—Daily Freeman-Journal photo by Adri Sietstra L-R: Legacy Learning Boone River Valley board members Lindsay Henderson and Lindsay McCormick-Welch are pictured above with Webster City artist in residence Cord McMahon on Tuesday evening at the downtown ArtSpace, located at 531 Second St.

Webster City artist in residence, Cord McMahon, has been honing his skills at the new ArtSpace downtown. McMahon’s medium focuses on mixed media collages. In an effort to broaden the scope of the arts in Webster City, McMahon is partnering with Legacy Learning Boone River Valley to teach the first-ever Young Artists Workshop this August.

The three-day workshop begins on Monday, August 7 and goes through Wednesday, August 9. The class will begin at 10 a.m. and go until 2 p.m. Students will create art pieces at the ArtSpace, located at 531 Second St. next to Home Appliance and Repair. The workshop is open to students entering grades five through 12. The cost is $25 per student. Students must bring a sack lunch each day.

The workshop will be centered on mixed medium collages. Each student will complete their own collage using found paper from books to magazines with bold patterns. Also, student will use paint to add bold solid colors or to create patterns of their own.

“The start of the workshop will be a little history lesson on collage and then we’re going to build into some small brainstorming ideas of what you can do with a colored sheet of paper or actual image,” said McMahon. “Then there will be individual work time on making their own mixed media collage.”

On the final day, as a group, students will create a large scale mixed medium collage that will be displayed at the ArtSpace in Webster City.

“The third day will be work time on a giant mural for the whole class to paint into for Legacy Learning to have and display,” said McMahon.

Students can bring their own images, old magazines or old books to use in their collages. Students are advised not to bring any materials that they don’t wish to cut or color over.

Parents are welcome to stay and observe the class.

This first-time workshop was inspired by new LLBRV board members desire to expand their class offerings to a larger age range.

At the last board meeting we were discussing some options for kids and what kind of workshops we could put together for the younger generation,” said LLBRV board member Lindsay Henderson. “One of the ideas we came up with was having them work with our artist in residence Cord.”

“We thought why not really try to do something to get young families and high school youth involved in the community and Legacy Learning,” said LLBRV board member Lindsay McCormick-Welch.

Legacy Learning hopes to continue to broaden its class offerings to inspire the community and attract more people to the community.

“I think art is a part of your experience of living in a community,” said Henderson. “To have art surround you – the sculptures, the paintings – and to have that creative energy circulating is what inspires a whole community to have pride.”

“Art is really about self expression, whether it’s through media, dance…if you’re expressing yourself and then having it come together in some format for the community, it just really builds and grows and enriches the strength of the community,” said Welch.

“Right now I feel that we are on the cusp of breaking out with art,” said McMahon. “We still need to work on it, but it’s getting there.”

Students can register online at www.legacylearningbrv.org or by stopping by the Produce Station Pottery at 723 Seneca St. The Produce Station Pottery is open 12-7 Thursday and Friday and 12-5 on Saturday. Registration is preferred by Friday, August 4.

The public is welcome to stop by the ArtSpace and check out McMahon at work. McMahon usually works Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the ArtSpace.

“Come down just to check out something that you don’t see everyday,” said McMahon. “Come look and say hi.”

“It’s really just like a downtown shop, people can just walk on in,” said McCormick-Welch. “There is no pressure to buy anything. It’s really just a gallery and a unique opportunity to see Cord at work.”

He is also available for commissions and other projects.

McMahon graduated from Fort Dodge Senior High in 2012. He received his AA degree in Liberal Arts at Iowa Central Community College in 2014. McMahon transferred to Grand View University in Des Moines, Iowa where he graduated with his BA in Studio Arts in 2017.

For more information about the workshop contact McMahon at C_mcmahon25@hotmail.com.