Shreve Memorial Library is celebrating Youth Art Month and inviting children and teens to explore the visual arts at the library. Shreve Memorial Library branches throughout Caddo Parish will host a variety of programs to encourage creativity, self-expression, and appreciation for the visual arts. Programs include painting and mixed media workshops, tiny art shows and competitions, and hands-on crafts. All programs are free and open to the public. Supplies and materials are provided for all programs.
Youth Art Month was started in 1961 through The Art & Creative Materials Institute, Inc. as a way to recognize art education as a viable factor in education, a necessity for the development of better quality of life, and to direct attention to the value of art education for divergent and critical thinking. Youth Art Month provides a medium for recognizing skills that are developed through visual arts such as problem solving, creativity, observation and communication. Art shows, special exhibits, fundraisers and school and community activities take place annually throughout the month of March across the country to celebrate visual arts for grades K – 12.
Shreve Memorial Library branches will host programs throughout the month of March, introducing children and teens to a variety of art mediums such as acrylic and watercolor paints, fiber art, paper and collage, and decoupage techniques. Painting workshops will be held at several Shreve Memorial Library branches beginning Monday, March 6 and continuing throughout the month. The Atkins Branch, 3704 Greenwood Road, will encourage children and teens to get creative by painting a picture on canvas on Monday, March 6 at 4:00 p.m. and enjoying freestyle art on Wednesday, March 15 at 4:30 p.m. On Tuesday, March 14, the Cedar Grove-Line Avenue Branch, 8303 Line Avenue, will host a “Bob Ross Painting Night” starting at 4:30 p.m., while the Belcher-Wyche Branch, 409 Charles Street in Belcher, will encourage library patrons to create a masterpiece at 5:00 p.m. In Gilliam, library patrons are invited to participate in a watercolor paint party on Thursday, March 16 at 1:00 p.m. The Gilliam Branch is located at 12797 Main Street in Gilliam.
Several library branches will encourage creativity by using paper in a variety of ways to make a work of art. The West Shreveport Branch, located at 4380 Pines road, will introduce library patrons to the Japanese art form of origami on Tuesday, March 14 at 1:00 p.m. Also on Tuesday, March 14, the Broadmoor Branch, which is located at 1212 Captain Shreve Drive, will encourage teens to create scenes, characters and places by using paper collage techniques at 4:30 p.m. Teens at the Hollywood/Union Avenue Branch, 2105 Hollywood Avenue, will be challenged to create cardstock art featuring images of public influencers on Tuesday, March 21 at 4:30 p.m. In Oil City, library patrons will learn how to decoupage with simple items like paper and napkins on Thursday, March 23 at 3:00 p.m. The Oil City Branch is located at 102 Allen Street in Oil City.
Mixed media workshops at the Hamilton/South Caddo and North Shreveport Branches will teach teens how to combine multiple art mediums into a cohesive work of art. The Hamilton/South Caddo Branch will teach teens how to create a faux stained glass portrait using picture frames, acrylic paint and mod podge. The workshop will take place on Monday, March 13 at 3:30 p.m. at the Hamilton/South Caddo Branch, located at 2111 Bert Kouns Industrial Loop. Similarly, the North Shreveport Branch, located at 4844 North Market Street, will teach children, tweens and teens how to create a beautiful spring bouquet using paper, paint and string. The North Shreveport Branch spring bouquet workshop will take place on Monday, March 27 at 4:00 p.m.
Additionally, Shreve Memorial Library patrons will be able to create art and crafts out of less common items such as LEGO bricks and fiber. Throughout the month of March, patrons of the North Caddo Branch, 615 N. Pine Street in Vivian, will be able to create their own LEGO version of themselves to display at the branch. The Cedar Grove-Line Avenue Branch will hold a fiber art class teaching students how to make a woven bookmark on Thursday, March 16 at 1:30 p.m., and the Higginbotham-Bryson Branch, 9359 Greenwood Road in Greenwood, will have a variety of crafts available for patrons to complete starting at 4:00 p.m. on March 16. Children will even be able to create their own marble artwork at the Hamilton/South Caddo Branch on Wednesday, March 22 at 10:00 a.m.
In addition to these workshops, youth will be encouraged to create their own miniature works of art to display in “Tiny Art Shows” at the library and compete for Best in Show title in friendly art competitions. The David Raines, North Shreveport, and North Caddo Branches will host “Tiny Art Shows” of miniature works of art created by children and teens at the library. These art shows will be on display at the library branches throughout the month of March. Library patrons can complete their “Tiny Art Show” entries on Tuesday, March 7 at the North Caddo Branch and on Tuesday, March 14 at the North Shreveport and David Raines, 2855 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive, Branches. At the Hollywood/Union Avenue Branch, 2105 Hollywood Avenue, children are invited to show off their artistic abilities by creating their own artist trading cards on Monday, March 27 at 4:30 p.m. All “Tiny Art Show” programs and the artist trading cards program begin at 4:30 p.m.
The Mooretown Branch, 4360 Hollywood Avenue, will hold art competitions for children and teens on Wednesday, March 8 and Friday, March 10. Participants will have 30 minutes to create an original work of art. The finished pieces will be voted on by the participants to receive the title of Best in Show. The contest begins at 4:30 p.m. on both days.
All Shreve Memorial Library programs are free and open to the public. Program dates and times are subject to change.