Stumptown Art Studio hosts Santa's Workshop event
<p>Rylan Deupree, 5, of Bigfork, gets his hands dirty as he makes personalized Christmas wrapping paper at the Stumptown Art Studio Santa's Workshop on Tuesday, Dec. 15, in Whitefish.</p>
<p>Aida Hebard gives instructions to kids on painting ceramic ornaments at the Santa's Workshop on Monday, Dec. 14, at the Stumptown Art Studio in Whitefish.</p>
<p>Joanna Glickman, 6, of Whitefish, paints her ceramic ornaments at the Stumptown Art Studio's Santa's Workshop on Monday, Dec. 14, in Whitefish.</p>
<p>Johanna Perkins, 8, of Whitefish, paints ceramic ornaments at the Stumptown Art Studio Santa's Workshop on Monday, Dec. 14, in Whitefish.</p>
<p>Anna Boysen, 6, of Whitefish, paints ceramic ornaments at the Stumptown Art Studio Santa's Workshop on Monday, Dec. 14, in Whitefish.</p>
<p>Stella Jaffe, 9, and Katie Herson, 8, both of Whitefish, paint ceramic ornaments at the Stumptown Art Studio Santa's Workshop on Monday, Dec. 14, in Whitefish.</p>
<p>Silas Stimac, 4, of Kalispell, uses a stamp and paints to create his own Christmas wrapping paper at the Stumptown Art Studio Santa's Workshop on Tuesday, Dec. 15, in Whitefish.</p>
<p>Brooklin Conklin helps Rylan Deupree, 5, left, and Booone Burdette, paint their own personalized Christmas wrapping paper at the Stumptown Art Studio Santa's Workshop on Tuesday, Dec. 15, in Whitefish.</p>
Santa has some little, local elves hard at work this week at the Stumptown Art Studio in Whitefish.
The studio’s annual Santa’s Workshop series has become one of its most popular events, giving children the chance to make a variety of art decorations and gifts leading up to the Christmas holiday.
“We started doing this about 10 years ago,” said Melanie Drown, Stumptown Art Studio’s executive director. “It’s great for us to be able to provide kids an opportunity to make homemade gifts.”
Santa’s Workshop is a week-long series of workshops. There are two classes each day — one in the morning for younger students, ages 3 to 6 years old, and one after school for older students, ages 7 to 11 years old. Each day features a different art instructor and a different project.
Students have the option to sign up for the whole week, or just single sessions.
“We try hard to make it affordable and accessible to anyone,” Drown said. “We use a lot of donated goods, and [this year] have brought in extra volunteers so we could take more students.”
Art instructor Charity Flowers estimated that the workshop has about 100 students involved this year.
“Spots fill up quickly,” Flowers said. “It’s a popular event.”
Drown said every day has a new theme. Workshop projects this year include making clay ornaments, crafting cards and wrapping paper, creating jewelry, making “birdhouse gifts” and of course, decorating cookies.
Drown said that Santa’s Workshop is typically scheduled for the week before Christmas, and that parents can start signing up students about a month before classes start.
She added that even though this year’s workshop spots are full, the studio is open to drop-in artists of all ages from Monday through Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m.
The studio is open Dec. 24, Christmas Eve, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. It will be closed for Christmas.
Projects that require firing or finishing need to be done by this Sunday, Dec. 20, in order for them to be ready by Christmas.
Stumptown Art Studio is located at 145 Central Ave. in Whitefish.
For more information, including a full schedule of upcoming children’s and adult classes, workshops and events, call Stumptown Art Studio at 406-862-5929 or visit www.stumptownartstudio.org.
Entertainment Editor Stefanie Thompson can be reached at 758-4439 or ThisWeek@dailyinterlake.com.