Art Lesson #5: 7 Art Festivals to a Creative Mind

You can even provide edutainment at a birthday party.  To inspire and encourage creativity, consider a paint your own pottery party.  Each kid chooses a piece and paints their project.  The pottery studio in Evansville, IN allowed us to bring in food and cake, so the entire celebration happened in one location.  The boys and girls had fun and everyone gained a unique art piece as a party favor.

Paint your own studios seem to pop up in every town.  If you don't have a local studio, Michaels art chain store offers party rooms and you could buy pottery kits as the project.

The price can add up fast with a per person fee if you have a large group.  For a cheaper alternative, find a local art festival as another way to provide your kid a pottery experience. 

Here's seven art festivals:

1.  Fine Arts Festival - Ridgeland, Mississippi; April - Renaissance at Colony Park includes a Childrens Creative Crafts Corner; lessons about art history and culture while kids make clay pottery, mosaics, or fiber art
http://www.ridgelandartsfest.com/


2.  Wheeling Arts Fest - Wheeling, WV, June - clay learn and take project, learn slab, pinch, and coil techniques.  Other classes include fiber arts and acrylic painting.
http://wheelingartsfest.com/

3.  Palo Alto Clay & Glass Festival - Palo Alto, CA; July - large two day festival with over 150 artists
http://www.acga.net/cgi-bin/DJcalendar.cgi?TEMPLATE=shows-detail.html&EVENTNO=00084

4.  CLAY festival - Silver City, NM; July - childrens tile class at Silver City Museum only $5, free Clay Play Exploring Our Wilderness Heritage class for grade 3 to 6 - register early, limit 15 kids/workshop at the Gila Valley or Silver City library; free tour of the Syzygy Tile Factory
http://www.clayfestival.com/

5.  Minnesota Pottery Festival - Hutchinson, MN - kids tent at The Clay Coyote Studio; raku, throwing, and handbuiling demos
http://www.mnpotteryfestival.com/

6.  Clayfolk - Medford, Oregon - indoor event at the Medford Armory, mostly a show and sale, but also offers a Kids Clay Area where kids can create their own clay art
http://www.clayfolk.org/

7.  San Antonio Potters Guild Clay Festival - San Antonio, TX; Dec. - $5 includes museum entrance, kids under 12 free, 30 potters and gallery tours