Another favorite spot in the Art Institute are the stunning stained glass windows
by Marc Chagall. With deep indigo blues and splashes of colors throughout, these
windows cast a beautiful glow across the room… and the kids love ’em too!

It’s always fun to watch the kids interact and appreciate the art. More than just walking
through, they actually take time to examine & discuss some of the pieces. Of course…
I’m right there to facilitate and get the discussion started if I need to be…

Kind of “hidden” in the lower level, the Miniature Thorne Rooms of the Art Institute
are always a favorite of the kids. Created by Mrs. James Ward Thorne, each miniature
room was exquisitely built to a scale of one foot equals one inch. With several of the
best craftsmen of the day, Mrs. Thorne replicated rooms from across Europe, as well
as the United States. Small framed windows serve as a looking glass into each room!

This week’s summer camp theme is “Learning From The Masters.”
My main intention with this camp is to introduce the kids to several famous artists,
have them learn a little art history and do their art projects in the style of these artists.
So we take them on a field trip to Chicago’s Art Institute for some great inspiration.
There’s a LOT to see… so it’s a lot of walking, talking & discussing art all day long!

With so many masterpieces on display, the Art Institute is a wealth of inspiration
no matter what genre or style you’re interested in. From impressionists to cubists.

Throughout the day, my campers frequently made stops to sketch some quick images,
or to capture them on their smartphones for future reference. It was so exciting to see
the kids really taking an interest in art. A good sign of things to come…

Kinda sounds like a movie, huh?!
Actually it was just the start of today’s summer camp field trip to the Art Institute.
We arrived in Grant Park a little earlier than the museum opening. So we walked over
to Buckingham Fountain so the kids could sketch and eat an early lunch in the park.

Such a beautiful way to start the day, right? Sitting in the park on a beautiful Tuesday morning.
Watching my summer campers capture the statuesque landmark fountain in the sketches.
Only to be followed by more art… and our field trip to The Art Institute of Chicago.

Today was the last day of our “Fire, Forge & Feast” summer camp at Lillstreet.
The day when everything comes together. At least if all goes well.
And today it did.

Our clay pieces came out of the kiln and everything looked pretty good.
So the kids did some final projects, some last minute riveting and some finishing.

It was great to all of the dinnerware sets come together. Combining their metal & clay projects
together in one place thematic setting. The kids were excited too! And well they should be!
They all worked really hard this week – and succeeded in the challenge we put forth for them.

Theme : ALICE IN WONDERLAND. Complete with a wonderful Cheshire Cat plate!

Theme : FLOWERS. Colorful flowers everywhere, plus a great pair of salad tongs.

Theme : HARRY POTTER. With a fun Quidditch plate, Hedwig bowl and Sorting Hat cup.

Theme: DOCTOR WHO. Sadly, I’ve never seen the show, so I wasn’t much help with this one!

Theme: FISH. Catfish dinner plate, goldfish salad plate and a fun fish skeleton spoon!

Theme : ALASKA. Covered in snowy white with a moose, fish and evergreen trees!

Theme : TREES. Fun with stump handles for the cutlery. Plus a strainer-spoon for the cup!

Theme : MATHEMATICS. Not so fond of Math, but loved his direction. Not off on a tangent!

Theme : ZOMBIES. Climbing out of the RIP Cemetery plates, and a screaming mouth bowl!

Theme : SWITZERLAND. With an upcoming move to Switzerland, this was a great choice!

Theme : VIDEO GAME… not sure which one?!… I’m sure he would love to tell you about it.

Theme : CHERRY PIE.  Made as part of our demos by my co-teacher Michelle.

But here’s the kick. Along the way, the kids did break quite a few saw blades.
Now don’t get me wrong, saw blades do break! Even for adults. Even for people who have
been sawing metal for years. But maybe some of the kids didn’t get that memo?! As a few
of them broke a few more than their share. We made this list on the wall of the Metals Room
after working with the kids for two days in clay. Michelle and I tried to predict who would
do well,  and who would break more saw blades. So we put the kids in order as we were
guessing. I think we did pretty good listing the ones we thought would break fewer blades
at the top, and those who would break more at the bottom.

So we ended the class with the FEAST portion of the camp. The kids all brought in
some great food for our lunch potluck. We had pulled pork sandwiches, pasta salads,
fried rice, potatoes, sodas, lettuce salad, chicken noodle soup, Oreos, sugar cookies
and two pies – fresh from the First Slice Pie Cafe in the Lillstreet Gallery!
A yummy conclusion to another fun week of summer camp!

During our camp yesterday, one of our campers decided to challenge Michelle
to a metal cutting contest. Really?! Did he not realize that Michelle is a professional?
That this what she does for a living? And that he’s only been cutting metal for a
couple hours?! Really?! Ya’ gotta give him props his bravado though…

Anyway, the challenge was that I would draw a difficult shape for them each to cut
out of copper. First one to complete the challenge would be the winner. The other one,
well… the LOSER! So they each had the design attached to their metal & ready to start…
on your marks… get set… go!

And before he even knew what was happening… Michelle was already done!

So the prize?!… for the rest of us?… We had all decided that the “loser” would have to bring
chocolate chip cookies for the rest of us! Today we all ate cookies. A fun contest…
and fun cookies! I’m just glad he didn’t challenge me!!!

As our week continues, my summer campers have moved on to FORGING!
Or at least some quick metalsmithing while making their knives, forks & spoons!
So while I was leading-the-charge for the first couple days of clay, my co-teacher
Michelle took the lead for the metalsmithing portion. She’s the pro. Not me.
I know just enough about metals to be dangerous!

Once Michelle had finished her demo, the kids set off on cutting out their own pieces.
Some of them cruised right through it. Others struggled. Some required laser focus…

Once they finished cutting out their shapes, they need to file the edges to remove any burs
or sharpness. We keep trying to tell the kids that their pieces need to be smooth so that they
don’t cut their mouths from eating off their own sharp-edged cutlery!!! Personally,
I’d rather be cutting metal… filing is not my favorite part of the project either!

Once cut & filed, Michelle did a demo on stamping, chasing & texturing. I like this part
because it’s texture & design. The kids love this part… lots of HAMMERING!!!

Tomorrow we finish the projects, and our clay pieces come out of the kiln!
We’ll put everything together and have a great potluck lunch to celebrate!

It’s another week of summer camp… another round of “Fire, Forge & Feast.”
This is the first summer that we’ve offered two sessions of this summer camp.
It’s fun to have another batch of kids making their clay dinnerware sets.
Yesterday & today they came up with their themes, then made ceramic plates,
bowls, cups and handles out of terra cotta. We finished today with each of them
painting their work with Lillstreet‘s new underglaze/glaze combo!

Some of our themes this week?… “Alice In Wonderland,” zombies, flowers, “Harry Potter,”
Alaska, trees, Switzerland, “Doctor Who,” video games, and… my “least” favorite?…
mathematics! Yes, one of them is actually basing his entire set on mathematics!
I’m an artist… I don’t do math!

So our menagerie fills the table! Luckily, all of the animals seemed to get along overnight.
Each of them ready to go home with the kids to take up residence in their new digs.
It’s always fun to see the looks on the parents’ faces when they come to pick up their kids
and suddenly see them walk out of the building carrying a huge animal! Hysterical…

Each animal cuter than the next… some more animated than others, each quite adorable!
Including a fennec fox, alligator, dachsund, great dane, sting ray, anemone, caiman, fox,
elephant and a wonderful flamingo striking a statuesque pose!

Maybe I forgot to tell the kids that we’re painting the animals… not their hands???

So today the kids were finishing up their Wild Things sculptures! The plaster gauze is dry
and they animals were really “coming to life” as they were painted with acrylic paints.

I especially LOVE when some of the sculptures take on a life of their own and get larger &
larger… and eventually cover most of the table. Who am I to tell them to to limit their project?!
Definitely not me… instead, I encourage it!!!