SPRING BREAK...PICK UP A BOOK!

Spring is here

and

spring break is upon us.

Yay!

Where will you travel?

What will you do?

We here at the SAC campground are heading to the shore, as I am sure many of you may be too.  It'll be good to wiggle our toes in the sand, splash in the sea, make some seashell creatures, and escape this yellow fog of pollen around here, don't you think?

But whether you take the bus to a big city or cruise to the coast, you will want something fun and creative to do during your break.

 

Better bring a book with you...

...because we know 
that at least one of you
will be

B-O-R-E-D

at some point
and
will not know what to do
with all your free time.
Right?

So why not pick up book?
No, not to read, but to tear out the pages, use them as your canvas, doodle an image or scene and paint it.

Grab a black Sharpie, some watercolor paints, a cup of water, and a paint brush and go at it.  The printed words make a charming background to the paintings.

This has always been a very popular Summer Arts Camp project, and thanks to the Friends of the Library who so graciously donated stacks and stacks of old books for us to use we are never out of paper.

Now, what to do with all that free time you will have this summer?

Hmm...
That's not hard to figure out.

Join us in June for some creative fun at Summer Arts Camp!

Registration begins on April 1st ~ no fooling.

{That happens to be a very special day around here at Summer Arts Camp headquarters.}

All the information and FAQs you need are on the side bar to the right.

Just click.

Happy Spring.

We will see you in June!

'ROUND & 'ROUND

Do you ever feel as though you are running around in circles?

Spinning so fast in this life that it is as though you end up right where you began?

We do and did something about it!

Last weekend we camped out on our patio, worked on some new projects for Summer Arts Camp, and revisited some favorites.  Without giving all the details away and leaving a bit of a surprise for you, here's a peek at a paper collage project the Camper Kids will be doing on CIRCLE ARTS DAY.

Then we got some bubble wrap and painted it with bold brush strokes...

...using it as a stamp of sorts, we pressed it onto some mat board and made abstract art.  
We even framed them.

But of course we could not waste the un-used paint left on our palette...



...so we painted sheets of paper in bright colors.  When the paint was dry, we punched out circles, of course, and then applied them to mat board creating a bright pattern.

Simple and clean and vibrant.

We got dizzy having so much fun in the sun creating these projects!

CIRCLE ARTS DAY is one of our themed art days at Summer Arts Camp this year.

We hope that you will join our circle of friends and become a Camper Kids this year.

IT WAS AS SIMPLE AS BLACK & WHITE

With a few pieces of art inspiration from my past,

{These charcoal on paper art pieces I made in a required beginning art class in college ~ abstract, Matisse inspired, organic landscapes.}

and channeling Ed Emberley's critter magic,

using some chunks of organic charcoal left over in our Big Green Egg,

the Camper Kids drew dozens of whimsical creatures and imaginary gardens.

They were fearless and it was hard to get them to put the charcoal down, so that we could work on the next project ~ midnight cityscapes.

Using scraps of wall papers, vintage sheet music, old catalogs and books, buttons, keys, and other found objects, villages were built one by one.

City blocks were planned.

Buildings were constructed.



The stars came out in the night sky to illuminate the tiny towns.

Awesome architects,

who each had a key to their city.

But we were not done yet.
On this very last day of Summer Arts Camp 2015, the Camper Kids were unstoppable!

Our final project was painting with black ink and creating abstract works of art using brushes, string, straws, and other funky objects which were dragged through the paint.  
So much fun and imagination!

Then the day was done and we prepared for the Celebration of Our Arts {those photos will come in the next post}.

The littlest Camper Kid was more than happy to help clean up our work space, and she made me this happy owl charcoal drawing before leaving for the summer.

LOVE.

What a great day.

AMERICAN GRAFFITI

Beyond the walls of the city buildings and under the full moon and stars...

...is a village in black and white.



This is where tall tailored, buttoned down hound's tooth and pin striped houses dance with the made-by-sheet-music houses and gigantic blooms that loom above.

Who holds the key that unlocks this mysterious village?

Does he?

Or does he?

We think that they both do...

...and when they turn the key to unlock the village gates, their imagination goes wild!

Using all the ways they can think of painting and inspired by Picasso, Matisse, and others of their era ~ they grab sponges, string, found objects, and bamboo paint brushes...

...all dipped in black ink and they begin to paint the city.

Finding some charcoal bits and corks left behind from last weekend's festivities, they continue to draw figures and shapes...

...and leave their graffiti art for us to enjoy and appreciate.

Sharing with you a sneak peek into our "BLACK & WHITE ARTS DAY" which we will be doing this year at SUMMER ARTS CAMP!  

{In honor of Guss, our black & white mascot, of course.} 

We cannot wait to see how the Camper Kids paint our city.