I had so much fun with a few Pre-K campers this summer. Each session we read a book then created a project inspired by the book. This summer we created beautiful butterflies, made bird masks, and built amazing sculptures of places we like using potato starch packing peanuts.

Campers had fun learning a variety of paint techniques. After drying all our explorations in the warm sunshine, campers used their fancy new papers to create Landscape Collages.

Sculpture and 3D Art Camp was messy and the results were AMAZING! Campers learned about:

One-point perspective drawing

Abstract Sculpture

Mexican Alebrije

Aztec Masks

Working with wire and nylon to create sculptures

Papier-mâché

Working with plaster strips

Sharing, complementing, and supporting fellow artists

Caring for materials and Cleaning up messes in the studio

All while making friends and creating amazing projects!

During “Puppertry Camp” campers brought their stories to life using Shadow and Felt Puppets. scenery, and props they created. At the end of camp Friday, family and friends were invited to view their Shadow Puppet videos and Live Puppet Shows. Stories ranged from the scariness of wolves consuming all other characters to the sweetness of friends playing tag.

Campers learned to work together as each took the lead on their puppet show and directed other campers to help them with additional puppet characters. Campers encouraged each other, swapped ideas with each other, applauded for each other, assisted each other, and became friends with each other.

Campers had so much fun during “Mini-verse” Camp! We have learned about:

-Creating a mini-verse with a theme, characters, and location

-Creating a comic with a storyline

-Building physical representations of characters and locations

-Creating Flip Books that flow smoothly

-and more

All while making friends and creating amazing projects!

Campers learned about Embroidery, Cyanotypes, Tie-dyeing, Sharpie and alcohol dyeing, Prestige Hats of the Grasslands of Cameroon, Bandolier bags of indigenous peoples of the Plains, an introduction to using a sewing machine and serger, and more.

All while making friends and creating amazing projects!

In celebration of Youth Art Month, I organized an exhibit of my students’ artwork at the Monroe County Public Library.

March 2 we had an Opening Reception and exhibit of 3D artwork. Students brought family and friends to see their artwork, introduce family to their art class friends, and reconnect with friends from previous art classes. 2D artwork remained hanging throughout the month.

Campers had fun creating art, doing science experiments, developing their observations skills, and putting the pieces together to sovle various mysteries in the Museum.

Hightlists of “Fun and Games with Art” Camp include:

• Activities using art post cards

• Preparing art for our Parody Art Museum

• Creating Puzzle Tiles

• Designing and creating board or card games

Highlights from “Wearable Arts” Summer Camp include: Tie-dyeing shirts and learning to embroider and sew buttons, creating felt Creatures and Pocket Pouches to carry them, and using the sewing machine to sew a tote bag.

I love the waves of first crocus then waves of different varieties of daffodils. And I love sharing photos of these lovely spring blooms.

“Casa Loma Vista” quilt inspired by the triangle window of my brother’s family’s home and the painting “In the Patio, II” by Georgia O’Keefe.

After learning about Japanese and European Dragons, campers learned to draw these two types of Dragons.

Detectives use their skills of observation to investigate details and unravel mysteries. Inspired by “Zoom” and “Re-Zoom” by István Bányai, campers created a series of artwork that come together to guide viewers through a mysterious journey.

We had fun during "Under the Sea" camp. We experimented with Ocean layers, currents, and waves. We learned about how fish, submarines, and submersibles rise and lower themselves through the water. We explored food chains, which are more often food webs. As we explored under the sea, we created artwork and projects that became a final Ocean Collage.

Highlights from “Trip Around the World” Art camp include Zulu inspired woven baskets, printing inspired by Islamic ceramic tiles, plaster masks inspired by various African masks, and Japanese Dragon Puppets.

During “Amazing Architecture” camp, campers explored various engineering concepts then created architecture inspired projects.

Campers learned to tie-dye shirts, dye fabric using fiber reactive dyes, indigo dye shirts and fabric, use a sewing machine to sew their fabric blocks and pillow case, embroider, do freezer paper printing, create crayon batik designs, weave, and use Sharpie and rubbing alcohol to create a more controlled tie-dye effect.

Dino Day Camp included measuring and comparing the lengths of various dinos, creating pasta fossils, and building Dino sculptures.

Art and Science Camp with Hilary Cannon Anderson, Bloomington, Indiana