On the road for art.

A less expensive (and less explosive) rendition of the BATmobile is once again on its way to Eau Claire. The ARTmobile is a mobile art classroom that was created in 2012. This artsy car moves around to different locations in Eau Claire throughout the summer months, providing free art lessons for kids who might not be able to go to regular art classes. Ben Richgruber, director of the Eau Claire Regional Arts Center, was the brains behind it. Richgruber, along with local art teacher, Cyndee Kaiser helped get the car rolling last summer. They chose the busy Downtown Eau Claire Farmers Market as its central location.

"We want to show how easy it is to have fun projects at your home, as well as encouraging parents to provide creative activities for their kids." – organizer Cyndee Kaiser

Throughout the summer there were 7 volunteers wrangling kids, assisting them in creating projects of their choosing. Kaiser says the ARTmobile got about 20-25 kids per week to participate – between the ages 3 and 10. Some of the projects made last summer included sock puppets, prints, and bubble painting. Kaiser says, “The thing was to have projects that were simple enough that you have materials in your own home”. Items such as socks, paper bags, and paper plates were used for many of the projects with the main goal being to “show parents they don’t need expensive materials to encourage their child to be creative,” Kaiser remarked. “We want to show how easy it is to have fun projects at your home, as well as encouraging parents to provide creative activities for their kids.”

The ARTmobile volunteers enjoyed being in the same spot every Tuesday so people could easily find them. They were pretty successful last summer and accumulated a lot of repeat customers. This summer they are looking at adding more days a week, as well as adding a few new stops.

The Regional Arts Center is currently looking for ARTmobile funding through our local chapter of the crowd-funding site Power2Give.org. They are trying to raise money so they can stock up on supplies to last the whole summer and also to cover the gas and mileage the ARTmobile needs to scoot through town. So far, they have received $250 in donations – half of their goal of $500. The deadline to donate is February 13.