Students press the water out of the pulp. (Alex T. Paschal/Telegraph)

"I'm making a big card," said Carlie Sherman, 8, of Dixon.

Sherman said the best part of the project was getting dirty.

"Especially our fingers from the newspaper," chimed in 10-year-old Kylie Piper, of Dixon, holding up her hands - blackened, smudged, fingers fanned out to prove her point. "I like that we're using all sorts of different things to make paper."

This was the second week of a six-week art camp at the gallery in downtown Dixon to introduce children to a variety of art techniques.

This week kids got to choose from an assortment of paper products, rose petals, ferns and glitter - lots and lots of glitter - which seemed to be their favorite ingredient.

"The glitter was really popular," said Kristina Lindahl, the camp's instructor. "Nobody wanted the rose petals or the fern. Everyone wanted glitter."

After the kids decided what items they wanted to create their paper from, they took the shredded pieces, soak them in water and then blended them into a pulp.

The pulp was then poured into a screened frame floating in a container of water. Before pushing all the water out the students add colored paper, textured items or glitter.

"It's heavy isn't it? It has a lot of water in it," Lindahl said to Miles Glenn, as she helped him gently push the water out of his pulp.

The great thing about making paper is it's a project the kids can replicate at home, said Lindahl, who has a master's in arts education from Northern Illinois University.

"It's as easy as can be and costs virtually nothing," she added. "It's messy but it's water messy and water isn't too bad."

This was the third week of a six-week camp at The Next Picture Show, designed to introduce children to a variety of art techniques.

This week, the kids learned about Balinese culture by making masks using plastic milk jugs and papier mache.

"I hope it teaches them about art in a different culture, so they will have an appreciation of the hard work that goes into something like this," Heidi Palmer, the class instructor, said as she looked at the Balinese mask she'd brought in for the children to see.

It takes countless hours of sanding and several coats of paint to achieve the glossy surfaces that are a hallmark of the Balinese style, Palmer said.

The masks generally depict humans, animals and demons. The one she brought with her was of a bird - shiny and painted in various shades of green accented by crooked lines of red, white and black, with a white beak.

"What does a bird stand for in our culture?" Palmer asked the students.

"An eagle stands for freedom and power," answered Phil Garnhart, 10, of Dixon.

Palmer then asked the students what type of bird might elicit bad or negative emotions in people if they were watching a play.

"A crow," said Kylie Piper, 10, of Dixon.

"Good, now think of what you want your bird mask to symbolize," Palmer said.

While their masks dried, the kids drew pictures of what they might look like once they are painted.

"I'm going to paint a cardinal, because I already know what they look like. I go to my grandmother's house and I see a bunch of them there," Kylie said as she filled in the bird's face with a red pencil.

Sydney Kitzman, 10, of Dixon, said she was going to paint a Japanese lovebird.

"It's kind of hard to find information on them," said Sydney, who spent months in the public library researching the bird. "They're kind of rare, even in Japanese."

This is an easy project for kids to do at home - all they need is a plastic milk jug cut in half, cut strips of newspaper and a mixture of liquid starch and water, Palmer said.

Megan Anderson was happy to hear that - she's planning to make another.

"You don't have to be a pro to do it," the 12-year-old Dixon girl said. "I might do an exotic parrot."