Moapa Valley Art Guild member and professional artist Lynn Rigoni, right, instructs budding artists, from left, Rebecca Muhlestein, Benjamin Muhlestein, Joseph Muhlestein and Patti Vassar. Photo by Mike Donahue.

By Mike Donahue

Moapa Valley Progress

Seven budding young artists took an exploratory dive into creativity Saturday by participating in this summer’s first art class hosted by the Moapa Valley Art Guild.

The class in the Moapa Valley Library was designed as an introduction to art, according to Lynn Rigoni, a professional artist and art guild member. Rigoni taught Saturday’s class.

“We wanted to familiarize the kids with some of the basics of art and art appreciation,” Rigoni said. “We plan to do this for several weeks throughout the summer. This is our way of giving back to the community – paying it forward.”

During the class, in which the Art Guild supplied all the supplies and materials, Rigoni challenged the kids to make observations around the library, interpret what they saw and then integrate the interpretation into a drawing. The activity was used to introduce the youngsters into a particular drawing technique.

During the three-hour class the students also learned a painting technique and eventually made a card incorporating paint, water color, pencil and “most of all imagination,” Rigoni said.

“It’s just terrible that the schools are cutting art classes,” she said. “We need to teach our kids that art is part of their lives, a very big part. Art is everywhere. It’s in your clothes, in your home, in everything you do. Our lives revolve around art.”

The Clark County School District was forced to cut an estimated $411 million from its budget this year and the arts was one of the hardest hit areas, Rigoni said. Art programs across the country are among those hardest hit when officials begin chopping because of budget shortfalls.

Art Guild members who attended the class included Rigoni, Guild President Jackie Worthen, Vice President Scott Simper, and members Shanalee Simper, professional artist Janet Trobough and Marya Romero, who was also a class participant.

In addition to 18-year-old Romero, other students included Stacie Cameron, 17, Santiago Carranco, 11, Patti Vassar, 12, Benjamin Muhlestein, 12, Rebecca Muhlestein, 13, and Joseph Muhlestein, 11.

Rigoni invited the youngsters and “anyone else in the community who might be interested,” to attend the Moapa Art Guild’s “Gab and Dab” get-together every Thursday in the Old Overton School from 10 a.m. to noon. At the weekly gathering members critique one another’s work, offer suggestions and helping hands, and just generally talk art and enjoy one another’s company.

“It’s a great opportunity for anyone interested in art or who wants to become involved in art or the local guild to meet the art community in Moapa Valley,” Rigoni said. “There really are a lot of painters and other artists in the area.”

For more information about the “Gab and Dab” or the Moapa Valley Art Guild, interested persons can call 702-397-6444 or email to info@moapavalleyartguild.net.

The guild was the brainchild of local artist and art teacher Max Bunnell who wanted local citizens to have the opportunity to view the wide world of the visual arts and to appreciate the scope of artistic endeavor.