein says the program took a lot of planning with Heartwood College President Barri Kramer with the hope the program would light a spark of creativity and excitement about the visual arts.
  “The arts are precious,” Nein says. “I really hope they take away meaningful connection with the arts. The arts are in everything around us.”
  Most of the students preferred clay and jewelry-making.
  “At this age, you can take anything and make it exciting,” Nein says.
  Following the demonstrations, the students returned to school where they created their own works of art, using one of the mediums they learned about at Heartwood College.
  “This program is about planting seeds,” Kramer says. “Heartwood Bound conveys the idea that working artists are an integral part of the community and that their job is important both to society and to art itself. Artists are a reflection of our society. They express what impresses and concerns us. The working artists who teach in Heartwood Bound focus on inspiring their young students and getting them to take art seriously. It is our hope that these Heartwood Bound workshops will inspire a young artist forever.”