30 July 2011

SUMMER CAMP 2011: Decoration & Adornment

This week was very very VERY sparkly, glitzy, and razzley-dazzley! Decoration & Adornment was our theme and the kids made some of the most outrageous artworks ever! They made memory jugs, tissue paper flowers, necklaces, painted beads, Styrofoam-sequin-pipecleaner-ornaments, fancy collages, fancy stickers, fancy frames, fancy masks. . .!! glitter-glue-stamp prints, and lots and LOTS of pom-poms!!!!! Seriously abundant and beautiful.

20 July 2011

SUMMER CAMP 2011: Perform!

This week's theme was Perform! We looked at many facets of performance -- including dance, theater, improvisation, conceptual actions, poetry, song, interviews, light and shadow, character creation, and costume. Also, the kids performed three of Ben Vautrier's 58 Propositions (1. fold a page many times to the smallest possible size, 2. write as much as you can on one page, 3. hide this piece of paper (all now hidden somewhere in The Painted Cloud studio - forever?)) and answered the Proust Questionnaire (which you will find below). Needless to say - this week was a TON of FUN!!!

Please check here for a video compilation of some of the performances from this week:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JppQifPEEPI

For privacy this video is unlisted and unsearchable -- it can only be accessed via this blog. Enjoy!

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Wolfie: Living Armor
If a butterfly loses its wing I can put it back on. If a dragonfly loses its leg I can put it back on. If an orca whale loses its fin I can put it back on. I can put it back on - whatever! - I can put anything living back on.

Smith: Shield Man
There's this thing that defends me that's like an ice-cream cone and all the kids can eat it.

Camilo: Tiger Mermaid
I can do anything you want. I scare the little fish. I work in China.

Atticus: Five Face (Ghost, Zombie, Vampire, Mummy, and Werewolf -- that's five people in just one face!)
I'm so scary and like to drink blood and like to eat brains and I like to scare people and my ghost part is really angry and I can turn into a shark - and I can turn into anything!


Imogen: Luna
I take care of pets and save animals. Every night I turn into a werewolf.


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PROUST QUESTIONNAIRE

What do you like most about your friends?
Wolfie: That I can play with them a lot.
Smith: That they are nice.
Camilo: I like that sometimes when they have playdates with me.
Atticus: That they like to play with me a lot and they do stuff with me.
Imogen: That they're always around to play with me.

Your favorite thing to do?
Wolfie: Go swimming in the ocean or go inside of a museum.
Smith: Play with my family.
Camilo: My favorite thing to do is dress up.
Atticus: Be with my family.
Imogen: Go to the beach.

Your idea of happiness?
Wolfie: Snuggling and visiting my family.
Smith: My idea of happiness is yellow.
Camilo: My happiness is to do Halloween and Christmas.
Atticus: My familyn and going somewhere.
Imogen: Going to Cape Cod with my family.

Your idea of misery?
Wolfie: When me and Decker get into a fight.
Smith: Nothing.
Camilo: My miserable thing is when my mom shouts at me.
Atticus: When my parents come home late because I think something happened to them that's not good at all.
Imogen: If my cat got run over by a car.

If you were not yourself, who would you like to be?
Wolfie: I wanna be like a lizard that spreads out his neck. I would want to be him.
Smith: A chimpanzee. . . actually. . . a crocodile that eats only vegetables and stuffed animals. I would actually be a dog.
Camilo: Everything I'm going to be.
Atticus: I would be a mummy - but this time not dead.
Imogen: A mermaid.

Where would you like to live?
Wolfie: I would like to live in the ocean.
Smith: I would like to live in a dog house with a dog and sleep with a dog and eat dog food. and do everything with the dog.
Camilo: In a haunted house.
Atticus: I would like to live in a pyramid.
Imogen: In Maine.

Your favorite color?
Wolfie: Gold and blue.
Smith: Gold and red.
Camilo: All the colors.
Atticus: I like gold and silver.
Imogen: Violet.

Your favorite book?
Wolfie: I like my Bakugan book and Power Rangers book.
Smith: My favorite book is fairy tales - and some super heroes books.
Camilo: Rapunzel - I mean Tinkerbell - I mean all the books in the whole wide world.
Atticus: Harry Potter.
Imogen: The Velveteen Rabbit.

Who is your real life hero?
Wolfie: My daddy and me myself and my mommy. I want to tell you why i'm a hero. . . when decker locked the door and we got locked out of the house - i tried to climb over the back door and the back door was locked too and the window was locked too so we had to go all the way to the front and I jumped through it.
Smith: Myself and my mom because one time we found a ladybug in the subway train and luckily my mom had a piece of paper and she put it in the garden so the ladybug wouldn't die in the subway train and you know why my hero is me too? Because there were some ants in my house and I put two of those ants - luckily we had an ant farm and we did this today and those ants will probably eat up all the green stuff in there and I think one of those ants is hurt.
Camilo: My family and me and my grandma and my aunts and my whole family is a super hero family and I am the best super hero you will ever see.
Atticus: Myself because one time my fan broke down and it was not working and I banged it on the back and it was hot and mom woke up and the engine was melted so the bed could have caught on fire so me and mom could have been roast chicken and good thing I got it just in time.
Imogen: My friend Ruby.

Your favorite food?
Wolfie: Maybe I would choose - mint, honey, and that's it. And peanut butter and honey.
Smith: Peanut butter and jelly - P.B. and J.
Camilo: Pizza - wait pepperoni!
Atticus: Pizza plain and also with basil.
Imogen: Sushi.

Your favorite drink?
Wolfie: Water, sprite, and lemonade.
Smith: Apple juice.
Camilo: Apple juice.
Atticus: Ginger ale.
Imogen: Strawberry-lemonade.

What do you hate the most?
Wolfie: What I hate is eating beans.
Smith: Really stinky shoes.
Camilo: I don't like inventions and I don't like to go in a space ship.
Atticus: I don't like going to other pizza places other than Driggs - because they have the best pizza and one of the chefs there is my friend.
Imogen: Mushrooms.

A talent you would like to have?
Wolfie: Caring for pets so I could have a lot of pets.
Smith: I wish I could be good at singing.
Camilo: I really really wish that I can ice skate, but I don't have any ice skates, so someday Santa can bring me some ice skates.
Atticus: I want to have a talent that I could drive a car.
Imogen: I wish I could be good at playing musical instruments.

Your favorite name?
Wolfie: Sword Fly.
Smith: Smith.
Camilo: Milly.
Atticus: Scooby-Doo.
Imogen: Luna.

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16 July 2011

SUMMER CAMP 2011: Picasso & Matisse

The kids made such amazing - amazing - things this week during our Picasso & Matisse camp. They made a mural inspired by Picasso's Guernica, they looked at and created cubist artworks, they thought about the relationship of color and emotion in Picasso's blue period, and they sewed cardboard guitar sculptures. Looking at Matisse - they created bold shapes and patterns in their printmaking and still-lifes, they painted with sticks, and made paper cut-out collages. We were so impressed with everyone's excitement and focus this week -- the kids' artworks are incredible!!!

09 July 2011

SUMMER CAMP 2011: 3D Builders

photo by Carrie Schneider

We kicked off our summer camp program this week with 3D Builders. The kids worked with paper mache, found objects, salt ceramic, wood blocks & shapes, pop-n-locks, pipe cleaners, beads, sticks, and yarn. They also learned paper sculpture techniques, experimented with balance while making hanging mobiles, and created temporary nature sculptures inspired by Andy Goldsworthy.
Also, we had a special guest this week -- artist Carrie Schneider -- who visited to capture some gorgeous photographs of our studio at work.

photo by C.S.
photo by C.S. photo by C.S. photo by C.S. photo by C.S. photo by C.S. photo by C.S. photo by C.S. Thank you so much Carrie!! :)