August 28, 2020

Thanks to funding from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts and Crayola, the preschool and Pre-K Counts classes from LVCC on Park Avenue hosted an artist residency in 2020. The children explored book and paper arts led by a professional artist.

Claire Marcus, our resident artist, is a Bethlehem-based printmaker and mixed media artist with many years of experience working with young children. She has been a teaching artist for over 20 years, conducting school and community residencies for the PA Council on the Arts, Philadelphia Mural Arts, and the Allentown School District Foundation. Claire worked with preschoolers and toddlers at two other LVCC locations in previous years.

The children were introduced to papermaking, printmaking, making folded books, and collage. The lessons encompassed all the domains of early learning, from counting folds to practicing pre-writing skills. As the young artists rolled and pressed paper pulp, they strengthened their fine and gross motor skills. They discovered how to use various tools and everyday objects to create unique artwork.

LVCC’s teachers actively participated in the experience, aiding the young artists and learning about activities they can incorporate into future lessons to foster the children’s creative exploration.

The residency, which began in February and would have originally ended in May, was paused in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic shut-down and resumed in June as an outdoor program. At the end of the summer, the children held an outdoor art exhibit for the Park Avenue families to see their beautiful creations.

*This project is made possible through the Arts-in-Education Partnership of the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency. It is funded by the citizens of Pennsylvania through annual legislative appropriation, and administered locally by the Allentown Art Museum. The Pennsylvania Council on the Arts is supported by the National Endowment for the Arts.