Campers week of art culminates in exhibition

Cathy Spaulding, Muskogee Phoenix, Okla.
·3 min read

Jul. 9—Second-grader Grace Scarborough showed off all sorts of masterpieces at the Community Treasures Student Art Exhibition on Friday.

"We've got starry night stars, we've got turtles, we've got sunflowers, we've got stones, we've got butterflies," Grace said, flittering to different tables and walls inside the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center. "We have all these all these other great art works you can look at. You are welcome to start looking at them."

Campers at the MLK Center's Community Treasures Youth Summer Camp displayed collages, paintings, cards and other art works at the exhibition. The exhibition ended a week of lessons taught by Hilldale Elementary art teacher Jamie Triplett, said Community Treasures Director Tabytha Russell.

Community Treasures is the afternoon component of the MLK Center's summer youth program for elementary students. Students participate in the Dream Team Summer Learning Program on weekday mornings. Both programs run through July 22.

Madison Shoemaker, an AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer helping with the Dream Team, said the programs are serving about 165 students.

"A lot of them are the same students," she said. "Our staff switches at 12:30 p.m."

Russell said Community Treasures focuses on Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math, or "the creative side of learning."

Campers also have gone on field trips to Muskogee Little Theatre, the Papilion and Muskogee Public Library, as well as Jenks Aquarium and Tulsa's Discovery Lab.

This week was art week for Community Treasures.

"Kids have been learning about different styles of art and different types of art," Russell said. "The Muskogee Area Arts Council provided the grant for us to purchase the supplies and to hire Ms. Triplett."

Friday's art works were judged by Jim Eaton and Jennifer Moore of Muskogee Art Guild and by Five Civilized Tribes Museum Executive Director Sean Barney.

Grace was one of several campers who guided visitors through the exhibition.

"Those are student ushers that were pulled from each class so that they would get the experience of talking to the public and get infinitely involved in the process," Shoemaker said.

Tiara Ferguson, 9, did several of the pieces. She said she had the most fun gluing pieces of colored crepe paper on a paper.

Piper Biggs, 7, showed her grandmother a painting of a pink flamingo.

Piper liked the work, but said her favorite part of the Youth Summer Camp was a field trip to the Discovery Lab in Tulsa.

"It has a slide made of tape," she said.

Shoemaker said the Dream Team uses curriculum-based learning. It focuses on developing and retaining reading and math skills. Dream Team and Community Treasures are funded by the City of Muskogee Foundation.

Community Treasures Youth Summer Camp Student Art Exhibition Winners

—Kindergarten — First: Liliana Kraft; Second: Haisley Mills; Third: Amaya Brown.

—First Grade — First: Charlotte Rose; Second: Grace Scarborough; Third: Journee' Billings.

—Second Grade — First: Monte' Puckett; Second: Kingston McJunkin; Third: Vincent Satterfield.

—Third Grade — First: Adelina Lezama; Second: Amari Porter; Third: Lexxi Kraft.

—Fourth Grade — First: Greyson McJunkin; Second: Jazzarae Stout; Third: Amare Stout.

—Fifth/Sixth Grade — First: Braxton Joseph; Second: Saniyah Pratt; Third: Aspyn Johns.

—Honorable Mentions — Hailey Estes, Jordon Brown.