BAM Spring Break Art Camp

My Spring Break Art Camp Monotype Print

I have had this week off from work at Hillcrest Elementary School because it is spring break. It has been great to have a change of routine.

Tuesday through Thursday I went to the Boise Art Museum (BAM) to do some volunteer work. This work was part of my homework for my Art Methods class at BSU. There was a Spring Art Camp at BAM where children 7-12 got to create several different types of art projects. The theme of this art camp was "Black and White All Over" based on the current gallery exhibit that is going on right now of Ansel Adams photography.

I had a really terrific time at this camp. I helped out setting up and cleaning up, and I also helped the kids with their projects whenever I could. I also took lots of notes on how the classroom was managed, how discipline & order was maintained, and how to create the individual art projects. Whenever possible, I did the same projects the kids were working on so I could understand the process better.

Tuesday we took a short tour of some of the art at the BAM Gallery, then we went to the classroom and did a painting with white paint on black gessoed board and experimented with making things out of Crayola modeling clay. The interesting thing about this clay is that you could color it with a marker, knead the clay, and the clay would have a marbeled look.

Wednesday was my favorite day. We did printmaking. We did a black & white version (called a Monotype Print) and a color print. I really enjoyed this because I had never done anything like this before. It was a fairly easy process and a lot of fun. I have posted (above) a photo of the black & white Monotype Print I did in class. I was amazed at how well it turned out because I have never done anything this abstract before. I think this process really helped to broaden me as an artist.

Thursday we created a hand-made book, did some wood block prints, and some mixed media work with oil pastels and tempera paint. The hand-made book folded out to look like a star, but it is actually a book. I thought this was a very clever idea and I want to use it in my future art lessons. I didn't do a wood block print, but I tried the oil pastel and tempera paint project. We put white oil pastel onto a piece of paper, then brushed on black water-soluable tempera paint. The oil pastel repels the black paint making it look somewhat like a block print. It is an interesting technique. I have little to no experience with oil pastels so this was helpful to me.

There was LOTS of homework this weekend. I had to write two lesson plans for art lessons I would like to teach and write papers each of the 3 days I spent at the BAM Spring Art Camp. I managed to complete all of it.

I had also signed up to do some volunteering at BAM this Saturday, but I had to cancel this because we had an emergency with our cat, Maynard, the one who is sick and has cancer. We don't know how much longer he will be around. We are monitoring him closely and checking with the doctor to know what treatment to use and to make sure he is not suffering. But I know his time is limited. This has created some stress for me, but I am just taking it one day at a time.