The Art House, in Ruston Louisiana, is owned and operated by artist and educator Renée Hunt. Renée has been a Montessori educator for 30 years and has taught after-school art classes and summer art camps for 15 of those years. The Art House offers a variety of morning and after-school art classes for young artists in the Piney Hills area of North Louisiana.
Nestled in a quaint and charming backyard lies The Art House. You will walk through the gate and feel that you’ve taken a step back in time to a place where children, young and old alike, create ’til there heart is content. There is no pressure or stress allowed in The Art House. Creating for the pure joy of creating is encouraged and promoted. Children are allowed to enjoy the process of art while learning the elements and principles of design. The children are exposed to Art History as well as a joyful study of The Masters. With a limited class size, the outstanding student/teacher ratio promotes the individual development of each student, while providing a nurturing and engaging experience that builds the foundation for a lifelong love of creating art and art appreciation. Renée nurtures all levels of ability between the ages of 4 and 14 and encourages her student’s natural sense of curiosity, exploration, play, joy, awe, and wonder. Children in The Art House have fun! They are treated with love, respect, grace, and courtesy, and they, in turn, treat their fellow artists (classmates) the same. Kindness Matters at The Art House!
The students are given all the tools and supplies needed to explore, design, and create their own masterpieces. In class, children explore a wide variety of mediums and artistic disciplines including acrylic paint, watercolor, pastels, charcoal, sculpture, clay, glass fusion, and printmaking. They sculpt with wood, wire, clay, found objects, and even cast concrete. They are given a chance to self-express as they learn artistic skills while having fun. Free Art Time is always a joy at the end of each project. The students love working in their own personalized sketchbooks! Healthy snacks are provided, so there’s no worry about bringing them straight from school.
Renée Hunt, a well-known local artist, is recognized for sculptures, 3-D works, and beautiful tile mosaics. Stone Carving is her favorite, but her pride and joy is the large metal sculpture “The Trinomial Cube” displayed in her front yard!
She is a 1979 graduate of Louisiana Tech University and Directed and taught at The Montessori School of Ruston for 30 years. Renée has fine-tuned the Art of teaching Art to children. Her mission is to facilitate the unfolding of creative, confident, artist that is within each child. The students are taught skills to produce beautiful works for the rest of their lives. You will often hear her say, “Never be afraid to get your hands dirty”, and “The child is to be honored”. There is much freedom given within the guidelines of each project to encourage creativity and imagination. Art is a gift that lasts a lifetime!
