Monday, June 30, 2014

Session 1, Week 2 Begins!

It's crunch time for our 5 groups in Session 1 this week! With Art Shows on Thursday afternoon, kids and teachers are starting to put finishing touches on their big projects! The ceramics projects are being glazed, display pieces are getting assembled, and new plants are being added to the garden.

The Blue Group assembling a sculpture on which to display the underground creatures they've been making.

Dean (of the Blue Group) decorating pieces of a snake which will hang from the apparatus above.

Amelia (of the Orange Group) using pipets to paint with watercolors.

The Red Group glazing their ceramic medallions and pinch pots.

Emily (of the Green Group) working hard in the garden.

The Turquoise group putting the finishing touches on some of their work from last week.

The Turquoise Group making 3 dimensional, wearable pipe cleaner creations.

Thursday, June 26, 2014

Tie Dye Morning and Musical Afternoon

Your resident Summer Spree blogger was otherwise occupied this morning, stepping into the role of Tie Dye instructor to the Red and Orange Groups. Tie Dye is one of our favorite traditions at Summer Spree, so I was glad to jump in and introduce our littlest campers to this colorful way of customizing their own clothes!  (That also explains the brevity of this morning blog entry - sorry to the Green, Blue, and Turquoise groups!)

Little tie-dyers in action!

This old pro has been tie dying since she could walk! 
This afternoon, world traveller Emily returned to Summer Spree from Thailand and is teaching a Music special this session! I caught up with the orange group in the middle of a guided drawing during which they drew something to express the feeling they got from listening to certain songs.


Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Day 3 of Spree!


The humidity has kicked it up a notch today! And so has the fun! This morning, I checked in with Margery and Carolyn in the side yard, where they were getting ready to welcome the Red Group to their Gardening special. They learned about different types of soil, and even got to stick their toes in a big bucket of sand before squishing around in a puddle of mud! Pauline and Josh's morning groups (Blue and Green) were also digging into some cool projects; take a look at the pictures below for a glimpse of what they're working on!

Margery and the Red Group looking for treasures in a bowl of sand big enough for 16 little hands!

Muddy toes are a great way to learn about soil and get your feet and hands dirty at the same time! Check out that mud pie!

Liam and Alex (of the Blue Group) layering paper mache to make the final product as sturdy as possible.

Pauline's Blue Group making beautiful treasure pockets to collect goodies on their nature walks!
The afternoon groups were also moving right along delving into new stages of projects that will be on display next Thursday afternoon, at the Art Shows! The Turquoise Group was in the painting stage of preparation for their Pow Wow, which will be performed before their group's Art Show. The Red Group met David our Afternoon Ceramics teacher this session, and he led them through the construction of birds' nests, complete with birds and eggs to go inside them! Once the Red Group's time was up in the ceramics studio, the Orange Group came in and got to let their imaginations run wild and create a sculpture of whatever their hearts desired.

The Green Group singing along to the radio as they worked.

Declan doesn't need a chair to paint his masterpiece. 
Dave listening intently as Keegan describes a seagull he once saw at Chik-fil-A. 

Does Lucia approve of the size of the egg Ada made for her birds' nest?

Sophia B. creating her "Family Home" out of clay.




Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Day 2 of Fun in Session 1

Day 2 of the summer saw our Spree teachers and aides getting right back into the swing of things. The aides were all smiles as they met the kids at their cars and took them safely to their teachers this morning. Once divided up into their groups, the kids dug right into their art supplies. (Many of which are generously donated to the CAC by members and art lovers throughout the area - Thanks Donors!) 

This morning, I stopped into Jen's Art Start room to check up on the youngest group of campers, where I found Maddy working on a little piece of make-believe made from repurposed soda bottles and tissue paper. As the Red Group transitioned into snack, I popped over into the Kid's Ceramics studio to find Juanita guiding the Orange Group through a new project: making snails out of clay. (Try to imagine the last time you concentrated on anything as fully as a 5-year-old molding a huge wad of clay into something he's proud of.) My final stop this morning was into the Turquoise Group's room where Pat was in the middle of instructing the oldest group of campers in a geometric art project using graph paper.

Maddy (of the Red Group) hard at work on her fairy house!

Bryce (of the Orange Group) deeply concentrating on his clay snail.

Sophia D., Sophia B, Mira, and Mia accessorizing their snails with clay-jewellery of their own creation.

Pat helping her 5th & 6th graders in the beginning of a new art project...

Can't wait to see the final products!

Today marked the first day of the summer that we have yoga in the afternoons with our favorite yogi, Kim! I popped into the ballroom just in time to see the Red Group playing yoga-Simon-Says and have some relaxing time in the air-conditioned ballroom. Down in the kitchen, the Red Group did some out-of-the-box art by making their own little pita-pizzas. Yum!
Kim leading the Red group through a game of Yogi-Says.

Sarah helping her Orange Group make mini pita-pizzas...

...which Finn, Liam, and Reese definitely enjoyed, by the looks of it!


Monday, June 23, 2014

Afternoon Adventures, Day 1

The fun  of Magic Mornings doesn't have to end at noon! Every day, we have our Lunch Bunch of kids who hang out with our wonderful aides from 12-1pm before Afternoon Adventures begins. When 1:00 rolls around, the kids go off into their groups and launch into three more fun and art-filled hours! Scroll down to check out some of the things the campers did this afternoon!


Dean of the Turquoise Group selecting materials for his habitat...

Here, Pauline assists Melissa and Declan (Turquoise Group) in building their habitats.

Jen can't decorate the Red Group's room all by herself, so Lucia, Mia, and Mira help out by making name tags for their cubbies!

Keegan's helping out too by painting a mini mural.

Josh's Outdoor Games special gives the kids a much needed chance to let out some energy in the side yard.

We also hold teen classes for children older than 5th or 6th grade in the afternoons at Summer Spree. This session, we are offering Digital Photography and Pottery Wheel classes at 1pm and Handbuilding, Drawing & Pastels, and Homemade Beauty Products classes at 2:30.

Some down time during Digital Photography, pretending to be a butterfly!

The Digital Photography class exploring the scenery around the parking lot.

Two of the teens in Carol Seymour's Wheel Class getting to know the pottery wheels.

Suzanne Brophy teaching her class of teens about the natural benefits of herbs from her garden.

Another Summer of Art Begins!

The first day of Summer Spree is finally here! It's been a long winter and all of us here at the Arts Center are thrilled to be back for another art-filled summer.

Magic Mornings kicked off to a great start! Our specials this session are Gardening with Margery and Ceramics with Juanita, as well as Tie Dye on Thursday (for the Red & Orange groups) and Friday (for the Green, Blue, and Turquoise groups).

Mia & Mira of the Orange group stretching their imaginations during snack time.


Dean, Gianna, and Emily hard at work in Ceramics, making Piggies with Personality.

The Blue group is listening to their teacher, Pauline, discuss her Piggy's personality.

Lucy and Liam of the Green group working in their sketchbooks.

Finn and Emma (Green group) pose with the paper mache they worked on this morning. Can't wait to see what these balloons will turn into by the end of the session!