NORTH AUGUSTA – A world of art opens to children at the Rainbow Factory.
More than a children’s art studio, the Rainbow Factory, 1367 W. Martintown Rd., is “a place where imaginations are unlocked and set free,” according to its website.
With children exiting the classrooms for summer break, the Rainbow Factory is offering an array of arts camps for the very young to the tween and teen this summer in addition to its regular fare in-studio birthday parties and events, mobile art parties, mobile face painting and balloon twisters and corporate events/festivals.
The art camps are starting the first two weeks in June and run toward the end of July and are filling up fast.
“These camps aren’t just about ‘how to draw an apple’ or ‘how to make a Starry Night painting,’” according to Erica Price, Rainbow Factory owner. “We will do some of that, but my vision and mission is showing children and adults how to connect with their inner artist. God made us in His image, and He is the ultimate Creator. Therefore, we were all made to create.”
There are several different sessions according to age level including the Mini Makers camp for children between the ages of 2 and 4.
“These are one-hour sessions of messy, colorful, ooey-gooey, sensory-based activities,” she said.
“This age group just wants the freedom to access a variety of materials and have fun. They don’t care about the mess or the outcome, and neither do we.”
Parents who want their toddlers involved in these classes may want to act soon.
“Mini Makers filled up within a few days, so I added another session to each week. Now those p.m. sessions are starting to fill up,” she said.
She also has a camp for kindergarten through fifth grade called Junior Makers.
“We’ll be doing a lot of messy process-based activities (in Junior Makers) like the toddlers enjoy because these guys love that too! However, we’ll also learn about color theory, line and texture, famous artists and how to incorporate creativity into everyday life,” she said.
Price also offers a camp for pre-teens and teenagers.
“Tween 2 Teen camps take everything from the other camps a bit further as we learn about actual design techniques, construction, and more about the creative process of expressing ourselves. This isn’t a camp about learning to draw something more realistically,” she said.
One focus of this camp is on the purpose of creativity.
“How it can express our inner thoughts, emotions, ideas, and opinions,” she said. “All things that teens are trying to figure out anyway.”
For camp information, visit https://rainbowfactory.com/2022/03/summer-camps-augusta-ga/.
Price is a self-professed, self-taught artist and mother of three who pursued a traditional arts degree and eventually arts education but found neither were for her.
“I’ve been teaching myself art since I was in second grade, trying to draw pictures of my teacher as she was teaching math — a subject I was sure was a big waste of time. I majored in art at Augusta State for about five minutes. I somehow knew an art degree wasn’t for me,” she said.
She also majored in early childhood education before she finally decided on business management.
Supporting her family and their creativity are important to her, and her three daughters have inspired her as well.
“My three girls, 4, 10, and 14, remind me every day that children are naturally creators. They inspire me in more ways than I can fit in a paragraph. It’s also my dream to provide them this business to work in and possibly take over one day if they so desire,” Price said.
She said that she believed God gave her the ability to connect with kids and boost their confidence and that parents responded to that.
“My business, which was then called Arty Party, quickly grew to a full-time income. I trained and hired a friend of mine who is also amazing with children, and we just rocked it,” Price said.
Then, 2020 happened, and COVID-19 brought her business to a screeching halt. Price was undeterred, however.
“I pivoted to art kits and online camps, but it just didn’t bring me the joy and fulfillment that working with kids in person brought me,” she said.
In January 2021, she started getting calls for party bookings again.
That’s when Rainbow Factory was born.
The move to a brick-and-mortar location from a home-based business started in March.
Price said, “I began praying deliberately to God to show me the next steps to take in my business. When I say ‘pray deliberately’, I mean I asked Him every morning and every night to guide my business in a direction that would bless my family financially and radiate creativity and joy to all its customers and employees. I journaled; I meditated; I searched my soul.”
Only a few weeks later, she noticed a “For Rent” sign in front of a strip mall a few miles down from where she lived.
“I live in the country, so for a space to be close to me yet right next to I-20 was perfect. There were only a few spaces there, and they had been full for as long as I could remember. I looked in the windows and saw multiple rooms, lots of bright, natural light, and a counter and sink right in the middle of everything — perfect for an art studio,” she said.
To learn more, visit the Rainbow Factory website.
