Magical Maskmaking with Pat

>Today, I spent time in Pat's workshop of the week, Magical Maskmaking. Here, students from the Red and Orange groups had the opportunity to not only make one mask, but two masks! One of these masks involved paint that needed overnight drying, so those masks will be completed later this week.

[ Painting paper plates that will be transformed into magical masks ]

[ Pat's finished examples of masks ]

Pat let us in on a little secret as to how everyone will be creating the many intricate dots on their masks (see above photo); with the help of a q-tip! 

After painting the paper plates, Both the Red and Orange groups created masks that they were able to wear out of the studio today. These were made out of multi-colored foam, and everyone had fun finding different shapes to decorate with; check out these original designs: 

By the end of the day, I felt like I was a part of a Masquerade!

Cupcakes and Pretzels: Edible and Non-Edible Art

>There is nothing like starting your Monday morning with cupcakes and pretzels. Today I spent some time with the Purple group as they started their morning off in the ceramic studio. Entering the class, they were told they would be making boxes; not just any boxes...cupcake boxes. With the help of aluminum cupcake holders, they created the bottom portion by molding clay within the aluminum cupcake holder.

[ Molding the bottom of the cupcake box ]

Next, members of the purple group all received another chunk of clay to form the top of the box, which will appear to look like the frosting that coats the top of a cupcake. 

[ Top and bottom of cupcake box ]

After being in this class, I was inspired to check out the kitchen to see what really cooking (and boy, did it smell good!). There, I found the Yellow group baking soft pretzels. First, they created dough using the following recipe:

*1 and 1/2 cups of warm water

*2 packages of yeast

*4 1/2 cups of flour

Everyone had the chance to stir this mixture. 

Once the dough was made, they allowed a few minutes for it to rise. Next, each received a piece of the dough and began to shape their pretzels by first rolling it into the shape of a snake. 

[ Rolling the dough into the shape of a snake ]

[ Much flour was needed for the dough ]

The Yellow group then dipped the dough into a bowl of cool water and baking soda and twisted their pretzels into proper shape. To top it off, they sprinkled either cinnamon sugar or salt (or both!) onto their pretzels, and then placed them on a tray to bake in the oven. 

Lastly (and most importantly), they ate their yummy pretzels. 

Overall, I had a rather delicious Monday morning!

The Preamble: Going Down the Path with Bob Deane

>Today I stepped outside of the studios to experience the natural beauty that surrounds the Community Arts Center.  There, I met with Bob Deane to discuss his upcoming Signature Tile workshop that he will be conducting during the last session of Summer Spree. He explained to me his vision of creating a somewhat secret magical kingdom within the forests of this small area in woods behind the arts center. Leading up to to what will soon be the secret magical kingdom, there already lies a charming pathway created by previous workshops, as well as a tiled bench that was completed last summer during Summer spree.

[ Tiled Path ]

[ Tiled bench ]

 Walking in a bit further, you will see there is a small archway and fence made of twigs that invites you to an open space in which a large tree with cascading branches rests in the center. On one side of the tree, there is a small table made from a tree stump accompanied with stools made of logs; the other is where Bob Deane envisions creating a throne and archway for the secret magical kingdom. 

[ Where the light glows is where the tiled archway will go ]

Last summer, CAC Summer Spree campers worked with Bob Deane in digging up their own clay. 

"I didn't realize how much dirt kids could dig to make clay, so now I have all this extra clay" he told me. With this extra clay, Bob Deane intends for campers to create tiles that will be set into the concrete archway. Furthermore, Bob Deane comments "It [the archway] is going to be man made, but also blend into the nature." Plans are certainly underway for the Signature Tile workshop; check back next week for more details as I will be documenting the evolution of this project.

Directly after checking out the outdoor space for the tile project, I encountered an already developed kingdom in the Yellow Groups' classroom; the Land of Truffula Trees! I was amazed to see Doctor Suess's The Lorax come to life with the help of the Yellow Group's artistic talents.

"Those Truffula Trees

All my life I'd be searching

For trees such as these

The trunk of their tufts

Was much softer than silk

And they had the sweet smell

of fresh butterfly milk"-The Lorax by Dr. Suess 

[Bar-ba-loots, humming fish, and swomee-swans]

Encircling the Land of Truffula Trees were original works the yellow group had created this week: 

To complete this magical morning, I found a happily ever after in the Teen Studios during Drew's final printmaking workshop (see 6.24 'Drew Bandages a Silk Screen...'   ). Students sucessfully completed their second coats on their original silk screen prints; check it out!

[ Behind the screen ] 

[ The little duck floats on ]

[ Filling in with final touches ]

[ Complete! ]

With the first session of Summer Spree now complete, prints produced in this week's special workshop with Drew were displayed outside for all to see:

What a week!

Drew Bandages a Silk Screen, but the Watercolors still Bleed

>Yesterday I decided to check out the Teen Studios that resume in the afternoons at CAC. I began in Drew's printmaking class where I encountered a bit of an emergency situation. Throughout the week, teens have been working on original silk screens and had reached the point to remove the screen filler, or, 'blue goo' (see post from 6.22 'Printmaking with Drew'). This is easily done with the aid of a sponge and water. My new friend, Avery, had a little mishap in this process when her silk screen developed a small hole (see below):

I could see some panic creep up on Avery's face when this happened, but Drew came to the rescue and bandaged that hole right up with tape. Although some of Avery's original work was lost when being bandaged, she reasoned "it was just a boat that was lost; there is always another boat." 

[ Drew to the rescue ]

[ Despite a small hole, still able print ]

[ The little duck that could ]

Meanwhile, Tim was going to town with his pineapple print. When asking him what inspired him to make a pineapple, his response was plain and simple; "pineapples are just awesome," although, he did admit to hating pineapples "with a passion" up until two months ago. 

Next, I took a peek into Pat's watercolor class; what a soothing experience. Like the water itself, watercolor painting seems to bring a blissful calm amongst the class. I had the chance to meet Margot, and discuss the work she has done this week at CAC. She shared with me the color wheel she and class members created previously week:

[ Color wheel ]

                              Margot also shared with me her landscapes:

What I was most intrigued by were Margot's watercolors of what seem to be little monsters; "On my free time I like to create these little detailed creatures" she explained.

She went on to tell me how much she learned this week, and in particular she learned "how to control the water on the paint brush so that you don't have too much or too little."
Something I learned after only being in this class for a short time is that a white watercolor does not exist (after all, watercolors are transparent); to create a white space, you must paint around that area, simply leaving it white; this is quite a challenge when working with watercolors that tend to bleed, quickly spreading across the canvas. 

From the hole in the silk screen to bleeding water colors,  the teens taught me flexibility and patience is key while creating original work.  

Tie Dye with Christian

>It's the signature trademark of Summer Spree, the signature trademark that proves you've attended CAC's Summer Spree and not another arts camp, the trademark that leaves your finger tips stained for days and with a t-shirt brighter than any other t-shirt in your drawer; it's the signature CAC Summer Spree tie-dye t-shirt, and I finally had the opportunity to experience tie dye in it's glory today. 

When everybody else's tie dye t-shirts start to fade after only a few washes, CAC's Summer Spree t-shirts remain burning bright. How, you might ask?

I am about to reveal what allows CAC's tie dye to maintain it's brightness after several washes, week after week, summer after summer.... and that is: soda ash. The first step Christian demonstrated to the Turquoise group was to immerse our t-shirts in a bucket containing soda ash and water. Furthermore, Christian explained that the soda ash allows the dye to sink within the deepest fibers of the t-shirts fabric, which ultimately holds the dye in the fabric, keeping it bold and bright. 

[ Christian creates a spiral ]

Christian next demonstrated a technique of tie dying I was unfamiliar with (I am accustomed to the rubber band twisting technique); after laying down our white t-shirts soaked in soda ash, we pinched the fabric with pliers to create one big spiral. 

[ Creating spirals ]

[ Twisting ]

Next, we put the damp t-shirts on newspaper and geared up to dye them an array of colors. Christian showed us what I like to call the 'Pizza Pie technique'; each color of dye is squeezed within a baster and soaked onto the shirt in the shape of a triangle, or pizza slice. 

[ creating the pizza slices ]

Basically, we made what looked like a rainbow pizza. 

[ soaking up the dyes ]

[ rainbow pizzas ]

Once we completed one side of our t-shirts, we then flipped them over to dye the reverse side. 

 To complete today's tie dye task, we rolled the t-shirts in the newspaper and placed them in plastic bags to dry over night. For those of your who forgot the directions explaining how to next care for your signature CAC Summer Spree tie-dye t-shirt, fear no more. Here is what needs to be done:

1.) Let tie dyed piece sit in bags overnight

2.) Remove garment from bag

3.) Place in washing machine and wash two times on HOT cycle using NO detergent 

(optional: You may wash the garment a third time with detergent on whatever setting you would normally wash clothes)

4.) Place washed garments in dryer and dry on HOT

EXCESS DYE WILL NOT DAMAGE YOUR WASHER OR LEAVE A RESIDUE