So we finally started Summer Camp at Lillstreet Art Center. A lot of new rules & guidelines for all students… and for the kids coming to Summer Camp! A lot of cleaning, disinfecting & sanitizing throughout the day. And of course MASKS for everyone!!! So exciting to have the kids back… the energy, the fun, the creativity!!! But still kinda weird at the same time to not be able to see their cute little faces!!!

Since this was Sculpture Camp, I figured out two-day clay project would be inspired by Robert Indiana… stacked dimensional letters. Some of the kids had never heard of him… but they sure knew him and a LOT more famous sculptors by the end of the week!

The kids started their project by drawing out their letters on a piece of paper to use as a stencil on the clay. They needed to cut two of each letter… for the front & back of each piece. So we made plenty of slabs. Plenty of tracing letters & cutting them out on their little canvas-covered boards!

After cutting out all of their letters, we let them set-up for a bit on a large sheet of paper. Then they started assembling their letters. A lot of scoring & slipping as they added a slab strip around all edges of the letters to give them some depth. Once the sides were on, they needed to add the top layer to close off the box. The biggest trick was to score the correct side of the letter so it lined-up with the box… I think about half of them did it backwards the first time!!! HA!!! Easy to fix… it’s just clay!

We started Tuesday by finishing & refining their letters. After they were all cleaned up, we started stacking them and designing their final layouts. Keeping Robert Indiana as their inspiration, they each figured out different configurations… and then decided on their final stack. I helped them assemble their sculptures with some “strong” scoring & slipping!

Once they were all stacked, they start to paint their sculptures with color glazes. One of the benefits of working with terra cotta in Summer Camp is that we can do a single firing and get their projects back by Friday!

Always part of the process… and “Gary’s Summer Camp Rule #3”… Whatever mess you make, YOU will be cleaning up!!! And they do without complaint. It’s just an “understood” part of the process. You tell them to do it. They do it. Giddy-up!

On Friday, their sculptures came out of the kiln. They finally got to see their sculpture masterpieces!!! So adorable!!! Sure, there were a few minor issues where something didn’t stick together… “did I tell you to score & slip?”… but no huge errors! No explosions! No major breakage! I consider that a success… especially because THEY LOVED THEM!!!