Students display artwork, perform in Medina's square as part of annual arts camp

MEDINA — Live performances and displayed art pieces filled Medina's square Wednesday afternoon as Access the Arts' Medina County Arts Camp held its annual festival to show the students' completed work. For the past three summers, Access the Arts has offered an arts camp in partnership with the Medina County Arts Council to children in first through fifth grades, giving them a chance to experience creativity through several mediums of art. Throughout the three days of Art Camp, kids are exposed to different elements of dance and music, along with 2D and 3D artwork. On the final day of camp, all the campers and their instructors walk over to Medina's square to perform and put their artwork on display for friends, family and community members. "To me, it's really important to celebrate the arts with kids and to let them know that everybody's creative in all different ways," Access the Arts President Jane Back said. During Arts Camp, Back said it's important for the kids to learn about several disciplines within the art community, from dance to 3D art. To help them understand the concepts better, each activity is taught by a professional educator or artist within that expertise. A couple of Brunswick Schools' art teachers taught different forms of art, with Erin Kraly teaching 2D art and Kelly Harrison teaching 3D art. Leslie Bell and Alexandra Ponomarenko, both of Medina Centre for Dance Art, taught the students several dances that they performed on Wednesday. Instructor Mary Jo Oklessen also worked with the students, teaching them about music and movement. During Wednesday's celebration, Oklessen led each group of students through their performances, which ranged from song performances with instruments to acting out haikus and playing original music they felt matched the poem. "Hopefully in there somewhere, they find a spark of interest, something they particularly love and they will continue with it, hopefully for a lifetime," Back said. Contact reporter Sara Crawford at (330) 721-4063 or scrawford@medina-gazette.com.