Dade City Center for the Arts camp allows kids to be creative

For lots of kids, summer camp is all about horseback riding, swimming and archery.

Well, 7-year-old Hailey Snyder already did that. This summer camp is about dolphins, sea turtles and baby polar bears. At least that's what her portfolio will show when she finishes her first week of Summer Art Camp.

"My dad and mom will think I traced it, but I didn't," she brags.

Dade City Center for the Arts has sponsored five weeks of art camps in June and July for children 14 and younger.

Under Pat Mitchell's tutelage, Snyder has graduated from finger painting to working with watercolors. A noted watercolor artist, Mitchell and his wife, Maria, teach the morning sessions focusing on painting and drawing.

"Whatever talent level they have, I adapt to them," Pat Mitchell said. "They all find their level. Kids are very creative, and they experiment with color so what you get is this beautiful sophistication that's colored by innocence."

Maria Mitchell has taught art at Cox Elementary for 15 years. She and Pat approached City Manager Billy Poe last year about starting an after school art program. He put them in touch with Commissioner Camille Hernandez, who founded the nonprofit arts center and HiBrow Art Gallery.

"We love working with children," Mitchell said. "We wanted to offer something for kids who don't play football. This is our first camp, and we think it's a good start. We think it will grow once the word gets out."

The camp is a perfect option for Nell Curry Boushall, 11, who loves painting and drawing. "I'm learning different techniques and how to use the materials," she said.

Claire Hernandez, 11, studies with Mitchell during the school year, too. "My mom's an artist, but it's nice to have my own teacher" she said, as she works on a portrait of a young girl in a National Geographic magazine.

"Claire paints like I do," Mitchell said. "She likes a lot of detail."

In the afternoons, the kids work with glass artist Stacy Moore-Ramirez on projects ranging from jewelry making to wind chimes.

"I try to send them home with a project every other day," Moore-Ramirez said. "In the next camp, we're going to do more pottery."

The camps are limited to 15 students a class but there are still spaces available for the final weeks (July 12-16 and July 19-23). Cost is $125 a week, which includes supplies and equipment. The center is at 14125 Seventh St.

For information or to register, call (352) 521-3823.