Free Youth Art Class Series at DB Library Tuesday

Diamond Bar Parent Leslie Liao was bringing her son and daughter by the Diamond Bar Libary to check out books when she saw a sign for the Theatre of Hearts art class.

"I would recommend that other parents bring their kids to the class," Liao said.

The class was a pleasant surprise for Liao and her children — and she said she plans on returning next week as well.

The class is taught by Allison Peck, an artist-in-residence with the non-profit Theatre of Hearts, based in Los Angeles, and covers the basics of visual art.

"The class is an introduction to all of the main art principles," Peck said, "from color, composition, techniques from oil pastels to painting to collage."

Each class is focused on one project that students complete by the end of the hour and a half lesson.

"They'll learn what they need do the project in one session and then in five sessions, we'll have enough work to put up around the library," Peck said.

Peck said the gallery will be completed and presented for the final class in the series on Feb. 8.

Classes run from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday's class will be the second in the series. Students do not need to have attended the first class to participate in the Jan. 18 or future classes.

The mission of Theatre Of Hearts program is "to prevent and intervene in youth-on-youth violence by involving youth and their families in on-going, high quality, multidisciplinary educational arts workshops offered at schools and community-based sites" throughout Los Angeles county.