After a year of virtual learning, the students of Cutwell 4 Kids are back in the classroom this summer, learning new artistic skills.
C4K has already held three classes this summer with five more scheduled for the season, Anthony Tidwell, C4K founder, said.
"Every year we plan. Every year for the last eight years we plan, but from what happened last year with COVID-19, all of the politics and social injustice, you can't plan for things like that," Tidwell said.
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"I try to stick to our strict, eight sessions. We meet eight Saturdays over the summertime and we finish the year with The Birth of An Artist event.
"I must do my best to try to stick to that script, but there's no telling what the future holds," Tidwell said.
Situations can change and he was forced to miss the second class of the season after his grandmother died, he said. While he was at the funeral, others kept the program going for him.
"I want the structure to be in place and I thank God that I had parents, volunteer instructors, to come in and make sure that the services are still being offered in the community," Tidwell said.
The pandemic continues to have an effect, such as making the picking of a starting day for the program difficult.
"I didn't know when the last day of school was going to go ... so everything has really been thrown off, and I have other events that end up overlapping, or end up double booking to where I have to cancel," he said.
"In my life, that's just how things work. Really couldn't plan for anything, just have to be ready as best you can, and I'm going to stick to the script," Tidwell said.
The first class back focused on what the students want to be when they grow up. In their second class, the students got an introduction to djembe drums with drummer Agymah Kamau, using drums Langston Leadership Academy provided and for their third class, the students painted Father's Day gifts.
Being back in the classroom "was awkward," Tidwell said. "I was thrown off. Usually, we do high-fives and dabs and hugs. It was just awkward. As the class went on, I could kind of tell, people were just happy to be out.
"It was weird for me ... my body's sore, I'm a year older, the pandemic made it feel like two or three years older, little heavier, and it took a toll on me to get that first class out of the way," he said.
"It was worth it," Tidwell said. "I like to give kids activity for them to do that's different than what's normally going on out there on Silver Street."
While the students have returned to the C4K Studio, Tidwell said the program will continue to have a virtual aspect to it.
"By the end of the month we have 60 arts kits being sent out," Tidwell said, noting a third of the kits will go to Dallas, a third will go to Chicago, and a third will go to Durhan, N.C.
These kits will come with access to an online tutorial on YouTube. "They get to watch our prerecorded art class online," Tidwell said. Prior to sending out the art kits, he wanted to make sure the tutorial was ready, so the video is already online.
Tidwell said the kits are going to his friends and family who live in those towns.
"They reach out to me on social media like 'Wow, Anthony, I wish I was in Arkansas, my kids could participate with you because I know how passionate you are,'" he said.
The Chicago kits are going to Tidwell's brother, the Durhan kits are going to one of Tidwell's old friends, and the Texas kits are going to a man who attended C4K's first art show in Plano, Texas.
Those interested in participating in the C4K classes at the studio can attend any class. Tidwell said each of the eight classes are single-day events, and those who attend one class are not required to attend any other classes.
