ABOVE: Ashley Haake in the Red Rock Center for the Arts in Fairmont on Tuesday. Haake was recently brought on by the Red Rock as a part-time employee and is expanding its art education programs.

FAIRMONT- The Red Rock Center for the Arts in Fairmont is expanding its art education programs with the hiring of Ashley Haake, a creative arts specialist.

Haake’s employment and the expansion of the Red Rock’s programs were made possible in part by grants from the Minnesota State Arts Board.

A Fairmont native, Haake studied elementary education and art at the University of Northwestern in St. Paul. After graduating she taught elementary art in North Carolina for seven years before returning to Fairmont.

Haake now works part-time at the Red Rock Center and is a member of the Going Hog Wild committee. She’s painted seven of the project’s hog statues and is currently working on another four. While her work with Going Hog Wild primarily involves acrylic paints, Haake is also familiar with illustration, digital art, and calligraphy.

“I’m a little bit of everything,” said Haake.

With a permanent art instructor the Red Rock hopes to expand its art education offerings to a larger age group. Much of the recent programming has catered to preschool students and primarily ran during the summer, but now Haake will run year-round programming for older children and adults.

“It’ll be nice to hit different age groups, including the adults, and have more of an all inclusive program so everyone can find a place where they fit in here,” said Red Rock Executive Director Sonja Fortune.

Adult art classes will be held at the Red Rock with much greater frequency. The first of which will be held on Oct. 27 at 7 p.m., and will feature a fall-themed activity. Fortune and Haake said their goal is to keep projects simple and approachable while also teaching techniques and processes that can be incorporated into more complicated projects.

“We want them to have something substantial; (to learn) an actual skill that you can take and (use) to do art at home,” said Haake.

As for younger art enthusiasts, one program Haake will be involved with is Kidcasso, a monthly open studio time for preschool to high school kids. Participants in the program will be provided with prompts for an art project, but will otherwise be able to work freely on a project using the resources available in the Red Rock’s art room. The first session will be held on Oct. 8 from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.

Another initiative Haake will be involved with is the Red Rock’s gallery walks. This free after school program will take students on a guided tour through the current exhibit and will also feature a scavenger hunt and a take home art project. The first walk will be held on Oct. 12.

Two more art classes for children will be held during the month of October, the first on Oct. 20 during MEA break and the second on Oct. 29. These will feature pumpkin-themed and Halloween-themed projects respectively. Class sessions will be available for preschool through 1st grade students at 9 a.m., 2nd through 4th grade students at 10 a.m., and for grades five and up at 11 a.m.

The goal of all these programs is to make artistic expression less intimidating and more accessible for members of the community.

Fortune highlighted ways creating art can help one’s well being.

“A lot of the visual artists who come through here … painted while they were young and then picked it up again. It helps them relax, they do it for fun, they’re not out to make money on it. It’s a way of releasing energy, anger, sadness, or happiness,” said Fortune.

Haake compared creating art to playing a sport.

“The more you practice and the more you play with it the better you’ll get. By the time you get older … you could get really good at it,” said Haake.