ArtCastle

Accomplished artists themselves, both Tracy Malmstrom and Gail Carson—"Ms. Tracy and Ms. Gail" to their young students—have taught art in elementary schools. After a deluge of requests for private lessons, Tracy founded ArtCastle in 2006 and Gail signed on in 2011. Together, they nourish the artistic spirits of children 5 and older through drawing, painting, printmaking, and a plethora of other mediums.

As the young artists hone visual skills while silk painting or practicing batik-watercolor techniques, Tracy and Gail also strive to bolster their problem-solving abilities, listening skills, and confidence. In addition to after-school and home-school art sessions, the duo offers Friday kids' night out parties in which kids belt out karaoke, scarf down pizza and desserts, and amaze their parents with a finished work of art at the end of the night. Summer camps and classes keep kids active on break and Saturday workshops teach youngsters of all ages a new artistic skill each month, such as how to construct a new best friend out of papier-måché.