DAPHNE, Ala. — Almost 50 budding artists honed their skills at the opening of the Bay Rivers Arts Guild summer program in Daphne Monday.

In groups divided by age, youngsters filled the guild’s three studio spaces on Sixth Street with a flurry of creative activity.

In one room, the theme was monsters and 4-year-old Paul Mercer of Daphne explained that his creation, made from pencils, glue and colored paper, was a “good monster” that lived on “bad people meat.”

An older group led by Sherry Bittinger, an art teacher at Daphne Middle School, created abstract representations of hurricanes dubbed “hurricane trees.” Part of the paper was painted, while one area was masked off, and later filled with a variety of swirls and lines.

Call 621-0659 for more information on summer art classes.

Upcoming classes

June 21-25

<10 a.m. - noon:

—Groovy Art with Amy Plunkett, ages 9 and up

July 12-18

<10 a.m. - noon:

—Classic Storybook Art with Melissa Ott, ages 4-6

July 19-23

<1 p.m. - 3 p.m.:

—Sumi-e Art with Maria Papp, ages 6-8

July 26-30

<10 a.m. -  noon:

—Fun with Painting with Bianca Ingram, ages 4-6

—Colored Pencil with Nancy, Wininger, ages 7-9