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Campers learn how to create various types of art through painting, drawing, printmaking, hand-building ceramics, beading and more. Most materials are donated by community members. To make the art more accessible to children, methods of creating art are simplified to an age-appropriate level.
"Print-making, as an example, is very easy to do with children in certain ways," said Lyn Smith, education director at the Dairy Barn. "You can do very, very simplified versions which are more reminiscent to stamping. You can use Styrofoam with very dull pencils and you can carve into it designs as a relief style. You can even do intaglio."
This summer, the art camp is putting forth more of an effort to incorporate art history, as well as other course subjects such as mathematics and literature, into its curriculum.
"The education director before me felt very strongly the value of (art history), and I feel probably even stronger, considering I do have arts background," Smith said.
For example, before campers designed their own sunken cities, they learned about Plato's account of the lost city of Atlantis, a subject that prompted many questions.
"Is it Plato or Pluto?" asked one camper.
"Or is it Play-doh?" inquired another.
Summer Art Camp is split into a morning session and an afternoon session. Each session is divided into three 50-minute classes during which campers learn about different facets of the week's theme, and a 15-minute snack break.
The type of art the campers make each week is based on the theme of the week; last week's theme for the afternoon session was "Mysteries and Legends from Around the World." Campers created Tibetan prayer flags and Chinese dragon puppets, and learned about various legends such as the Mothman, this region's very own legend.
While Summer Art Camp strives to teach the campers art about different cultures, Smith acknowledged that it isn't always easy.
"There are certain challenges to doing some cultural things with certain age groups. A lot of things are beyond them, and you might end up bringing up conversations that aren't appropriate for very young children," Smith said. "We do in each week a big cross-cultural connection. We always try to make sure not all of the 'famous artists' are Americans."
Although they weren't able to manage it this year, the Dairy Barn often brings in bilingual instructors who teach campers half in English and half in a foreign language.
"Kids learn language really fast; it's creepy," Smith joked.
This summer, the Dairy Barn is also pushing the "Go Green" agenda. All "free draw" materials this year are recycled, and instructors are teaching campers to create recycled art, which also happens to be a "pop art thing," according to Smith.
Nat Gillespie has learned much about the importance of conservation, and incorporated his knowledge of ecology into his explanation of why artists should conserve paper.
"The more trees we cut down the less air we have," he said. "Other animals like birds and monkeys lose their homes, and when they move to a new place, we cut down more trees. And sometimes there are eggs in the trees, and then there'll be less birds, and the animals that eat the bird will die."
According to Smith, art is a core part of a comprehensive education, and encourages children to express themselves and make connections to improve their general knowledge.
Avery Marrs, 8, agrees. "[I like art] because if you make a mistake, you can change it to whatever you want," she said.
