CLC workshops bring Waukegan's art community together

Mixed media artist and College of Lake County art instructor Katrina Davis-Salazar is excited to carry the success and momentum of the first art workshops at the Lakeshore Campus into the next round this winter and spring.

The initial workshops last fall exceeded Davis-Salazar's expectations in bringing local artists together after she saw the camaraderie between individuals.

"Participants not only made connections with the workshop leaders, but also with each other," she said. "It was awesome to see these connections being made in the community."

While she was happy the participants had fun during the workshops, Davis-Salazar was even more excited about the importance the participants placed on the workshops for the health of the community.

"It wasn't just thanks for the free workshops, they also expressed that they feel these workshops are necessary for the community to come together," Davis-Salazar said. "We heard things like 'keep doing this,' 'this is awesome' and 'this is vital.'"

Participation was high, Davis-Salazar said, despite the workshops being new and limitations due to the ongoing pandemic.

There will be four more workshops this spring, two each for Artist to Artist and Engaging Art Scholars for Excellence.

Artist to Artist workshops are geared toward adults. The goal of ATA is to connect local artists with CLC, and then to connect one step further with the community.

In each workshop, a CLC instructor will pair up with a talented local artist to teach. This gives those who attend the workshops the opportunity to create connections with both CLC and someone in the community, as well as others around them.

Last fall, local artists enjoyed the opportunity to meet and learn from one another and share their unique skill sets to help each other improve.

The ATA workshop schedule is:

• 6-9 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 10, Geovanni Gonzalez and Leslie Perrinop;

• 6-9 p.m. Thursday, March 3, Brittney Boyland and Ben Bates.

Engaging Art Scholars for Excellence workshops are for teens and their friends and families. They are designed to help youth establish or continue a healthy connection to the arts, but are accessible to any skill level.

During these workshops, CLC student mentors, called engagement apprentices, did some of the teaching, and Davis-Salazar hopes to give them more time to lead the sessions.

The EASE workshop schedule is:

• 5-8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 24, Postcards and Collage;

• 5-8 p.m. Thursday, April 14, Sky Art: Science, Mystery, and Myth.

"I'm excited to continue showing the community what Waukegan, Lake County and CLC have to offer for the arts," Davis-Salazar said.

The annual Emerging Artists exhibition, featuring fine art from members of the Robert T. Wright Community Gallery of Art, began Jan. 21 and runs through Feb. 18.

For more information about the workshops, contact Davis-Salazar at (224) 572-7471 or KDavis3@clcillinois.edu.

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