Dominique Pierre-Toussaint, who has the build of a football player, is not only an athlete, but an artist.

"People look at me and they say, 'You look like you could lift a house. You do art? It doesn't match,' " he said.

Nevertheless, Pierre-Toussaint sculpts, sketches and paints — portraits are his favorite, and he also cuts hair. In college, he made extra money by giving haircuts to his fellow football players.

The athlete/artist, aka "Mr. Neek," who works as a student support specialist at Glen Lake Elementary School in Minnetonka, has found a unique way to use his talents. He recently started an afterschool art club with students in grades 4 to 8, or thereabouts (it's not a hard and fast limit), who come from various schools in the district.

Pierre-Toussaint and his girlfriend, Tracie Nelson Stanton, who coordinates youth programming at the Eden Prairie Life Time Fitness, are running the art club through the Minnesota Youth Community (MNYC). They founded the grass-roots group last year to offer extracurricular activities to children in Hopkins-area schools and beyond. They're trying to reach the children who need it most, he said.

The slogan for MNYC, for which the couple plans to apply for nonprofit status, is "bridging the gap."

Through their day jobs, the couple has seen firsthand the challenges that some children face when it comes to afterschool opportunities. It might be about activity fees or transportation issues or just needing the right person at the right time to encourage someone, he said.

Pierre-Toussaint, originally from New York, knows what it's like, as he had limited opportunities when he was young. Unlike many of his peers, he never got to participate in coordinated sports until he went to high school, he said.

In his case, a high school wrestling coach who took an interest in him made all the difference, he said.

More recently, it's been hard for him and Stanton, who is also a photographer, to find artistic outlets for their own children, he said. Art is something that's lacking in the community, he said.

To help fill that void, the couple wants to make the art club accessible. They're trying to bring the workshops to places that are easy to get to, and the cost to join is also minimal, he said.

A preliminary round

The MNYC's art club began in January with a group of 22 students that participated in several workshops with Krissy Catt, an instructor from the Minnetonka Center for the Arts. The students used the cafeteria at the Ubah Medical Academy like a studio, he said.

Afterward, the club had a special one-night exhibit of their work at the Ridgedale YMCA, which drew over 100 attendees, according to Pierre-Toussaint.

The students' pieces are currently on view at the Hopkins library for the next few weeks.

Right now, the MNYC is gearing up for a second round of art workshops that start in early March. The deadline to sign up for the club is Feb. 26. Students will work with recycled materials for paintings, collages and even furniture items. They'll also create T-shirt designs.

Once again, they'll showcase their work after the workshops wrap up, he said.

Occasionally, the club takes on impromptu projects, as well. For example, the art club recently painted ceramic bowls for Empty Bowls, a fundraising event to fight hunger in the state, which the Hopkins Center for the Arts is hosting on March 11. It was fun, but the activity also imparted a life lesson about doing art to better the community, he said.

'Growing by itself'

The MNYC started out by organizing a mini soccer camp and a tournament for children in the area. Having had various youth-oriented jobs in the area, he and Stanton knew of some children who could benefit from that, he said.

Since then, the MNYC, which isn't linked to community education, has been "growing by itself," he said.

Probably due to their own interests, art was a natural area for them to explore. Tennis and track clinics are in the works for the warmer months, and other activities are being planned, as well, he said.

Additionally, some children who played soccer through the group belong to the art club.

Part of what's made the volunteer-driven group a success so far, he says, is its approach. For example, the art club is about nurturing children's creativity as opposed to giving them a prescribed assignment.

The art instructors give children an idea "and let them run with it. We don't want everything to look the same," he said.

Nicole Buchholz, the children and youth program director at the Minnetonka Center for the Arts, which led the workshops, said the club's vision fits in with the center's mission. That's why the organization got involved. "We think the visual arts are important for a healthy community. We want to bring it to people of all ages and abilities," and incomes.

The center wanted to give students hands-on experience with different art forms.

In the workshops, children used acrylic paint on canvas board to depict all sorts of "snow people." They had to stick to that subject and use the colors the teacher laid out for them. But beyond that, they were free to create wintry figures in whatever ways they wanted, she said.

They also carved out and decorated clay tiles with visuals and words that relate to personal interests of theirs. Some students wrote in a favorite line from a song or made pictures about synchronized swimming or baking on their tiles. It showed the diversity of interests just in one room, she said.

Likewise, the art opening allowed them to "experience success with art," she said.

MNYC's art club helps expand on learning. "Sometimes there's not a lot of art in the school day or kids aren't able to go to a special summer camp," she said.

It demonstrates how art making can become a lifelong activity. "It's a chance to have them express themselves through art and build their confidence that way. Everyone can be an artist," she said.

Moriah Thielges, an activities assistant with Kids & Company, a before- and after-school program, who is also a volunteer with the art club, said the group is reaching children at a critical time.

Too many children stop doing art around age 11, thinking that they've peaked, according to Thielges, who has an art education background.

Other times, young people don't get interested in it until much later. "It's important to foster creativity at this age, to keep them going," she said.

Just having supportive adults around, who "see the value in these skills and abilities," is helpful, she said.

At the end of the first few workshops, it was gratifying to see the children signing each other's T-shirts — the "social aspect unfolding," she said.

Hopkins artist Raju Lamichhane said his daughter, Rajani, a sixth-grader at Glen Lake who is in the club, has never been more interested in art than she is now, and she's gaining a better grasp on artistic principles, he said.

Lamichhane got the chance to observe some of the previous workshops. "The kids looked happy, doing and creating and organizing things in their artwork," he said.

It inspired him to get involved, and he plans to lead a workshop with the children in the coming weeks.

Anna Pratt is a Minneapolis freelance writer. She can be reached at annaprattjournalist@gmail.com.