Masterpieces class calls on parent-child collaboration

The generations will be collaborating Saturday at Spark Central.

Masterpieces Made by Two will pair children ages 2 to 7 with a parent to make art.

The new program proved so popular that registrations filled up within a week, said program director Erika Simonds. Another Masterpieces Made by Two is scheduled for May.

The class was inspired by a blog post from a professional artist. The artist’s child wanted to work in her art journal. At first, the artist resisted, but when she finally allowed the child to add to her work, she ended up being happy with the results.

It’s sometimes a struggle for adults to allow children to create without judgment, Simonds said. She sees this class as “a way to challenge both kids and adults, probably more adults, to think creatively and collaboratively.”

Artist Jessica Wade will be leading the class, and she wants the partners to do at least two pieces – one the parent starts and child finishes, and one the child starts and parent finishes.

She’ll bring pictures of people and animals for inspiration, and Spark Central will provide materials, including watercolors, colored pencils and crayons. But Wade isn’t expecting to do much art instruction, other than perhaps teaching people how to use a particular medium.

“Kids have a sense of what they want to draw and how they want to draw it,” she said. Saturday will be less about instruction and, “more about just working together on a project.”

The class is just one of the opportunities for making art at Spark Central, a nonprofit creative space. One of the big misconceptions about the center is that it only has programs, Simonds said. Whenever the center is open, people can come in and use the art supplies or anything else from the collection, including Legos, Ozobots, books and computers.

“People who come in frequently, they’ll just beeline it to our little maker station and grab the art supplies they want,” Simonds said.

And there are drop-in programs, including one at 4 p.m. Wednesdays for art. During those sessions, artist Niah Ferlito explores different mediums or skills, no registration required.

“We believe that confidence in your own creativity is the basis for success, it teaches you to trust yourself and be willing to try new things,” Simonds said.

“Even though a lot of what we offer is whimsical or fun, the aim really is to help people succeed in their lives.”