Art Guild members add to summer classes

By LYNETTE SOWELL
Cove Leader-Press 

In an effort to offer children and adults summer art activities and draw awareness of their classes, Five Hills Art Guild members and instructors held a meet and greet at the Copperas Cove Public Library on Saturday. 
The guild has begun offering summer art classes and workshops for kids and adults, kicking off with a Tie Dye at the Gap event earlier this month. 
Guild member and treasurer Linda Lapierre, along with fellow members Catherine Blashack and Sheri Wilson, set up tables where they created art and gave information about classes coming up this summer. 
For example, Wilson’s class on Wednesday, July 5, is Beginning Wire Work which goes from 10 a.m. until noon. The class is geared for those around 14 years old and up, said Lapierre. Wilson, a retired art teacher, is also an accomplished portrait painter and a jewelry maker. On Saturday, Wilson worked on items like a bracelet, made from wire and stones. She said there’s a bead store in Killeen that sells all kinds of beads, and that’s where she also gets her supplies. 
Blashack’s course, Recycling and Art, is set for Saturday, July 8 from 9:30-11:30 a.m. On Saturday, she had samples of work that students can create during the class. 
“We’re going to use coffee cans, cardboard boxes and more to make things from,” Blashack said. She had flattened cardboard boxes and empty cans on hand, as well as finished samples of things she’s created out of recycled items. On Saturday, Blashack was painting a small packing box which once held binders. 
Lapierre also made the rounds at the library on Saturday, inviting anyone—especially those with kids—to visit the library’s meeting room to spend a few moments with the teachers. The guild also presented a complete lineup of the summer’s courses. 
Lapierre said this is the first year the guild has offered classes in the community. The group was a few weeks shy of getting the word out via CCISD about the classes, so Saturday’s meet and greet was a time to reach out to the community at one of its busiest locations.  
The guild’s lineup for July includes: Beginning Jewelry Making, July 5, 9:30-11:30 a.m.; Recycling and Art, July 8, 9:30-11:30 a.m.; Bodies of Art, July 8, noon-4 p.m.; Snap Creations, July 11-13, noon-1:30 p.m.; Beginning Portrait Drawing, July 12, 10 a.m. – noon; Jewelry Making: Wire And More, July 12, 10 a.m. – noon; Kids Art Night Out, July 14, 5:30-8 p.m.; Painting Landscapes  Step by Step, July 17, 6-8 p.m.; Portrait Drawing Part 2, July 24, 6-8 p.m.; Paper Making, July 26, 9:30-11:30 a.m. Registration can be done online for all classes at the Parks & Recreation website at: https://apm.activecommunities.com/copperascovepkrec/Activity_Search.  Lapierre encouraged visitors to keep up with the list of the guild’s classes at fivehillsartguild.com.