Summer is upon us at Garrison Art Center as we prepare to host our annual Summer Arts on Hudson (SAH) program during the month of July. Garrison Art center’s education programs are distinguished by our commitment to offering a comprehensive art experience of the highest quality to young artists. The summer program offers a full range of activities and a unique opportunity to learn “tradition and tricks” in a friendly and focused atmosphere. The SAH program is for ages 6-13 and runs daily (9:30am-3pm) from July 2nd through July 20th. Children will learn a variety of skills and get to work with all manner of materials. They also will benefit from instructors who are professional artists as well as seasoned educators. This diverse mix of talent from university art professors to long term community artists working with small groups produces a unique and critical environment for children to learn and grow. The core group of teachers include Carinda Swann, professional painter/sculptor, art professor at Marist College, director of our “Summer Art Institute” and long time major contributor to GAC education programs; Ada Cruz, professional ceramic sculptor, MFA Cranbrook Academy of Art, an art teacher for over 17 years and a very strong presence in the education programs at GAC throughout the year; Christina DiMarco, a community artist and teacher who helped found the Clove Creek Artists organization in Dutchess county and who has taught at GAC for more years than we can remember. She specializes in paper marbling and book arts but has many other talents that we have come to rely on; Lisa Heyman, ceramic artist, has a degree in curriculum development and has been in charge of art programs for our home school community for many years. Our guest artists include Beth Bolga our exciting new ceramic studio manager, MFA Georgia State U. with international exposure and an amazing artist; Cali Gorevic, a photographer of the highest caliber and long time GAC contributor; Carlos Uribe, GACs’ own director of education, MFA SUNY New Paltz and resident printmaking expert. Some of the activities include access to a fully equipped ceramic studio, a state of the art darkroom and a print studio complete with etching and silkscreen capability. Students also make use of all our available painting, drawing and sculpture spaces in our efforts to inspire their creative potential. GAC is located on the banks of the Hudson River complete with a beautiful park for relaxation and play in between sessions and very appealing to aesthetic sensibilities. The program is punctuated by two events that involve the entire group working together to show their skills. We have the “Art-a-Fair” which is an invitation to the community and families to spend an afternoon participating in activities and projects designed and presented by the children. We culminate the program with the world's shortest art exhibit which involves the best and brightest examples of work completed during the three week program. In short SAH is a rich and incomparable way for young artists to discover the many different avenues to express ideas and explore their imaginations.