Girls discover artistic freedom through A.I.R.

NEWMARKET — Dana Lang's brown hair was swept tightly into a bun, and the 13-year-old looked every bit the artist she had become.

One of 12 girls who participated in a summer arts program called Artist in Residence, A.I.R., Dana was showing her artwork recently at the University of New Hampshire Art Gallery at an open house and art show of work, ranging from jewelry and hat making to painting and weaving.

"I did a self-portrait. I did watercolor paintings. I did weaving," she said as she pointed to various works of art that filled the gallery.

"We went to see Miss Saigon at the Wang Center ... It was great," she said of the six-week program of total immersion in the arts. "I always had something to do and I was doing something I liked."

Her instructors were impressed as well.

"Dana has an innate artistic ability that's really exciting," said Clare Thompson, one of two directors of the art camp that is now in its fourth year. "She's really sophisticated in the way she uses color, shape and design."

Thompson, a writing instructor at Northern Essex Community College in Haverhill, Mass., assisted Kristin Forselius of Dover, the program director.

Forselius began the program on a shoestring four years ago, combining a burning desire to enrich the lives of young girls with a passion for the arts.

Today, she has found funding through local and national charities and hopes to expand A.I.R. to provide arts programs throughout the year.

Forselius, who holds a bachelor's degree in art history, recently returned from a semester of art studies in Africa, and is currently working on a master's degree in education from the University of New Hampshire.

The theme of this summer's A.I.R. program was "Celebrating Early American Arts and Crafts." In addition to learning various arts and crafts, the girls took trips to plays at Boston's Wang Center and other Boston theaters.

They visited exhibits at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts and the American Textile Museum in Lowell. They took a boat to Appledore Island and visited other sites.

Visiting professional artists gave the girls hands-on workshops on various arts, including jewelry making, painting, weaving, pottery making and drawing.

At the gallery exhibit of the girls' work, Dana pointed to "dream catchers" that hung from a beam. The dream catchers, she said, are from the Native American tradition and are aimed at allowing sweet dreams to filter through and into the head of the sleeper.

"You put it at the end of your bed," she explained. "It catches bad dreams."

Close by, beautiful felt hats rested on a display table. They were not easy to make, Dana said. "It was pretty difficult and it took a long time," she explained of a process of shaping the felt, which included soaking it and then putting it on a mold.

For Dana and the other girls, summer camp was a treat as well as a learning experience.

"I said, 'Today is a day for me to do what I like,'" said Dana.

Through arts education, A.I.R. gives adolescent girls the tools to explore artistically who they are and to develop the confidence necessary to face life's challenges, said Forselius.

"A.I.R. nourishes positive self images by encouraging girls to be creative, reflective and expressive of who they are, who they want to become, and how they may achieve their goals," she said.

The A.I.R. girls also created a public mural in Henry Law Park in Dover titled "Windows into Women's Past." The concept of their painting was formulated after the girls interviewed several residents of the Langdon Place, a retirement home in Dover, said Forselius.

A.I.R. is a local nonprofit organization offering arts programs to pre-teen girls, ages 13 and 14, from Dover, Durham, Lee, Newmarket and Somersworth.

Participants are chosen based on their lack of access to the arts, their desire to learn about the arts, and their willingness to work hard and commit to learning, said Forselius. A.I.R. is free to all its participants.