ABOVE: Dakota Abel uses mallets and fragments of chalk soaked in water to create a multicolored project Thursday morning at the Red Rock Center for the Arts in Fairmont.

FAIRMONT- On Thursday morning the last of three weekly art classes for young children was held at the Red Rock Center for the Arts in Fairmont.

The classes were held at The Red Rock Center and all three sessions were taught by Jen Wedel, a parent who teaches preschool in Winnebago.

The classes gave kids an opportunity to experiment at their own pace with multiple projects. Scattered throughout the classroom were multiple stations, each equipped with materials for a different art project.

“I just make sure they have time instead of being rushed through something or feeling like they have to do it the way someone else is doing it,” said Wedel.

While some adult art classes focus on learning a particular technique or process, these classes had a looser curriculum.

“Sometimes it ends up being small changes that they make that someone else might not notice at all, but I notice it, maybe the parents don’t notice, but that’s the idea of these types of classes is that it’s process art. It’s just looking at it in their own way, using things the way they think it should be made. As they walk in, I don’t give them a lot of direction. I let them figure out what they want to do with it,” said Wedel.

Thursday’s class included stations for some commonplace activities like painting and drawing, as well as more atypical projects such as decorating cardboard tubes or combining vinegar, baking soda and dyes in a cake pan.

“Everyone’s being creative no matter how old they are, I think with kids they’re learning how to use things so it’s a lot more exploration and experimentation. They’re maybe not walking away with something that looks like a masterpiece to adults, but to them it does, and then the next time they come back and they try something different,” said Wedel.

At one station Tiara Menke watched her sons, Henry and Hayden, combine dye with baking soda and vinegar. Hayden chose to add blue glitter and dye to his mixture.

“Blue is my favorite color,” said Hayden.

At another station Dakota Abel pounded chalk soaked in water atop a sheet of paper.

“It’s really a sensory (activity); they like to pound things, and then it also makes art,” said Wedel.

Dakota’s grandmother Mary Abel brought her to Thursday’s class.

“She has an idea in her head and she’s very independent,” said Mary.

This was one of many projects Dakota made during the session.

“I made a caterpillar, and I made a turtle party,” said Dakota.

Although Thursday’s class marked the end of this summer’s session, the Red Rock Center and CER will be holding additional artistic programs for children and adults throughout the remainder of the year.