The morning started out quite dark… as usual, right?!
It’s always exciting when I make it to the lakefront and there’s so much “promise”
with all the clouds on the horizon. The promise of a beautiful sunrise to come…

But then as the sun began to rise, the cloud cover took on a beautiful blue shade
as the clouds spread across the sky.

As the sunrise continued, the clouds began to take on a rose-colored hue.
It’s always cool when the undersides of the clouds light up. Even though this moment
is so brief. Just a couple minutes and it’s all over!

But as the orange began to fade, the golden sun made its way up into the clouds
and the sky lit up the morning!

Today.
The kids continued to work “in the style of” some more famous artists!
Including Georgia O’Keefe, Piet Mondrian, Georges Seurat… and practically
every kid’s favorite… Jackson Pollack. They even worked on memorizing some more
famous artists like Marc Chagall, Andy Warhol, M.C. Escher, Jasper Johns, Frank Stella,
Norman Rockwell, Peter Max, Wasily Kandinsky and even Theodor Seuss Geisel…
yep, Dr. Seuss!!!

Tomorrow.
We will be celebrating the end of their “Gallery Artists” week of summer camp
with a “gallery-style” show & reception to highlight their new masterpieces.
Today they decided to call their show “ARTAPALOOZA” and made show posters!
If you are available tomorrow afternoon, we would LOVE to have you stop by
Lillstreet at 3:00pm to share in the festivities on the third floor in Painting Room C.

As the start of school is right around the corner, my 6-year old niece Taylor
wanted to squeeze in another trip to the studio to play in some mud. So we made plans
and played with some clay after summer camp today. She stopped by Lillstreet
with her mom (my sister Jennifer) and her grandparents (my Mom & Dad). We set out
to make some quick leaf-relief-stencil plates. We went outside to find some “good” leaves
with nice outlines and strong veins. We pressed them into some stoneware slabs and
painted over them with colored slip. As always… she was VERY focused on her project!

And then, after letting the slip dry for a few minutes, we carefully peeled out the leaves
to reveal the leaf reliefs!

Next we took our slabs and draped them over a few handmade “frame” molds. After pressing
the slabs carefully into place, we trimmed off the excess edges & finished them off. They are
now set to dry… and after they’re fired, I will glaze the plates in the their “chosen” glaze color!

We headed down to Navy Pier to continue her fun day in Chicago!

Little did she know it, but I had also arranged for her to attend a surprise performance
of “Cirque Shanghai Extreme” on the Skyline Stage on Navy Pier. My friend Kim is the
Production Manager, and she graciously “hooked us up” for the show! And Taylor loved it…
she was mesmerized during the show. Especially when the acrobats came out over
the audience and performed just feet above her!

And then, oh but wait there’s more… after the show, Kim also took Taylor under her wing
and with a nod & a wave, Taylor got a complimentary stuffed panda. Which was then
autographed by a couple of the acrobats! And then… Kim also asked if we wanted to go
backstage to see some of the props, costumes and the large globe cage!!!  And after seeing
four motorcycles all driving around & flipping around inside the cage, it was very cool
to go inside… sans motorcycles!

But her evening wasn’t over yet… once she saw the huge Ferris Wheel on the Pier, it was somewhat inevitable that we would be going for a ride. So we were once again “hooked up” and hopped on the ride – slowly taking us up well above Navy Pier. With fantastic views of the city and lake all around us!

But the fun continued… as it was Wednesday night, which also means Fireworks!!!
Yep, every Wednesday & Saturday night we’re treated to fireworks over the lake!
And with that… her magical Claydate Playdate had come to an end…

I’m pretty confident she had a wonderful time.
Okay, except for the moment when she found out she was just an inch too short
for the flying swings ride!!! But that was “corrected” with a huge swirled lollipop
for the drive home!

Back at summer camp, the kids are focusing on some of the master artists they saw
during their field trip to the Art Institute on Tuesday. I created a beautiful still life
for the kids to work from. We first had them draw the still life in their own style.

Then, we had a great discussion about some famous artists. There were ten new names that
we discussed and the kids started memorizing some good art history. All the while thinking
it was just fun… and not an art history class! We covered classic masters like Pablo Picasso,
Claude Monet, Vincent Van Gogh, Georges Seurat, Salvador Dali, Paul Gauguin… as well as
more contemporaries like Frida Kahlo, Georgia O’Keefe, Piet Mondrian & Roy Lichtenstein.

After sharing some art history & anecdotes, the kids switched to their first painting
“in the style of” Georgia O’Keefe. So we discussed some of the identifiable characteristics
of an O’Keefe painting… and then they started off sketching & painting their own version.

More artists… and more painting tomorrow…

First… dark clouds, very early in the morning just a the sky begins to lighten.
With an incredible amount of spotted cloud cover “hovering” on the horizon.

Second… as the sun slowly rises somewhere over Michigan, the cloud layer changes slowly
to a beautiful shade of blue. With a beautiful orange ribbon lying low on the horizon.

Third... as the clouds lift, and the mass slowly breaks up in the sky, the sun begins
to peek out over the horizon way of fin the distance.

Fourth… and just when I thought the sunrise “magic” was over… the sun popped up
and the remaining clouds turned into a glittering shade of orange!

Fifth…

So it’s another week of Summer Camp (my last for this summer)…
and this time it’s a week all based on famous artists & famous paintings!
Throughout the week, the kids will all be making their art “in the style of”
famous artists. It’s going to be a crash course in art history… they’re going to learn
a lot this week, and they’ll never see it coming!!!

Today we all took a field trip to the Art Institute downtown… after too many Mr. Pibbs!!!
So my busload went downtown, spent some time in Millennium Park, visited The Bean,
and ate lunch in the park. The into the museum to expose the kids to a LOT of art!!!
Many of them were surprised when they finally realized that everything in the museum
was “real” and not a fake… as well as how old many of the pieces are!

Just a quick “thank you” to the broken Coca-Cola machine just outside the room
where I’m teaching my summer camp this week.

And I would just like to “thank” them for giving us a broken machine!
Let’s just say the kids love it more than I… as every time they buy a can of Pibb Xtra
(yes, that’s extra sugar & extra caffeine) the machine gives them TWO cans!!!
Yes, two cans for the price of one!!!

Just what the summer camp kids need… more caffeine & more sugar!!!
Especially when we were headed off to the Art Institute for the day!

The lakefront was quiet again this morning.
Perfect to park the bike… and take a plunge in the lake for a quick swim!
And I use that term “quick” VERY loosely!!!

At the Gethsemane Art Fair today, I started yet another ceramic collection!
This time, it’s these incredibly intricate tiny “beauties” by Lillstreet artist
Terry Hogan. I’ve been watching these pieces evolve and change as they make
their way through the kilns & firing process. What started out as these tiny
textured trinkets… Terry is now expanding her level of “craziness” to larger
more sculptural pieces! And you know how I LOVE crazy details!!!

I know it’s kind of hard to determine the actual size of these pieces… so here’s a
quick photo to show you just how tiny they are. Which also shows you just how small
& intricate Terry’s work is. Love the textures. Love the patterns. Love the tiny!!!