Our Background

Art for Kids School is an established after-school multimedia fine art program with a 37-year history and is designed to provide an opportunity for children to explore their creativity in a variety of materials. It is an ongoing, sequential program where skills are developed much like ballet or piano lessons.

Degreed artists who are passionate about art and children are hired to provide a supportive environment for building skills and self-esteem.

Our Philosophy

All children have an innate ability to be creative. The creation of art is a process whereby there are no mistakes. All seeming mistakes can be changed into a desirable result.

We have seen children with special needs, along with others, blossom in these classes. Their confidence ripples back into their regular classroom experience and in the way they relate with other children and adults. It truly changes them and the way they view their world in a very positive way.

Our Instructors

Dolly Meymand, the school's Founder and Director, holds an MFA in Creative Arts, and is a professional artist (Dolly Meymand's Art). She personally taught a large number of the classes in the Olympia area, and directly supervises and trains all other Art for Kids School instructors.

All other instructors are degreed (MFA or BFA) and working artists, and are personally supervised and trained in the Art for Kids School methodology by Dolly Meymand. You can read about our instructors here.

Our Curriculum

The school's curriculum is designed by Dolly Meymand, the school's Founder and Director.

The curriculum is process-oriented, and projects are never duplicated. The emphasis is on developing drawing skills, color theory, techniques of painting, and the principles of sculpting, all in various media. Contour and gesture drawing is taught, as well as landscape, wildlife, and some figurative art.