Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties

Young artist's work on display at DAP

By IAN MINIELLY

[email protected]

Ironwood - March is National Youth Art month and Gemma Lamb decided to display an area artist's work in a picture window of the Downtown Art Place on Aurora Street.

Bella Gaiser, 10, is a faithful artist who only misses classes if she is sick or out of town. She has taken Dabble at DAP classes since she was 5 and has the art portfolio to back that up.

While Gaiser has created a lot of art at home, in school, and at the DAP, Lamb said she just laughed with each piece as she set them up and remembered the students' and Gaiser's experience with each class.

On display are:

-A sewn cat doll, a mobile out of driftwood and a chalk drawing done when Gaiser was 5.

-Offerings of Gaiser at age 6, including a shadowbox or collage.

-At 7, papier mache, No-Tan or Japanese art, and chalk rubs.

-At 8 year, multiple self-portraits, another collage, wire art and multiple paintings.

-At 9, bead work, which Lamb said is one of her favorite means of expression, origami and an egg basket, which she wove all by herself.

-At 10, a papier mache flying piggy bank, a ceramic dog, more origami, a rock painting, copper jewelery, acrylic paintings, more ceramics and drawings.

Gaiser said, "Art is very special and fun to do. I got involved in art at a very young age. I loved doing art and would ask for art supplies for my birthday and Christmas. As I've gotten better, I have learned about dozens of styles of art.

"My favorite is bead art. It can be simple or complex, but either way I love it. With art you can just relax and express your feelings with different colors, shapes and styles. Art is like all of your emotions combined to make something beautiful that is unique and original. I love art and that will never change, and I will keep experimenting to find what I love most."

Dabble at the DAP classes costs $10, except when working with clay, which costs $25. The classes start at 4 p.m., and run until 5:30 p.m., and each artist completes a project in the 1.5 hours so they have something to take home and be proud of, according to Lamb.

Upcoming classes are:

-March 5: Mixed Media.

-March 12: Paper Sculpture.

-March 19: and 26 slab trays ($25 for two day class.)

-April 9: Watercolors.

-April 16: make fairies and gnomes.

-April 23: Drawings and music.

-April 30" Wire sculpture.