This year acting on an idea that was suggested by my queen, we decided to have an all-inclusive camp that focused on visual arts. This was a 3 day event which took place at the Harmony Café in the Justice room, it was an excellent event!
With this format we were able to include everyone, and expose them to some things that they might not be able to see every day. Both Laking and I have had formal art training as we graduated from a high school for the visual and performing arts. So dealing in equality with what we’ve learned; each of us is able to teach another according to our own knowledge. Art is a form of expression which encourages creativity and individuality so we feel that it is a great medium for the young.
For the three days that we held the camp (2hours per day) we were able to host 15 to 18 students per day. We financed our camp through donations and also funds that we save independently throughout the year for events like this. It only takes a small amount of time and true sincerity to make a difference in a child’s life. The room we acquired from the café was free and much appreciated, so we only had to purchase the art supplies which totaled approximately $110. We made a basic advertisement describing the event, posted them around town and online, and we set up an online registration for free at www.planetreg.com .
This experience was so fun and refreshing that we’ve thought of ways to expand the same format into science and also mathematics. -- Born Logic
During the 2011 Gods and Earths Art Camp Born Logic (my brown seed and physical brother) and I dealt with a basic yet effective curriculum. We made an effort to accommodate the various age ranges and talent levels that attended this year's event while making a point not to bore the more advanced artistic minds. Thanks to the comments and feedback from the participants and parents we feel as though we were successful in our mission.
We began by teaching our students the fundamentals of drawing. We explained how all complex "subjects" could be broken down into simple shapes that even the most novice artists would be able to draw. We extended this exercise by giving examples of popular cartoons that were created and drawn from basic shapes such as circles, rectangles, triangles and squares. The children seemed to grasp the concept very well and even came up with their own characters derived from these same basic shapes.
Next we dealt with the understanding of how light and shadows could be implemented in art in very simple ways. The group worked on shading which brought a new dimension to the still life drawings that they drafted from everyday items selected by the instructors.
Once Logic and I began to cee how the children were drawn (no pun intended) into the projects that they had taken part in, we chose to allow them to transfer their new found knowledge to different mediums. Art camp participants worked with drawing charcoal, watercolors and molding clay. Working with the various mediums was a new experience for most of our students and gave each one of them a tighter grasp and a larger appreciation for the information that had recently been given to them.
Some of the outcomes that were continuously mentioned by the instructions were the extremely high interest levels shown by the students during the projects they worked on as well as the willingness to try new concepts without hesitation. In addition, there were stories from parents about how many of the students practiced and performed artistic projects at home after the Art Camp was done for the day. There were also several requests from students and parents wondering when the next art camp would be and if they could invite more people. There was even mention of a possible "adult art camp."
Looking back on the 2011 Gods and Earths Art Camp, I am proud to say that it was a huge success. From its inception through its completion the event brought about challenges as well as positive moments that I will always remember; however the effort was well worth the final results. If you have any questions, suggestions or comments regarding the Art Camp feel free to contact me. I look forward to hearing from you. Peace -- Laking
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