Jose Eslinger was working diligently on a dragonfly. He was using an array of colorful markers to draw and make his bug as lively as possible.

The metal insect that was sitting on the table in front of Jose was serving as his muse.

“I try to have a variety of things in the room to stimulate the children’s ideas,” Lisa Grant said.

Grant is the instructor and owner of Art At Heart, which is located on Mission 66.

Three weeks out of the summer, the seasoned art teacher offers weeklong art camps for children.

“This will be my fifth year to come,” 14-year-old Sydni Knight said.

“I love it. It is my favorite thing to do in the summers,” she said.

Alexis Bedgood agreed with her cousin.

“I just love how Mrs. Grant tells us how to paint stuff,” Alexis said.

Both girls are from Tallulah.

“Their grandmother saw my ad in the paper a few years ago, and now I have a whole crew that comes over from Louisiana,” Grant said.

Grant said she has been offering summer art camps at her studio for the past seven years and before she held them in her home and at schools.

“My goal is to make it where the kids can’t wait to get in this room to do their art, and one of the most rewarding things about the art camp is seeing the kids get the satisfaction that they have done well and accomplished something. And when it all clicks, it is a real self esteem booster for them.”

Grant has been an art teacher for 35 years and currently teaches at Vicksburg High School. Her summer camps are geared around individuality.

“I try to do a variety of art projects because everyone doesn’t like clay and paint,” and she said some of the projects she starts the students out with are low stress, like tie-dye, which is meant to ease a child into their comfort zone.

“When they find that comfort zone they perform out the wazoo,” Grant said.

Grant has two more art camps scheduled for the summer. For anyone interested in more information, call 601-415-9592 or visit artatheart.grant@hotmail.com.