ART CAMP 2012!

       Before I get started, let me say, right out here in the open, that this post is admittedly about six weeks late. I wanted to get this on record the week I returned to sunny Chicagoland, but things happen to happen the way they happen, and sometimes that means all at once, in an unrelenting spiral of chaos and productivity. But that isn't always a bad thing!

       To Art Camp! This was the fourth year of camp and the group, while ever-changing, stayed mostly the same. The age range of the group has expanded further each year, with our youngest being seven, and this year the oldest was fourteen.

        We managed to all work well together, and the kids turned out some amazing work. The return of fiber arts and hand-sewn felt craft is evident here, with Drew looking TERRIFYING in his fox mask.

       One of the new mediums explored this year was animation. Here you can see Jackson hard at work in the animation corner, which we jokingly dubbed 'Pixar Jr.'

       On the last day, we invited parents to come see what we had been up to all week, and each of the campers had a table of their own to showcase their thirty-plus hours of work finished in the five days we met. Aidin had a lot to show, even though it seemed like that cupcake pillow might take the whole week to finish!

        It's worth mentioning that the real Pixar movie, Brave, opened a few days before we started our week, and so, showed up in some of the projects, most notably the family tapestry that Aidin recreated.

       All of that embroidery, those poor little fingers! And on the back?

         CUPCAKE!!!

       Eliot had a lot of fun sewing, painting and drawing, and helped maintain the 'geek-cred' we established in previous years by making Minecraft themed pillows.

       Payton and Julia, hard, hard at work. Sometimes you have to tear them away and remind them that they are children, and should enjoy life! (joke)

       Payton's body of work, complete with hand sewn puppet.

       Drew's table, thick with illustrative work - nice mixed media, too!

       Riddhi and her little brother Dhruv displayed together, initially, then had to use two tables when they realized how many pieces they had completed.

       Riddhi started to make a chicken plush, and ended up making three left-facing chickens (the feathers all on the same side), before she was able to focus and make an opposing side, to complete the stuffed bird.

       The extra lefties weren't a complete wash, though! She ended up with a beautifully embellished chicken pillow.

       Dhruv kept the video game theme alive in his awesomely retro Pac Man pillow.

       Macy worked hard all week honing her different interests like sewing, working toward a better grasp on drawing people with proper proportions, and wet-media. On day four, though, she found her calling...

       MARSHMALLOWS! So cute. Good job, Macy.

       It was a great week, and I was lucky and happy to spend it with such talented, focused kids. Great work, everyone! See you next summer. Until then, bask in the glory of the complete Art Camp 2012 Animation Collection: Volume 1!