Artists, aspiring artists, and those who want to teach art are invited to participate in the latest addition to Washtenaw County's artistic culture, the Dexter Arts Center, which began classes earlier this month.

"To have well-rounded education you need to have the arts," said Pam O'Hara, one of the founders of the Dexter Arts Center and the co-owner of Dexter's Artistica Gallery.

O'Hara said the time is right for Dexter to join other local communities like Chelsea, Ann Arbor, and Ypsilanti in creating a place for people to teach and learn art.

"Adults need the escape and creative outlet," says O'Hara. "Art helps you de-stress, relax and rejuvenate."

The Dexter Arts Center is located in the downtown area at 3205 Broad Street, upstairs from Life is Good and the Artistica Gallery, which O'Hara opened along with Lisa Wandres in 2008. She said people have been asking them to offer art classes ever since.

Dexter's Arts, Culture and Heritage Committee did market research during Dexter Daze in 2009 and found overwhelming interest in opening an art center.

"Our board members are most familiar with the visual arts, but we hope to branch out into music and offer classes and intimate performances at the Arts Center," said Courtney Fitzpatrick, secretary of the Dexter Arts Center board and member of the Village's Arts, Culture and Heritage Committee.

The Dexter Arts Center is a Michigan nonprofit and is seeking designation as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, which would allow tax deductible donations.

Classes at the Arts Center will target all ages from preschool to adults and will include basic drawing, acrylic painting, clay and sculpture classes, mosaics, and jewelry making, along with specialty workshops. The Arts Center has three furnished rooms that are being used.

If you'd like to help the fledgling organization, the Dexter Arts Center's wish list includes sturdy tables, chairs, stools, markers, watercolor paint, brushes, finger paints and aprons, along with jewelry supplies such as wire cutters, pliers, and hammers, and pottery tools like kiln shelves and posts, buckets, sponges and rolling pins.

Lisa Carolin is a freelance reporter for AnnArbor.com. For more Dexter stories, visit our Dexter page.