Fall is Fun at the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art

As I sit down to write this article, my head is buzzing with all of the things going on this fall for the education staff at the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art. We have just finished two pottery classes, one for children and one for adults. Our annual Heritage Arts Festival was on Saturday the 1^st and with gorgeous weather it was better than ever. Heritage Festival is one of our most labor-intensive events of the year, but also one of the most enjoyable because it is filled with fun and excitement, mainly for the children who come, but also for adults.

On Thursday, October 6, the Concentrated Drawing class with teacher Cassie Marcellino will begin in our Carriage House Studio. The class runs for four weeks on Thursday nights from 6:00 to 8:00. This class is great for people who want to learn how to draw but don’t know where to begin. Anyone from junior high to adults are welcome and supplies are included. To sign up for this class, please call the museum at (601) 649-6374.

Later in October, we will have our annual Fourth Grade Tours program. We call this event our "Choctaw Days" because local Choctaw visit the museum to perform their traditional dances and demonstrate basket weaving to local school children. The students who visit are given a tour of our By Native Hands Basket Gallery and experience a truly interactive field trip with hands-on art activities and the Choctaw demonstrations. So far we expect about 500 students on October 18 and October 19.

At the end of October, our Trick Art Treat Halloween art class will wrap up the fun for the month. On November 11, we will have the annual Very Special Arts Festival at the Cameron Center in Laurel. This is one of my favorite days out of the year because Very Special Arts Festival is just for students with special needs, and every year the students who come have a wonderful time. This year’s theme is "Beach Party" and promises to bring the fun of summer into the cold days of November. This event is held in conjunction with the Laurel Junior Auxiliary and the Laurel Arts League.

The Loïs Mailou Jones: A Life in Vibrant Color exhibition is open through November 6. This is a fascinating show that allows the viewer to see the work of an important American artist over the span of her entire life. We also have wonderful family guides that go along with the show as well as a hands-on mask collage that kids can make in the gallery. I hope that you will be able to join us for some of the great things happening at Lauren Rogers.