A (Nick)LAC Post - Summer's End

This is my last blog post for NCLAC, and I have to say that it doesn't feel as satisfying as I thought it would. Two weeks ago I was involved with the Summer Arts Camp, the same week I started my new job. It was a crazy week, and by the end of it I felt readier than ever for the internship to end. But I don't feel that way now.

Now that it has actually happened and I have time to look back on the summer, I find myself a bit depressed.

When the summer started, I was afraid it would be like every other summer since I graduated two years ago, filled with many applications and much less luck. But thanks to NCLAC, I was able to occupy my mind with something much less random and much more fulfilling. I remember during the interview telling Ms. Slaughter that my motivation for applying was based on the fact that I was sick of the familiar and I wanted to do something new. This internship delivered everything. If it wasn't for this opportunity, I never would have visited the Farmers' Market and I never would have participated in the Summer Arts Camp, the two weeks of which were the highlight of my summer. I met some great people, too: Ms. Jessica and Ms. Laura, as well as my fellow interns Hillary, Tess and Rosalyn. It was by way of Hillary that I came into my current job.

Reflecting on the summer, I realize that I received everything I could have possibly hoped to gain from the internship and now that it's over I can't do anything but feel kind of sad. This has been one of the best and most eventful summers of my life. Thanks for everything, NCLAC, I hope you continue succeeding at the mission and have a good rest of the summer.

A (Nick)LAC Post-Summer Hiatus Over

Welcome back, everyone! I know it’s been two weeks since the last time we posted, but I promise it wasn’t because of laziness. During the week of June 23, we held the Summer Arts Camp at First Baptist Church and it was a great success. And this past Saturday we were at the Farmers’ Market where I helped my fellow intern Hillary Clary with arts and crafts. Now that we’re back, I feel obligated to let you know how it all turned out. As I alluded to before, we held the Summer Arts Camp two weeks ago, which was my first time participating in the event, and based on Ms. Jessica Slaughter’s opinion, the week went much smoother than I expected. Ms. Slaughter told me the kids could get pretty rowdy, especially that week when we were expecting more kids than the previous week. Thankfully, the week was nothing like that. The kids acted well. There wasn’t any dissension or disobedience. Everyone listened to the teachers and Bethany, the camp coordinator, and had much fun.

Throughout the week, I was Bethany’s assistant and the general helper. Whatever she or any of the teachers needed, I aided them. I also shadowed Bethany to learn how she organized the camp, as I would be in her role for the camp in two weeks. Bethany was very organized which enabled me to get a good grasp on the process fairly quickly.

The teachers and volunteers were great, also. On the last day of the camp, we displayed the work the children created throughout the week and they were impressive, a testament of the work of the teachers. The play that capped off the camp was great, too, and it was even better as it was apparent the kids enjoyed it, too.

Saturday, July 5, I helped Hillary at the NCLAC station at the Farmers’ Market. Unlike the first time I attended the Farmers’ Market, the weather was really nice throughout. Another differentiation from my first visit was the amount of kids that arrived to participate. We were swamped with activity as more and more kids came by to make hats out of paper bags. Hillary and I were continuously transforming the paper bags into hats for the kids to draw on. When we did have free time, though, we visited some of the stations, in particular the station with the “muffin man (I’m sorry I forgot his name)” as he had many delicious-looking muffins on sale. I grabbed myself a banana nut muffin, and it was excellent. I said it before and I’ll say it again, I urge everyone to visit the Farmers’ Market at least once. If you do, you’ll most likely return.

That about sums up my last two weeks. I’m currently preparing for next week’s Summer Arts Camp, which is expected to be as populous as the first. I’m anticipating another great week with another good group of kids, after which I will report back and tell you about the experience. Until then, have a great week!

A N(ick)LAC Post - Claiborne Jubilee

Another week has passed, my second as an intern with NCLAC, and I've begun to slowly become accustomed to things. I returned to the office Monday to help with the newsletters we're getting ready to mail to our members, and while I was there I realized that that was around my fifth time inside the Dixie. I have lived in Ruston my entire life, have passed by the building countless times, but rarely have I actually been inside and seen the art display in the front, the stage and the seats. It was only just reopened in the late 90s, but still, I think I've done a disservice to myself by not coming here more often. It really is a beautiful place. Also, I began reaching out to other parishes as part of NCLAC's community outreach to see if we could help in any way. I reached out to Ms. Cynthia Steele, a nice lady who helps run the Claiborne Jubilee, an annual arts and crafts event in Claiborne Parish where they celebrate the art and artists of their parish. I could tell she was very enthusiastic about art, and she loved speaking with me about NCLAC, who is just as passionate as she is about helping bring art to the community. Currently she has been trying to set up a few classes with their local Boys and Girls Club, one of the classes featuring sewing and woodworking, as well as a program where the participants take “useless” items such as aluminum foil and transform them into art.

Learning that Ms. Steele does this for her community is enlightening because there are probably more people who do the same for their community. With that in mind combined with the summer usually being pretty eventful, there is a lot to look forward to.

A N(ick)LAC Post - Farmers Market

Today begins a new series of weekly posts by one of our summer interns, Nick Davis. Nick is working for us doing community research, so that we may better serve the needs of our region. 

Last Saturday, NCLAC was proud to have been present at Ruston's Farmers Market along with the numerous other vendors who came out to provide the community with their local produce. We volunteered at the station to give the kids present a little distraction with our arts and crafts. They created fish with paper plates, cherry blossom trees on construction paper and fish bowls with fish of their own hand prints.

However, the day was not necessarily a breeze as, early on, there weren't many people present due to the potential of rain. But as the day grew brighter and more people arrived, parents brought their kids and some kids dragged their parents over to the station to create something of their own.

It was more than apparent that the kids were enjoying themselves, whether they were focusing intensely on painting a red fish stripe or smiling joyfully as they dappled blossoms on their trees. This is the goal of NCLAC. We want to help build a culture and appreciation for the arts and it starts by reaching out to the surrounding areas and giving everyone a chance to be creative. Together, we can help establish a stronger presence of the arts in our communities.

NCLAC will again be present at the Farmers Market this upcoming Saturday. We invite you to come out and support the local vendors and their produce. And while you're there, come over and have some fun with art at our station.

Thanks so much to Laura Maggio, who donated her time and skills for three weeks at the NCLAC tent while Hillary Clary was away. Wonderful work, Laura! Thanks also to our other kids' tent volunteers: Marguerite Hogue, Bonnie Ferguson, Ariel Bzdil, and Martha Hartwell. Volunteerism is the Tony's for life! (tony chachere's that is....it makes everything better!)