Summer Art Camp!

Art, Art, and MORE ART! Our Summer Camps were so much fun!

​Over the past two weeks, children at The Atelier jumped into the process of papermaking!  Young artists learned that the art of papermaking, as we know it today, was first invented over 2000 years ago in China.  They learned that there are a variety of materials that paper can be made from…cloth, trees, or even recycled paper.  By using old scraps and discarded paper remnants to make our paper we were able to discuss the big ideas of recycling and repurposing….taking trash and making something new….something beautiful!  The children began by sorting the paper scraps by color and tearing it up into workable pieces.   Once the colors were sorted into separate bins, the children were able to choose the colors for their paper and blend the paper into pulp.  Children then worked in pairs as they pulled their own paper all by themselves!  They learned the vocabulary associated with paper making…mold and deckle, paper pulp, and how to “kiss” the pulp off the mold and back into the tub of pulp.  I couldn’t be more proud of these young artists! 

​The older campers had opportunities to experiment with pulp painting and achieved some interesting and unique results!

​After pulling their paper sheets, we strained the remaining pulp and sculpted 3-D forms with it.  Children used their imaginations as they created entire worlds, which were officially termed, “blobbies”.   This dramatic play went on throughout the week and promoted creative thinking and social development. 

​Campers learned about the artists Wassily Kandinsky, Claude Monet, Vincent Van Gogh, and Eric Carle and created unique works of art inspired by the famous artists.

​I love seeing the friendships that form when children are provided with a nurturing environment where they feel safe to express themselves, create, and work together.  There were wonderful collaborations among the young artists and I witnessed many friendships blossom!  Even on the first day as O and B demonstrated the beauty of two artists working together to create a large easel painting…they made two so each could take one home.  How lovely!

​Easel painting, watercolors, oil pastel resist, sketching, sculpting with clay, wearable art, dramatic play, sensory bins, collage…..we had so much fun and so much creating over our two weeks of summer camp that I can’t even express it all in words! I’ll let the photos do the rest of the talking!
 

Enjoy more great moments in the slideshows!

Summer Camp June 27th-July 1st

Summer Camp June 20th-24th