Artists in Wondercamp 2021

And just like that, Artist in Wondercamp 2021 came to a close...200 hours of art instruction, over 60 students, 20 drawing pads, 10 reams of yarn, 8 boxes of clay, and 4 parties later! We had an amazing four weeks in our community classroom. Thank you to all of our young artists and their families for a WONDERFUL Summer. And a special thanks to our Artists in Wondercamp team! We are so grateful for our Teaching Artists Ms. Jenn & Ms. Alyssa; Teen Counselors Tessa, Ian, & Alice; and UCF intern Ms. Lexi! Thank you for transforming the lives of youth through the healing process of art.

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. 

For rising 2nd - 8th graders. 

Art is a messy business, so please dress appropriately! 

Full and partial scholarships are available for financial assistance. Click here to apply for a scholarship. 

Where: ArtReach Orlando’s Community Classroom

1000 Arlington Street Orlando, FL 32805

Artists in Wondercamp will be held at the Arts on Arlington facility in ArtReach's Community Classroom. Arts on Arlington is a partnership between McRae Art Studios and ArtReach Orlando. The facility 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: July 5 - 9

The Sweet Life of Still Life: Scrumptious Oil Pastel, Painting, & Sculpture

Sweet treats will be the inspiration for delicious drawings and paintings made from individual and group still lifes. A bit of sculpture will be thrown in for a twist! We’ll be learning to look and to improve our ability to express what we see. We’ll examine where objects sit in space in relationship to the horizon line, and we’ll learn basic color blending and shading techniques. The sculptural part of our class will be making various deserts or sweet treats from found objects, cloth, papier-mâché, and clay. We will look at the work of contemporary artists like Heidi Kenney, Scott Hove, and Claus Oldenberg for inspiration. We’ll even create our own artful, edible candy creations!

Week 2: July 12 - 16

Clay Creations: Mad Tea Party

Come squish, shape, roll, and squeeze clay into a tea party extravaganza! Using basic handbuilding techniques including pinch, coil, and slab, we will learn to create cups, saucers, plates, spoons, and even our own teapot. 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 ceramic vessel and get inspired by contemporary clay artists like Roberto Lugo, Julia Galloway, and Ayumi Horie. We will make crazy paper hats to get in the spirit and in no time we'll all be shouting, "Clean cup, clean cup! Move down, move down!”

Camps for rising 5th - 8th graders:

Week 1: July 19 - 23:

Sew What?: Fiber Art and Monster Making 

Come learn to work yarn, thread, fiber, and cloth into functional, decorative, and expressive works of art! Students will learn the basics of surface design through printing, dyeing, felting, and sewing. We will sew our own felt monsters, make Shibori dyed banners, weave abstract sculptures, design miniature fashions for original characters, and make sculptures that cross the boundaries between craft and fine art. Students will explore cultural fiber traditions from around the world and contemporary fiber art movements including installation art and yarn bombing for inspiration.

Week 2: July 26 - 30

Clay Creations: Mad Tea Party

Come squish, shape, roll, and squeeze clay into a tea party extravaganza! Using basic handbuilding techniques including pinch, coil, and slab, we will learn to create cups, saucers, plates, spoons, and even our own teapot. 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 ceramic vessel and get inspired by contemporary clay artists like Roberto Lugo, Julia Galloway, and Ayumi Horie. We will make crazy paper hats to get in the spirit and in no time we'll all be shouting, "Clean cup, clean cup! Move down, move down!”

For more information or questions, please contact our Program Director Sarah Zimmer at szimmer@artreachorlando.org