Summertime means schools out, and we’ve got the perfect activity to get the kids out of the house for some creative fun. Letty Nava, owner of Lodi’s Nava and Co., has been teaching kid’s art classes for over 15 years. “When my kids were in school, the school needed help teaching art, so I stepped in and loved it so much that I ended up doing it for 15 years,” says Letty. “The kids have always brought me so much joy, it’s amazing when their eyes light up with delight in their creation.”
Letty offers a package for kids ages 4-12 that includes a series of four, one-hour art classes. Kids can start at any time of the month, since each kid works on their own painting, at their own pace. On the first day of class, kids can expect to spend one-on-one time with Letty learning how to work with acrylic paint and mix their own colors. Next, she teaches about negative painting by having them sketch out their own heart and paint everything outside of the heart with a dark color. Once they’ve completed this, kids get to choose what they would like to sketch and paint from a collection of photo references. Letty encourages creativity and for kids to feel confident in making the painting their own.
This summer, Letty is also teaching a Saturday morning class from 10-11:30 AM that focuses on studying the masters for kids ages six and up. This is a great way to expose your kids to art and get them used to using a paint brush.
“There are a lot of benefits when kids are exposed to art at a young age,” says Letty. “It helps them be better students. It rounds them out because they need to use their creativity.” Letty’s art classes are a unique educational environment because kids are not being graded, so they can really express themselves in their work. “Their confidence goes up so much. I wish people could see them in action because they light up and get so excited when they make a new color,” she says. “They’re all amazing.”
Nava & Co.
6 W. Oak St., Lodi
(209) 327-0575
@navaandco