For Immediate Release --
3/3/08 Morgan Arts Council • Berkeley Springs
WVPress contact only: Mary Hott -- 304-258-2300

MOTHER/CHILD ART CLASSES BEGIN AT ICE HOUSE------

BERKELEY SPRINGS, WV -- An innovative program to help build strong and
healthy families by working in art with mothers -- present and future
-- and their young children, begins at the Ice House on Thursday,
March 6 from 6 to 7pm. Art from the Start is a collaborative program
among the Morgan Arts Council, Starting Points,and Shenandoah Women’s Health.

Art From the Start establishes a series of three art classes for
under-five children and their mothers offered for 12 weeks. The classes
at the Ice House are open to the entire community including clients of
both Starting Points and Shenandoah Women’s Health. The three classes
are Maternal Expression Through Clay Arts; Mother/Baby Bonding Through
Movement; and Kindermusik for mothers and children up to age 5. Each
of the classes is taught by local professional artists with teaching
experience. "As with all our youth art classes, there will be a final
recital where the work is displayed or performed," said Hott.

Professional counselor and potter, Sandy Kay is presenting a class
that teaches clay skills and creates clay products as a way for women
both pre and post-natal to come together and express feelings. "We
have no limit on how post-natal it can be, " said Kay. "The important
part is the women sharing experiences and how they feel as a mother or
mother-to-be."

Two different classes are being taught by Kathy Seager on Saturdays
based on Kindermusik. The first, from 9:30 to 10:30am, teaches new
mothers along with their babies easy activities they can do at home
that include rocking, bouncing, singing and rhymes. The second class,
from 11am to noon, takes children from two and a half to five, along
with their mothers and teaches them to play simple music using rhythm
sticks, shakers and bells. "This class has lots of action, singing
along and a steady beat," says Seager. "There is also time where the
parents are in another room and the children learn by themselves."

Funding from a grant awarded by Prevent Child Abuse WV and its funding
partners, the WV Children’s Trust Fund, the Claude Worthington Benedum
Foundation and the WV Department of Health and Human Resources allows
the arts classes to be offered to the general public on a sliding scale.

The Ice House is located on Independence and Mercer streets in
downtown Berkeley Springs. To register for classes, contact the
Morgan Arts Council at 258-2300. Check online at www.macicehouse.org
for a complete schedule of the Art From the Start classes offered
at the Ice House.