Each year, students in the You Do The Dishes Summer Art Fest program get to put their own “thumb prints” on each assigned art theme.

Do you have a budding young artist living in your house? Has he or she ever been to You Do the Dishes (YDTD) Paint-Your-Own Pottery Studio & Coffee Bar in Tampa Palms?

If not, now is the time to go and check out not only the studio, but owner Cindy Kozlowski & her husband Herb Pinder’s great Summer Art Fest program. Although kids who attend the camp still get an opportunity to paint their own pottery, too, the Art Fest program is so much more than that. The one-week sessions (which begin Monday, June 11, and run from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. every weekday) for ages 7-13 include printmaking, drawing, watercolors, acrylics, collages, pottery making and origami.

Herb, who first met Cindy shortly after she opened the studio in 1998, first came into YDTD to paint some pottery. An artist/educator who received his formal art training from the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia and from USF, Herb has led the summer art program for kids at YDTD the last eight years.

“Every year, we have a theme for the Art Fest program,” says Herb. “This year’s theme is folk art. We will show the kids a variety of different types of folk art and have them create projects in those themes. We get a tremendous response to the program year after year.” Last year, he adds, the kids had fun creating fish statues in the style of renowned artist Frank Gehry.

He admits that more girls than boys participate in the Art Fest annually, “But, there are always boys participating, too. I try to give them serious art training but always remembering that they are children, so of course, it has to be fun for them. We get a lot of repeat students, plus siblings of past students who have participated.”

For only $210 per session, which includes all materials used and created by each student, your child can have supervised fun — and get an art education — in YDTD’s safe, nurturing environment. Please note that all Art Fest students have to bring their own lunch and snacks each day.

And So Much More!

In addition to the annual Art Fest summer camp, YDTD also offers opportunities for kids under age 15 (although kids under age 7 must be accompanied by an adult) to join the studio’s Summer Paint Club. For only $100, your child receives unlimited Monday-Friday studio time, paints and firing costs for the entire summer (June 8-August 21), between 11 a.m.-4 p.m. weekdays. Paint Club students are separated from the Art Fest kids and the cost of the bisque (unpainted pottery), food and drinks is in addition to the $100 cost of the program. Students can bring their own lunch and snacks, as well.

And yes, adults can still paint during the summer months, too. Call YDTD (see info below) for details.

YDTD also is an outstanding coffee bar serving delicious Joffrey’s coffee (and coffee drinks), Tazo hot teas and Arizona iced teas, as well as Otis Spunkmeyer cookies and other baked goods, from brownies and muffins to an ever-changing variety of cakes.

And, Cindy and Herb are proud to announce that YDTD has added several flavors of Bruster’s Real Ice Cream, available in cones and cups. And, considering our office is right next to YDTD, it’s hard for me to not stop in every day to get a scoop of Moose Tracks or Cookies & Cream.

And of course, YDTD is still a great place for parties and events and even offers programs through The Soap Factory (in another part of Tampa Palms) where you can design and take home your own bars of soap.

For more info, call You Do The Dishes (15357 Amberly Dr., Shoppes of Amberly plaza) at 975- 1700 or visit YouDoTheDishes.com.