Exclusive to the Senior Division, this After-Camp Activity offers a more in-depth exploration into a variety of mediums and techniques. Limited to 10 campers, this enrichment gives each person the opportunity to discover, play, create, and try new ways of approaching materials they’ve used and some new ones, too. Led by one of our highly skilled instructors, campers will get immediate feedback and help in taking their art to the next level in this class. Themes for each week are:
Subjects that are offered in multiple weeks create different projects, building on the fundamentals of the subject. Prior weeks are not required for subsequent offerings of the same subject.
Click to expand and read about each offered subject. (*) indicates that the subject is exclusive to the Senior Division.
3-Dimensional
We’re stepping into the third dimension and making use of our hands to build and create in a tactile way. Moving away from two-dimensional art such as drawing and painting, in dimensional classes, we become builders using supplies such as polymer clay, cardboard, wood, and found objects. Past projects have included everything from marble mazes and fairy gardens to collaborative installations of underwater creatures, dimensional covers it all.
Acrylic*
Fast drying and ever-versatile, acrylic paint is one of the most widely used mediums by artists around the world. By looking through the scope of technicality, we learn varying processes of application and finesse.
Anatomy*
One of the most important tools an artist can have in their pocket is the ability to understand what lies beneath the form. Whether you’re drawing a person, an animal, or a made up character, you need to understand the anatomy to make that subject believable. Anatomy teaches artists the bones and musculature to take their pieces to the next level.
Bookmaking*
In the world of DIY, it's not uncommon for artists to take on the task of creating and making their own books. Used as sketchbooks, comics, storybooks, and even gifts, bookmaking is a fundamental class that allows artists to think, and make, with their hands.
Cartooning
From Bugs Bunny to Mickey Mouse, a cartoon makes a brief, funny comment using drawings. Cartoons can range from a single image to multiple images in television, comics, an animated film, and so much more. In cartooning, projects can span from caricatures and storyboards to infinity and beyond.
Ceramics
Let’s get our hands messy and covered with clay as we learn the different techniques, such as hand building, slabs, and coils, involved in making projects from clay. Using our in-house kiln, the clay projects are fired twice each week—once to bisque and again once glazed.
Collage
From paper to painting and found objects in between, collage focuses on expression through layered elements. Collage explores the versatility of this medium and gives campers the chance to experiment and create their own using a variety of different collage techniques.
Comics
From Marvel to DC and so much more in between, comics are one of the best pieces of entertainment. In recent years, comics and graphic novels have become a prominent part of the creative culture. Comics allows campers to explore, plan, create, and tell a story with dynamic characters and scenes in an interesting way.
Design
No matter where you look, design is integral to life. At Summer Art Studio, we’ve explored design through the Cubist eyes of Pablo Picasso and the Pop Art printmaking of Andy Warhol, just to name a few.
Drawing
Everybody’s artistic journey begins with a pencil to paper. Here, we cultivate and expand it. Drawing can include a variety of techniques, such as perspective, figure drawing, and portraiture, using multiple mediums, including charcoal, drawing pencils, ink, pastels, and crayons, providing something new and exciting each week.
Exploring Still Life*
Exploring Still Life offers the unique opportunity to compare multiple media. Using different types of paint from acrylic to watercolor to gouache AND even charcoal, campers receive a brief introduction to multiple media and recreate a still life allowing campers the ability to directly compare and appreciate the subtleties between each.
Fibers
While focusing on color, texture, and patterns, fabric and fibers provide us with a unique medium for creation. From puppets and yarn landscapes to natural dyes and weaving, we explore the many avenues provided by fabric art.
Foundation Drawing*
In foundation drawing, we focus on the fundamentals of art using classical methods. In focusing on the fundamentals, artists gain a better understanding of the basic principles of design. Topics range from perspective, portrait, and figure drawing.
Illustration
An umbrella term, illustration includes multiple areas of artistic study making use of many different mediums. Illustration differs from the drawing and painting subjects offered because it is not technique-focused and instead use these mediums as a way to explore the creative mind. From character design and cartooning to pop-up books and comic panels, Illustrators have their fingers in all the paint on the palette in the art world.
Jewelry
Derived from the Latin word “jocale,” meaning plaything, jewelry can mean any form of personal adornment. We like to focus on the intention behind each artist’s vision while creating pendants, rings, necklaces, and more. Previous projects have included millefiori beads, shrinky-dink pendants, and polymer clay pins with the Junior Division and more advanced techniques including resin-pouring, coppersmithing and the use of powdered glass with the Senior Division.
Multi-Media
Multi-Media is a little bit of everything that we can use to create on paper. From charcoal to pen and ink to ink washes to colored pencils and so much more, we are exploring different kinds of media used to create and tell stories while being more technique driven than project driven in this experimental and exciting new subject.
Painting
Beginning with color theory, our exploration includes different forms of paint, including mediums such as acrylic, watercolor, tempera, and ink. We cover techniques and look to the masters for inspired projects.
Photography
Seeing the world through a lens is a way of creative storytelling that transcends time. Through learning about framing, composition, and perspective, we develop the mind’s eye. Previous projects have included capturing your masked animalistic side, found object photography, light photography, sun prints, and stop-motion storytelling.
Printmaking
From Warhol to Lichtenstein, printmaking has made a lasting impact in the art world. Campers learn the process and explore the subtle nuances from one print to the next in this class. Projects can range from dry etching to linoleum cuts to creating their own stamps.
Sculpture
A three-dimensional work of art made from additive or subtractive techniques. Previous projects include an abstract-shaped form, Giacometti-inspired figures, Chihuli-inspired underwater creatures, and dioramas.
Sketchbook*
Sketchbooks are essential to the artist and in this class, we explore that. Sketchbooks are for experimenting, writing down ideas, trying new things, and sharing stories. This particular subject is less about the final project and more about encouraging campers to create what sparks joy and encourages them to make more.
Storybook Illustration
From Eric Carle to Maurice Sendak, every picture tells a story. Campers will learn to create and piece together images or characters to tell the story at large using visuals instead of words.
Watercolor*
Fluid and loose, watercolor painting captures movement and life. Through the process of layering, watercolor has the ability to be both transparent and opaque. We explore technical application through the use of still life and landscape. In the past, we’ve even used mud as nature’s medium.
Wheel Throwing*
Take a hands-on approach to learning how to throw pottery on a potter’s wheel and explore the many potential shapes that clay can form. Using our in-house kiln, the clay projects are fired twice each week—once to bisque and again once glazed.