With the Christmas season upon us, the Hinesville Area Arts Council is launching a new series of art lessons that could inspire handmade gifts for the holidays.
New arts council member Ashley Cuevas will lead the classes, which run for three weeks each and are offered according to ages.
“Some people think you’re either an artist or you’re not an artist,” Cuevas said. “But really, it’s like anything else. You learn the basics and you work your way up.”
The first class, Big Hands, Little Hands, is Saturday from 10:30 a.m.-noon. During the class, parents will help their 3- to 6-year-olds create special age-appropriate projects.
The older crowd also will get a chance to exercise their creativity this week when Drawing for Adult Beginners, a basic observational drawing class, begins Monday at 6 p.m.
For the adult class, Cuevas hopes people will step beyond their fears and intimidation and embrace the chance to learn.
“I want those people who maybe want to learn to draw … to come and not be intimidated and take steps to really learn this skill,” she said.
Cuevas, a military wife who taught middle school art classes before moving to Hinesville, said she always has wanted to teach in a smaller and more relaxed capacity but that she hopes to expand the series in the future. 
“They’re just sort of an introductory series,” she said. “I’m hoping to get a feel for which age groups or which topics are more popular and maybe try to develop a more regular schedule.”
In January, Cuevas will offer classes geared toward children ages 7-11 as well as a cartooning and comics series aimed at teens and tweens.
Though each class will include a complete lesson, some classes will lay foundations for the sessions that follow, Cuevas said.
“With the first teens and tweens class, we’re going to be doing cartoon personality, which will be a good foundation for building the second lesson, which is cartoon strips — but someone could still come to the second class and jump right in,” she said.
Arts council Chairwoman Leah Poole said Cuevas is offering the classes as part of the council’s new artist co-op, a program where member artists pledge time to keep the facility open during business hours in exchange for usage of the space after hours.
“It’s kind of a trade-off. We get the space open during the days, and they get to use it during the nights and weekends when it’s not open. … It seems to be going well for us,” Poole said, adding that the council as a whole is excited to have a structured series that allows members to be selective about which topics to attend.
Due to logistical problems, the council’s former arts teacher, Christina Mansfield, who accepted a job upstate, had to discontinue offering classes, Poole said.
The arts council also has other events on tap during December.
Sometime during the first week of December, handmade works from lifelong quilter Dewayne Stewart, who had a one-day showing in Long County last month, will go on display at the facility through January. In January, Cuevas’ work will take the stage.
On Dec. 13, the facility will host a hometown version of “Cupcake Wars,” where contest entrants will battle for baked glory — and anyone can be the judge.
“You’re really going to get to try some really good cupcakes,” Poole said about the event, where guests who make a donation at the door can sample cupcakes and cast votes for the people’s choice award.
The upcoming events, combined with high turnout at recent events, show that the community supports the council, Poole said. “It’s encouraging to see so many people turning out for the things that we’re doing.”