Today my summer camp kids finished their clay projects.
Tomorrow we move into the Metals Room for more fun.
It’s FIRE, FORGE & FEAST… and the kids are making clay dinnerware sets
with metal forks, knives & spoons! Friday is a big potluck!

So first they handbuilt their plates, bowls, cups & handles in terra cotta. With everything
fitting in with their creative themes. Everything is three-dimensional, sculptural & whimsical.
Once the pieces were all assembled, we had to paint them with underglazes for the colors.

But of course, no “Fire, Forge & Feast” class would be complete without the annual
“Chocolate Chip Cookie Bake-Off” that we enjoy each year… when the kids come up with
the idea “all by themselves.” Okay, so there may have been a little suggestion.. maybe
a few hints… Either way, the kid are home tonight baking their best chocolate chip cookies
to share tomorrow. They’ll all vote for their favorite… and the winner will get the “trophy”
plate that I made for them! So they’re bringing the cookies and I’m bringing the milk!!!

This morning the totem pole sections came out of the kiln. So now the project turns to
stacking & installing them. The plan was to install them on the roof of Lillstreet Art Center
amongst the garden planters. Everything was going as planned until a huge storm decided
to roll through. So as we kept working in our classroom, we could see the rain coming down
on the skylights. So we had to start developing Plan B.

But then, just before lunch, the clouds started to clear and the rain began to slow.
So I posed the question to the kids and they were more than excited to put it on the roof,
despite the chance of getting rained on! So we proceeded with Plan A!

I started with a large plastic flower pot. We inserted a metal pipe in the center & surrounded
it with quick drying concrete. Then we covered the concrete layer with pebbles to the top of
the flower pot. Once the concrete dries, the pole will be fairly secure. Then we started stacking
the segments. Each section is filled to keep it from shifting on the pole. The bottom few sections
are also filled with pebbles. The middle & top sections are filled with styrofoam peanuts.
Idea being that the bottom is heavier and the top lighter so it’s not top-heavy. However, as we
were staking sections and filling them with peanuts, the wind kept picking up and blowing
some of them around… and Isabel was having a little trouble keeping them in place!

Getting closer to the top, Ryan & Ruby add a few more layers to the totem…

And here it is… the completed totem pole installed on the roof of Lillstreet Art Center.

Pleased with their own handiwork, my campers strike a pose next to their completed
totem pole. It’s a motley crew… but hysterical and fun to play with all week long!!!

Some of my “happy campers” enjoying the Lillstreet Roof garden after installing their
totem pole! Pleased with their work, and happy that the weekend is here!

So it’s Friday at Summer Camp and kids’ clay projects are coming out of the kiln.
We made them & glazed them on Tuesday, they dried overnight and into an electric
kiln on Wednesday. They’re still a bit warm… but the gnomes are done and
ready to go home to some beautiful city gardens!

The kids have finally finished their painted terra cotta pedestal pots.
Remember, each of them received a theme that they had to brainstorm and develop.
It’s always so much fun to see how the kids approach a conceptual challenge and
turn it into a personal work of art. Here are just a few of their masterpieces…

“The Jungle” – created by Ava…

“Outer Space” – created by Lucy…

“Walt Disney” – created by Kayla…

“Underwater World” – created by Elizabeth…

“The Four Seasons” – created by Dahlia…

While the totem pieces & gnomes are in the kiln, the kids have continued with the
painting of their terra cotta pedestal pots. Their themes are established, and the
painting has begun… and the “focus” by some of the campers is pretty amazing!

With their totem parts & gnomes in the kiln, may summer campers have moved on
to painting “thematic” pedestal planters. They randomly chose themes out of a hat
and did some brainstorming to figure out how they were going to portray their theme
onto their pedestal planters. The kids then set out drawing the designs…
and will soon start painting with acrylics!

Here’s an example of some of the themes they’re working with…
* The Olympics  *  The Four Seasons  *  The Z00  *  The Jungle  * Sports
* Walt Disney  * The Chicago Skyline  * Fruits  * The Future  *  A Favorite Movie  *  etc…

This week it’s all about the garden.. my campers are making projects for their gardens!
And when all of the kids live in the city, the term “garden” might be a loose interpretation.
We had a discussion about what our week’s projects might be… and whether they might be
interested in making a individual projects or one large project that they would collaborate on
and leave behind at Lillstreet Art Center. After some discussion, we came up with a plan to
do a totem pole installation. Each of the kids were responsible for making their own section
of the totem, decorated in whatever style they wanted.

Much to my dismay, many of them asked if they could also make garden gnomes!
So we did a little handbuilding and made a troop of gnomes. They turned out to be a little
thicker & heavier than I would like, but I’m hoping that they all survive the firing. It was a
quick project and they haven’t had much experience with sculptural pieces. And they idea
of keeping all of the pieces hollow was a bit tough, but I think we succeeded… and added
small holes in all the right places so they trapped air can escape!

After some quality “gnome time,” we switched back to the totem pole pieces and started
painting them with underglazes. New this year, Lillstreet has added underglazes with glaze
already in them. Before, we painted with underglaze and then covered everything with a
clear glaze. This year, it’s all-in-one. The colors are pretty rich, but it is a new twist for me
and the returning campers who are used to the previous method.

Once the totem parts were painted, we moved back to the gnomes. A splash of color really
brought them to life. I was a little leery about making gnomes… but they’re pretty darn cute!

At the end of the day, much to everyone’s dismay… my kids are also very good cleaners!
So many of the adult students at Lillstreet blame all of the mess on the kids. But seriously,
my campers always do such a great job of cleaning… better than most of the adults!!!
They know it’s my Rule #3… Whatever mess you make, YOU will be cleaning up!
And they do. Like today when they some water was spilled on the floor…

There they were on their hands & knees scrubbing & cleaning. They also cleaned all of the
tables as well as taking the garbage out to the dumpster. Yes parents, they CAN do it…
and you can thank me later!

Today was another fun day at Summer Camp. It was Tie-Dye Thursday…
and you know how I loves me some groovy tie-dye!!!

Today is going to be another day of kids wheelthrowing.
But today we switch to terra cotta… so it’s going to be a messy, messy day!

Meanwhile, my afternoon campers are working diligently on their collage projects.
They started by drawing their own pictures… including some diptychs… and one triptych!
Then they tackled the stash of magazines to find the colors they needed to create their
masterpieces. Cutting small pieces of “color” out of the photographs in the magazine.
They’re well on their way to finishing their collages… then a finishing layer of Mod Podge!!!

Tomorrow they’ll take a break for some tie-dye fun!!!
Then it’s back to finishing their collages on Friday!