“Given the circumstances and just because the Loft doors are closed, doesn’t mean our creativity also has to be shut down,” said Art in the Loft Executive Director Justin Christensen-Cooper. “We want you to stay home, stay safe, but stay creative.”

He said a great resource to do so is Art in the Loft From Home that you can visit at www.artintheloft.org/from-home.

“This is a new initiative by the Loft team and board to keep our community connected through the arts, but also safely,” he said. “Due to the stay-at-home order, all Loft classes are postponed until further notice, but Loft From Home gives you a lot of options and ways to stay creative.”

Art kits, called Get smART Kits, will be available starting Monday, for $25 each. They can be picked up, or there is free delivery within the city limits.

Here are Stone and Hazel Christensen-Cooper coloring with markers.

Each kit is chock full of supplies for three different age groups: kindergarten through second grade, third through fifth grade, and sixth grade and up. Each kit comes with three fun lessons and easy to follow instructions.

Get smART Kits include the following activities and enough supplies for one student to create all three projects, with “plenty left to keep on creating.”

¯ K-2nd: Lessons for this kit are all about circles and include Kandinsky Circles, Dots & Dots & Dots, and 3D Balancing Mobile. Supplies include oil pastels, black paper, glue, brushes, Q-tips, large white paper, wooden circles for mobile, wire for mobile and tissue paper.

¯ 3rd-5th: Lessons for this kit include Radial Paper Sculptures, Pastel Cakes, and Claude Monet Watercolor. Supplies include black paper, colored paper squares, a glue stick, oil pastels, art paper, a pencil, watercolor paper, watercolor set and brush, and sponge.

¯ 6th and up: Lessons include One-point Perspective Dream Rooms, Plaster Masks, and African Kente Weaving. Supplies include a 3D mask form, plaster strips, acrylic paints, brush, art paper, ruler, pencil, colored pencils, large paper, and a glue stick.

Chef Reid Krebs provides online instruction for viewers to create manicotti at home. To see the virtual class, visit Art in the Loft’s website at artintheloft.org.

You can apply for a scholarship to cover the cost of each kit, and pre-order your kit online now. Scholarships for the kits are limited to one per family.

In addition to the art kits, the Loft is rolling out three digital videos per week.

Classes range from toddler classes such as ArtPOP and Messy Hands that teach kiddos easy lessons all with supplies that you would have at home. This week the Loft featured local Chef Reid Krebs, in the Loft’s first-ever digital series called LOFT EATS. In this video, Chef Reid guides viewers through an upscale stuffed manicotti with plenty of chef tips for the culinary experts in your own home.

Keep posted to the website and social media as art kits are still available and can be ordered online.

Digital videos will continue over the next few weeks and feature such topics as the popular Corkscrews & Canvas, and an at-home version of Kids in the Kitchen with Denise Cooper guiding kids through Easter-themed treats as well as another round of ArtPOP, to name a few.

For more information, to view the videos, or to pre-order art kits, visit artintheloft.org.