Myra Klein

JAMESTOWN, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – When the pandemic first began, Myra Klein knew she could use her experience to help kids who were stuck at home.

An art instructor since 2006, Klein engaged kids by doing live art projects on Facebook. Concerned that kids wouldn’t have exposure to arts education during a stressful time full of changes, Myra decided to take her teaching skills online, she launched the Monday following the first school closure announcement.

Klein’s virtual classes have been watched locally, but have reached a national audience after word got back to her that she was reaching kids in Oklahoma and Kansas.

Because she offers the courses for free, the cost of materials became a hurdle in providing the videos. A grant of $1000 from the Cass Clay Chapter of the Awesome Foundation will allow her to continue these videos for a long time.

“From her impromptu first lesson to her grant award exactly one year later, Myra has come a long way in her quest to ensure art education is available to children who want it,” the Awesome Foundation stated.

If you would like to participate in “Art With Miss Myra”, you can like her Facebook page with the same name. You can also search Art With Miss Myra on YouTube. Her art lessons are each Monday through Friday on Facebook live so that children can still have access to arts education no matter their schooling situation.

Geared for elementary school age, her project-based lessons cover a range of art mediums, including watercolor and acrylic painting, beading, pottery, and fiber arts.

The Cass Clay chapter of the Awesome Foundation awards a $1,000 gift each month for awesome ideas of all sorts. Grant recipients do not need to be associated with a non-profit. Applications can be made at awesomefoundation.org/en/chapters/cassclay.

Listen to a full Let’s Talk About It with Myra Klein below: