Mudmobile visits ACAP center

On April 10, Karin Solberg, a ceramic artist, visited the ACAP Child and Family Center at Park Street in Presque Isle. Solberg presented workshops in basic ceramics for children from age 2 through school age.  The workshops were made possible through a grant from the Early Starts grant program, offered through the Maine Arts Commission. Funds for the Early Starts program are received by the Maine Arts Commission from the National Endowment for the Arts. This is the second year that the Park Street Center has received an Early Starts grant.
Each child participating in the workshops created a ceramic sculpture or vessel. Solberg guided the children in basic ceramic construction techniques. Children decorated their pieces by using shapes and textures drawn from natural materials. They then applied slip, a colored clay finish, to their pieces. The children’s pieces, which reflected their vivid imaginations, were fired in the kilns at the Watershed Center for Ceramic Arts and returned to them.
The Early Starts grant funding supported the artist’s travel, materials and the firing of the pieces. Solberg is an artist in residence at the Watershed Center for Ceramic Arts which is located in Newcastle. There, artists are provided studio space, housing and access to kilns to pursue their work. As part of their residency, artists participate in presenting Mudmobile programs for schools and other children’s programs across the state.
The Child and Family Center at Park Street serves children from 6 weeks to 13 years in age and their families with child care and Head Start services. It is located at 44 Park Street in Presque Isle. For more information on ACAP Child and Family Services, call 768-3045 or 800-432-7881.
Celebrating 35 years of services, ACAP provides the people of Aroostook with services and programs in the areas of health, nutrition, child and family, energy and housing and employment and training. As a leader or in partnership with others, ACAP provides guidance to the community in responding to emerging human needs. For more information on ACAP programs call 674-3721 or 800-432-7881.