April Aldino likes bringing her children — kindergartner Luisangel Motino and second grader Alyson Motino — to a different Waukegan park to do art projects each week.
Some of the time they paint, on other occasions they sculpt and on their latest venture they combined painting, carving and printing, to create their personal montage of designs.
“The kids enjoy it, and it gets them out of the house,” Aldino said. “It’s better than sitting at home watching TV or using a tablet. They do plenty with the tablet at school.”
Aldino and her children were among dozens of families doing a foam-stamping project during the latest edition of the Waukegan Park District’s Artspark program Thursday at Bevier Park, learning how to engrave and print.
Shannon Smith, a Park District employee and the project’s artist in residence, said each participant — both children and adults took part — took a piece foam, etched a design into the foam with a pencil, painted the foam and then stamped it on a piece of paper.
“It’s a printing technique,” Smith said. “Etching with a pencil works very well. When the paint dries, they get to take it home.”
Luisangel etched designs on more than a half-dozen pieces of foam and then painted them. He was very intense as he worked with no smiles until he put the design on paper. His mother said the behavior is normal for him.
“That’s how he is,” Aldino said. “He does not rush into doing anything. He takes his time and is very serious.”
“I like it,” Luisangel added, quickly going back to get another piece of foam to design.
After Alyson designed a few foam prints, she modified the project. She had one hand painted pink, the other blue and then made a print of both.
“I like painting my hands because I like getting really messy,” Alyson said.
Angela Marcum, the Park District’s cultural arts specialist who oversees the program, said doing a new project in a different park or location each week gives the community the opportunity to express themselves.
“We are making art accessible to all,” she said. “We’re getting out into the community to reach the underserved. We are teaching art from all directions. We are explaining different media and art forms.”
Starting June 6, Marcum said she and her crew, including Smith and several others, will visit eight parks in all through Aug 1. They also lead art projects at the Park District’s Movies in the Park nights five times this summer, and at the Waukegan Band concerts at the beach seven times between June 18 and Aug. 6.
“We’re at the back of the concert at the beach,” she said. “Sometimes, the kids are doing art projects while their parents or grandparents listen to the music. The kids are listening to the music while they do art.”
Though Marcum said the program started more than 20 years ago, when Smith arrived it took on a new dimension. Hired to do administrative work, Smith is also an artist. By developing the project each week, Marcum said Smith has taken Artspark to a new level.
“She’s become our artist in residence,” Marcum said.
With the first movie night scheduled for June 22 showing “Barbie,” Smith said the participants will receive a unisex paper doll to create an image of what they might want to do when they get older. She does not say, “What do you want to be when you grow up?”
“Barbie has been so many things,” Smith said. “I’ll ask them what kind of problems they want to solve. I always ask the kids questions to give them ideas so they can make the decisions.”
When the Park District screens “A Million Miles Away,” at dusk on June 29 at Diversity Park, Smith said the participants will design a space mobile. The art project starts at 7 p.m.
“There will be planets, a space rover and other things to design an outer space mobile,” Smith said
