Beautiful art pieces made by 7 to 12 year old students from the Elfrida Art Center were presented at the exhibition hosted by the Douglas Art Gallery on Saturday, March 12, from 1 to 3 p.m.

Hide Caption (Use arrows above to view more photos)

Paintings, brush holders, masks and more, all made by talented students from Elfrida guided by Elizabeth Shuler-Pointer, of ES Arts and Director of Elfrida Art Center, were presented by their makers. These youth artists explained to those attended to the show the learning process at the Art Center and how much they enjoy expressing themselves through art.

The Elfrida Art Center was established in 2005, and it has managed to attract a large number of persons; young students, ages 7 to 12, and adult students/volunteer instructors. All lessons for the students’ ages 7 to 12 are free and the kids get to take home their supplies at the end of the year.

Adult students offer monetary donations which go toward payment of utilities to keep the Center open.

For the first four years, funding for the student supplies was donated by Tucson-based organization, The Friends of Western Art. Now classes are assured of being kept free by the generous donations of local citizens and businesses, such as Dessert Videoland Oasis, Gary Bennett, Art and Betty Piper; Cochise In-Printing, Chiricahua Builders and others, as well as the continued support of the Friends of Western Art.

At each course, students are able to learn painting skills involving water color, oil, acrylic, pastel, pencil/graphite, as well as the use of fiber, ceramic, leather and more. Each course is divided in three categories: Primary technique, Secondary technique and Dimensional technique.

Future plans

The center has provided the funding for two scholarships in the past years given by The Friends of Western Art. Now the plan is to seek additional funding from other sources in order to provide even more opportunities for scholarships, and to encourage elementary age students to explore various forms of art.

Also, the Center sponsors the annual Fine Arts Judged Show and Sale to be held on May 7 at the Elfrida Art Center, located at 10357 N. Highway 191, in Elfrida, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. All public is invited to attend or submit their artwork in order to compete at the show. Submissions may be left with the Elfrida Art Center prior to the intake day, which is Friday, May 6 at 10 a.m.

The following classes and divisions will be accepted for judging:

• 2-Dimensional, which includes water color, oil, acrylic, pastel, pencil/graphite, mixed media.

• 3-Dimensional, which includes fiber, ceramic, leather, other.

• Photography, such as printed, matted and/or framed.

For more information, those interested can contact Elizabeth Shuler-Pointer, Director of the Elfrida Art Center at (520) 507-0319 or Adele M. Crouch, Gallery Secretary at (520) 642-1569, or go directly to the Elfrida Art Center on Friday or Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.