At the end of the day, my campers were getting ready for the 4th of July holiday…
with a little red paint, blue paint, and a lot of rubber stamps!

Well, all of my campers finished this week’s weaving projects just under the wire.
They was a lot of focus & determination… along with a little silliness along the way.

All in all, they were very proud of their weavings… including our “late entry” into the class
who joined our class on Thursday and ended up doing his weaving on cardboard “loom”
as he missed the loom dressing process. They loved the simple horizontal stripes,
but were also “motivated” by more difficult patterns like vertical stripes, basket weaves
and boxes. A little fringe at the end… and done. Just like Week D.

Still weaving… still focused… still surprisingly excited about weaving?! Who’da thunk?
And now that they have their hanging looms dressed – the actual weaving has begun!
Tomorrow we’ll continue weaving, focusing on colors & patterns… back & forth, back & forth…

As the morning kids finished their clay projects, it was time to start their next project.
This time… we switched to weaving! Which requires a LOT of focus & determination as
they each need to create their own loom before they can start to weave. We spent much
of the morning cutting strings and attaching them to their dowel rods. Tomorrow we’ll
continue by hanging them from the ceiling, attaching a bottom rod and adding a brick
at the bottom to help add some tension to the strings. Once their loom is strung,
the fun of weaving can begin… until then… focus, focus, focus!!!

After a hectic week last week with the younger kids… energy, enthusiasm, excitement…
it’s nice to be back to the relative calmness with my slightly older kids. It’s amazing what
a difference just a year or two can do?… plus the fact that I only have five kids in my
morning camp! With a smaller group, we can focus on slightly tougher projects and
push ’em a bit further! But… in the afternoon camp, I still have the 8-10 year olds –
but almost three times as many kids!!!

So this week, my kids focused on making slab plates, vases & mugs decorated with leaf
impressions & outlines in underglaze. After creating their projects, we needed to glaze them
with a crazy green glaze we use for kids projects that will turn clear in the kiln. Vibrant, huh?

After the clay projects were glazed, the kids were ready to move on to their next project.
Clay projects on Monday, other Multimedia craft projects the rest of the week.

Today was a lot better.
No falling off stools… no heads hitting the floor.. no allergic reactions…

After a slightly frantic start to the week, I “re-grouped” and came back today
with a new plan. Turning it into a “game” and making it appear “fun” while doing
a little strategic divide & conquer! Separating the class to their three work tables
based on yesterday’s “unholy alliances”… and they never saw it coming! Ha.

Yesterday during the morning class, between finishing our clay projects, the kids learned
about color theory and painted their own color wheels with just the three primary colors.
They learned about primary, secondary and tertiary colors… mixing them all along the way.
Today we continued painting as they each tackled their own individual still-life setting.
Strategically separated AND focused on their own projects! So much better.

As some of the morning campers stay with me for the afternoon session,
I need to keep them engaged with different projects all day. So the afternoon class
created color-themed collages – more fun with Mod Podge!
Still divided… still conquering!!!

Another week at Summer Camp! Another batch of kids to teach & play with.
Unfortunately, this week I have a much younger group of kids – so my normal repertoire
of projects & tricks isn’t quite working. I typically teach the older kids who are 8-12 years old.
This week I have six and seven year olds – big difference! I’m needing to find new ways
to relate to them, find different art projects more suited to their abilities… and get used to their
shall we say “enthusiasm”?… “energy”??… okay, why mince words… “squirrely-ness”???
And yet… so “cute” at the same time!

So this week we made a clay project on Monday, then painted & glazed it today
so that it can be fired and returned to the kids on Friday. We focused on making sculptures
of their favorite animals… owls, dogs, cats, turtles, dragons, even giant squids!!!

Even with these younger kids, it always amazes me how focused and determined they get
while making their artwork. Once you get them engaged and show them the demo, they’re
always excited to get started. The challenge is keeping them focused – especially when
they start finishing their projects at different times. While one’s still working,
another is done and raring to go!

This week was the triumphant return of everybody’s favorite Summer Camp!
It was time for the campers to once again create their own custom chess set out of clay.
In previous years, the camp was only a morning camp. This year, we’ve changed it to
a full-day camp, giving the kids about 2-1/2 hours more each day to work.
And it payed off… they were working right down to the very end of the day today!

Each of the kids had to come up with their own “theme” for their chess set.
We brainstormed & discussed their ideas… and they decided upon some great themes…
* School Days versus Summer Vacation
* Mythological Creatures versus Prehistoric Creatures
* Flowers versus Weeds
* Cause & Effect: Good Things versus When Bad Things Happen to Good Things
* Frogs versus Bugs
* Rock Music versus Jazz Music
* “Fablehaven” Heroes versus Villains
and of course, we had to have… * Harry Potter versus Twilight

After determining their themes, the kids set out to assign what shape each piece will take
in their sets – and then the construction process began. With a lot of discussion of techniques
and the importance of “scoring & slipping.” It’s a little overwhelming at the beginning…
with a LOT of work ahead of each of them… and me!

Throughout the week, we continued to build pieces and stress the importance of
“scoring & slipping”… especially as a few pieces fell apart as they were drying.
And others broke out of pure carelessness. It was a continual learning curve for all
of the kids. Once built, the kids started painting their pieces with colored underglaze.

First it was simple glazing… backgrounds, bases, large areas.
And then the extra focus set in as they got to the finer details of their pieces!

As if that weren’t enough work to keep them busy, they also needed to draw & paint
their checkered boards in a thematic pattern. Colors & textures representative of their chosen
theme were discussed & encouraged. After painting, each board also received two thick coats
of Mod Podge to protect the surface. I love the smell of Mod Podge in the morning.

After five very productive days, all of the kids accomplished their task – and finished
all 32 pieces, a few “extras” in case of breakage and their painted chess boards. We had
some excitement, some anxiety an a lot of creativity throughout the week. All in all,
everyone did an incredible job on their chess sets.

So for now they are done… and waiting to be glazed & fired. A special thank you to our
camp assistant Brian who will be carefully spraying them all with a light coat of clear glaze
and loading all of the pieces into the kiln. If all goes as planned, the kids will return the end
of next week to pick up their finished chess sets. And can then start playing…

If this looks like fun, I will be teaching another week of Chess Camp in August.
Monday through Friday, August 9-13, 2010 at Lillstreet Art Center in Chicago.
Sign-up the kids today before the class fills up. Call or register online at
www.lillstreet.com.

So this week I had projects firing in two different electric kilns.
One turned out to be a good kiln. Another would turn out to be the bad kiln.
Kind of like LOST’s “The Evil Twin”… Jacob & “Man In Black”… but I digress…

The Good Kiln.
So my own kiln actually worked out well. And the birdhouses turned out nicely.
I stained the sides with black underglaze, and then glazed the roofs and awnings.
A quick overnight firing to cone 05 – and I unloaded them today. Still need to find
some twigs to insert as “the perch” and then they’re good to go!

The Bad Kiln.
However… not so good for the kiln load of kid’s projects from my first week of
Summer Camp. My kids worked really hard on Monday creating terra cotta flower boxes.
We built them on Monday, decorated with textures and colored underlazes. On Tuesday,
we coated them in clear glaze and set them out in front of fans to dry quickly…
so they could be fired on Wednesday with a long preheat so all the kids’ projects “survive.”
Basically the same system we’ve used for years… with only minor glitches… well…
Well, apparently the 10-hour preheat was mis-programmed as a 10-minute preheat!!!
Ka-boom!!!  oops…

I’ll find out tomorrow how bad it was, but the kiln loaders were working on another kiln
when they heard at least three pieces blow up… literally. So today, my campers all rebuilt
new flower boxes “just in case” and they will be allowed to dry slowly & be fired next week.
Let’s hope we can all “resolve” the firing issues as the kid’s Summer Camp kicks into
high gear next week… and I do my first session of Chess Camp next week!!!

With camp quickly approaching, I find it is also time to start gathering supplies.
Don’t get me wrong, Lillstreet provides a LOT of great art supplies & all the clay we can use!
But I’m a big advocate for collecting things, donations and some “creative project planning”
instead of buying everything brand new. With that said… if any of you are in the area
and have “extra” supplies to donate – I will gladly take them off your hands. I’ve already
received some great stuff from one of my past students, Veronica, like this big bag of yarn!

On the list of things I’m collecting…
and I’m always open to other things too… you know how I love a challenge…
Magazines… one with good pictures, and nothing offensive, for collage projects.
Yarn… for weaving projects, new skeins or odds & ends.
Fabric… for sewing projects – remnants make good puppets & pillows!
Beads & Buttons… easily added to macrame, weaving & sewing projects.
Wood Scraps… collages with smaller pieces, larger ones become sculpture bases!
Wine Corks… you can drink the wine, but we can use the corks!
Tiles… large enough we can paint on them, small enough and they become mosaics!
Bottle Caps… why do people think mosaics always need to be made of tiles?!
Marbles… always a fun addition to a mosaic… or an animal sculpture’s eyeballs!
Rubber Bands… for my favorite project.. tie-dyeing… which has become trendy again!!!
Plastic Containers… yogurt, margarine and other containers with lids.
Newspaper… great for paper maché and some general “stuffing” needs.
Dry Cleaning Bags… perfect for covering clay projects to keep them from drying too fast.
Satin Ribbon… great for woven pillow tops.
Twine… perfect for macrame wall hangings and weaving warps!
Styrofoam Plates… ideal for printmaking where the designs are pressed into the foam.
Drinking Straws… String… Mod Podge… Wire… Tissue Paper… Boxes…
Cardboard… Glue… Dowel Rods… Tin Foil… Masking Tape… Paint Brushes…
Construction Paper… Texture Tools… Sponges… Wire Hangers… etc…

As you can see, the list is endless. And the project possibilities are endless too!
Generally speaking, anything you have a quantity of, we can make something out of it.
One’s and two’s of things don’t work as well as ten’s, fifty’s and hundred’s of things!!!
The more we have, the more we can make. One cork per kid is just that – a cork…
but 50 corks per kid can become a masterpiece!!!

So… if you have any “art supplies” you are willing to donate, please let me know
and we can coordinate a drop-off. Plus, my studio is frequently open, and if not, feel free
to drop stuff off in front of the door with my name on it. My studio mates are accustomed
to seeing strange piles of random objects show up for me! Thanks in advance…