Session 3 Morning Art Extravaganza

On Friday, Session 3 wrapped up and we said Goodbye to some amazing campers and awesome little artists. The Turquoise Group (Purple Group in the afternoon) made some really cool artwork, photographed below. All of our morning groups gathered outside with their artwork for a show and popsicles.

The Red Group en route to the side yard to meet their friends/siblings/parents/etc.

Noah, Hannah, and Sophia (of the Blue Group) showing off their ceramic creations.

A sampling of the mosaics the kids have been working on all session with the talented David Woods!

I think somebody was excited about the Red Group's art display!

The afternoon's Orange Group made these really cool 3D beach scenes out of glue, sand, and watercolors! 

Session 4 begins today, so check in all week for great photos of even more awesome kids and awesome art!

Afternoon Shenanigans in Session 3!

This afternoon, I checked in on the Red and Purple Groups, who were working on some pretty great projects. The Purple Group carved amazing designs into linoleum tiles in order to make their own prints. I caught the tail end of this project, while the kids were rolling ink onto their carvings and stamping their creations onto paper. The red group was in ceramics with Dave Woods, pressing leaves into clay which will burn off in the kiln to leave imprints.

Old Summer Spree friends, Dean and Hallie (of the Purple Group), rolling ink onto their carved linoleum tiles.

Jane and Nicole showing off a couple of their prints.

Nathan and his awesome print (with a guest appearance by Ava the Photobomber).

Mira and Megan (of the Red Group) with their clay pressed with plants before cutting and firing.

The following are a few shots from earlier this week and late last week. The Orange Group made some pretty cool plaster bowls by wrapping wet strips of plaster around plastic bowl molds and letting them sit overnight. They then painted them to make decorative pieces (note: eating cereal or soup from these bowls or putting them in the dishwasher/microwave might not end well). The Red Group also made mini oceans in a bottle by pouring colored sand into little water bottles along with tiny seashells and treasures before pouring blue- or green-tinted water into them.

Sophia (of the Orange Group) working hard to decorate her bowl.

Minori and her intricately designed bowl.

Izyan examining the treasures inside his own personal mini-ocean.

The whole Red Motley Crew (minus two members) with their oceans.

Gail's Teen Sketching class is making a special appearance in today's post! This is a shot of them from last week doing some outdoor sketching in the back yard of the arts center. Teen classes run from 1-2:30 or 2:30-4 every day during Summer Spree.

Session 2, The "Dig It!" Special

Bob and Drew are back at Summer Spree for Session 2 with another awesome special in the Children's Garden! Every summer, their project is a favorite among the Summer Spree campers and staff alike! In previous years, they've enlisted the kids' help in creating a beautiful classroom in the garden with a table and stools decorated with mosaic tiles. All the while, the kids were digging, tiling, pouring concrete, and letting their imaginations run wild under Drew & Bob's guidance. This summer, they've come back to create a second classroom at the other end of the Garden, a bit farther away from the newly-built outdoor pizza oven. Right now, they are in the process of digging and laying the foundations for the new classroom with the kids' help. Caution: the following photos may involve some messy children having an outstanding time.

Lena and Falina mixing up a bucket of hay and mud to help with the foundations for the classroom table.

Grace getting a mud-soaked high-five from Drew.

A little rinse-off from the hose, and the Yellow Group is ready to take on the rest of their day.

For members of the group who are less interested in mud-stomping, a tile-making station is set up in the classroom they made in previous summers.

Can't wait to follow the progress back there! Keep up the good work!

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.

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!

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! 

Session 1: Outdoor Fun!

With all this rain we've been seeing, the garden has been soaked, but that hasn't stopped Nancy and the kids from getting outside and digging in the dirt or playing in the yard. The Red and Orange groups were outside this morning with Nancy, some running in the yard with butterfly nets, others planting or bug-searching in the garden.

Nancy Long with friends from the Orange Group, Jack and Ben in the garden.

Jack was very excited to show me this creepy crawler he found in the mud!

Members of the Red Group on the chase! There are butterflies to be caught!

Zayna shared an umbrella with Lucas when the wind blew rain water down from the trees. Too cute!

There's nothing like a bunch of kids running around outside, having a ball, to brighten up any rainy day!