BLOOMINGTON - Children and their parents got "art smart" Saturday at the McLean County Arts Center's Saturday Art Lab, a free program held periodically to assist children in creative thinking.

"The idea was to have a children-family exercise," said center coordinator Tony Preston-Schreck. "We want to try to offer some creative exercises for people."

Bethany Thomas of Bloomington produced a multicolored drawing with her 8-year-old daughter, Madi.

"I love the fact that we can come together and work together and share ideas," Thomas said.

Art education students from Illinois State University usually direct the art lab, which usually draws about 20 students per session.

"These guys are great," said Kirstin Hotelling-Zona of Bloomington, who was at the art lab with her daughter, Ella Zona.

"For the kids to be able to coordinate their work with the work upstairs is really cool," she said, referring to the upstairs art gallery which housed the exhibit "Reflections" by Clinton glass artist Janusz Walentynowicz and the "After Hours" landscape paintings by artist Gerard Erley.

Preston-Schreck said he usually holds the art lab when there is a gallery exhibit available.

He usually begins the lab sessions by having the families visit the gallery to view the exhibit. He then loosely bases the lessons on the artwork they saw.

In Saturday's program, Preston-Schreck explained shadows to about 40 participants. He shined a light on a wall and had 7-year-old Ella stand in front of it, then move forward and backward to change the shadow's size and intensity.

The demonstration prepared the audience to make what Preston-Schreck called "shadowscapes." Children and parents held their hands above their papers and traced their hands' shadows in various positions, then colored them in.

Children also took turns posing against a wall and tracing each other's outlines, which blended together, before painting the haphazard shapes that resulted.

"I think it's great," said Heather Alberti of Normal, as her twin sons, Nate and Ben, traced their hands on papers. "The kids really enjoy it and it's good for all ages."

Preston-Schreck said one of the goals of the program is to encourage people to think about art holistically.

"We're asking people to think about how art fits in their lives and how it's valuable," he said.

The program is intended partly as a supplement to often-underfunded school art programs, Preston-Schreck said.

The program began in the fall of 2008, and is offered roughly every other week. It is expected to run until the end of March, but Preston-Schreck said he hopes to find funding to extend it.

For information, call (309) 829-0011.