Artists in WonderCamp 2023

Artists in Wondercamp is a summer art program designed to introduce elementary and middle school students to contemporary art through inquiry-based learning, open-ended discussions, hands-on studio art experiences, and interactions with professional artists. Each week students explore meaningful ideas and processes that help them investigate the world around them through the elements of art while, most importantly, having lots of fun. Different themes and media are explored with an emphasis on the process over the final product to allow creativity to flow freely. We’ll begin each day with mindful body movement. 

Art is a messy business, so please dress appropriately!  

Artists in Wondercamp is held at the Arlington Arts facility in ArtReach's Community Classroom. Arlington Arts is a 10,000-square-foot building with studios for 23 working artists, space for exhibitions, and ArtReach Orlando's Community Classroom space. 

Camps for rising 2nd - 4th graders:

WEEK 1: JUNE 19TH - 23RD  ***FULL***

Clay Studio: Ceramic Animals
Get messy with us as we sculpt our favorite animals into functional works of art! We’ll squish, shape, roll, and squeeze clay into a variety of animal themed projects. Using basic handbuilding techniques including pinch, coil, and slab, we will learn to make four-legged friend planters, peekaboo mugs, giant fish platters, and more! and We will add surface decorations through stamping and printing and will learn to finish our pieces by glaze painting. We’ll explore the history of the animals in ceramic art and get inspired by contemporary clay artists.

WEEK 2: JUNE 26TH - 30TH ***FULL***

Color It In: Express Your Self 

Color is fundamental to our experience of the world around us. Color is communication, language, meaning, and emotion. Together we’ll follow the theme of color through a variety of fun art projects to make unexpected connections and discoveries. Students will use printmaking, painting, collage, and sculpting techniques to explore the science, history, and art of color. For inspiration, we’ll look to contemporary artists like Yayoi Kusama and Nick Cave who investigate color’s ability to express new questions about human perception.  

Camps for rising 5th - 8th graders:

WEEK 3: JULY 10TH - 14TH   ***FULL***

Clay Studio: Ceramic Animals

Get messy with us as we sculpt our favorite animals into functional works of art! We’ll squish, shape, roll, and squeeze clay into a variety of animal themed projects. Using basic handbuilding techniques including pinch, coil, and slab, we will learn to make four-legged friend planters, peekaboo mugs, giant fish platters, and more! and We will add surface decorations through stamping and printing and will learn to finish our pieces by glaze painting. We’ll explore the history of the animals in ceramic art and get inspired by contemporary clay artists. 

WEEK 4: JULY 17TH - 21ST   ***FULL***

Digital Studio: Character Design and Storytelling    
Digital art combines creativity and artistic principles with modern technology and software. If you love designing your own cartoon, anime, or imaginary characters, then this is this class for you! Students will first explore shape language through drawing and the fundamentals of digital design to create an original character design. Using their own 2D art as a blueprint, students will then fabricate and breathe life into their characters by making a three-dimensional sculpture using a variety of materials including polymer clay and fabric. Next, we’ll explore world-building and storytelling with our characters by learning the basics of digital animation. 

Camp for rising 9th-11th graders: 

WEEK 5: JULY 24TH - 28TH  ***FULL***

Teen Camp: The Art of Zine Making 
Every summer ArtReach Orlando will now offer one week of art camp just for highschool students. We'll explore a different theme each summer and a variety of art mediums to help teens develop their art practice and sense of self. We hope your young artist will join us this summer for a week of high level art instruction, community building, and fun!  

A zine is a self-published, self-distributed, small circulation booklet. The word zine is derived from “fanzine.” Zines are firmly rooted in underground, punk, and activist culture and are a fun form of creative expression. They can be about any topic or subject. Zines are typically produced using a photocopy machine, folded, and stapled, but they can be printed and bound in any manner. This class serves as an exploration into zine, DIY, and counter-culture art making. We’ll explore a variety of materials and art mediums to make our zines including collage, painting, screen printing, and creative writing. Students will be introduced to the history of zine culture, while exploring how contemporary artists use these formats to foster connections with other artists and the public.