JOLLY JELLYFISH & SQUISHY SPONGE SEA URCHINS

It's beach time!

We brought the ocean to us again this June at Summer Arts Camp.

Last year Ocean Arts Day was such a splash when we made papier maché octopuses from plastic bottles, that we had to create another squirmy sea creature this year.

Whimsical papier maché jellyfish, made from tiny plastic bowls, tissue paper, sea shells, google eyes, and ribbons were swimming all around us!

Silly jelly faces and expressions filled our aquarium.

Jellyfish were squirming and squishy sponge sea urchins began to fly!

{At the end of the day, the Camper Kids made squishy spongy sea urchins, soaked them in a bucket of ice cold water, and threw them at Matthew!}

A perfect way to cool off!

Ocean Arts Day was a blast!

NOT A SINGLE FISH OUT OF WATER

Hello!

Summer zipped by too fast, didn't it?  I know that many of our Camper Kids were on their way to the beach after their week here at Summer Arts Camp, however, all of the Camper Kids enjoyed a little "ocean time" while they were here in June.

OCEAN ARTS DAY was one of the highlights of Summer Arts Camp this year.

During Week One we created sea creatures from recycled plastic bottles and papier maché, using layers of pastel blue tissue paper and home made paste, which resulted in a family of octopuses.

These eight legged squids were adorned with seashells on their heads, google eyes, and glitter on their tentacles and when they swam into our "saltwater aquarium" for a photo, they were as handsome and glamorous as could be.

While the octopuses were happy in the aquarium, the Camper Kids started sailing away and painted saltwater-colors works of art.

Using black Sharpies to sketch their sailboats on the sea and saturated watercolors for color, the boats started floating on the waves.

Some sprinkles of salt on the wet watercolor paint, added a textured effect, much like sand in the sea.

Love all the color!

By Week Two there was not a single fish out of water.  We continued our OCEAN ARTS DAY, but with a different project...

...a Fancy Fun Fish!

Painting with acrylics this time instead of watercolors, the Camper Kids went wild and painted fabulous tropical colored fish on paper.

We stuffed them {the fish, not the Camper Kids} with paper and added a ribbon so that they {the fish} could hang as a mobile.

This school of Fancy Fun Fish got all A's!

OUR SOUTHERN TIDE

We are going scuba diving at Summer Arts Camp this year!

What will we find deep in the ocean?

Seaweed, seashells, and squid!

What will we create?

Upcycled plastic bottle papier maché octopuses!

Then we will dress these long legged mollusks up in sand sparkles and clam shells, among other adornments and treasures we find in sunken ships...

...so these playful squid will be ready to swim in our southern tide.

LIFE IS A BEACH ~ EVEN IN MACON!

While many of our Summer Arts Camp families and friends are enjoying this Memorial Day weekend at a beach ~ playing in the sand, catching the waves, flying kites ~ we here at SAC headquarters are gearing up for camp to begin very soon, so our beach time will not happen until later in the summer.  

However, we wanted to share some fun that you may have while you are by the shore this weekend.

OCEAN ARTS DAY is one of our themed art days during camp this summer and one project we will be creating is a collection of charming BEACH CREATURES... 

Mermaids and surfers...

Princess sea angels...

Sea sisters...

...a little mouse,

...and some sea turtles, of course.

So get your head out of the sand, pick up a pail, and collect some sea shells!  Arrange them on a flat surface and take a photo.  Share with us your work on our Facebook page.  We would love to see what you are doing this first official weekend of summer.

Have fun and stay safe.  

See you in June!