SPACE THEMED ART CAMP

A few summers ago I held a space themed art camp and it was a blast! What I loved most about hosting this type of camp was the opportunity to bring together my three greatest passions: art, astronomy and teaching. I think it's so important to show kids the connection between creativity and science, that art isn't just reserved for a select few who reside on the fringe of society but a primary component of the science and technology that helps to shape our culture. Without visual art and creative minds we would be far less successful at communicating our ideas about the universe and how it works!

With all of the art program cut backs in our public schools I fear that the next generation will be less able to creatively approach the problems that they face.

Here's how the 5 days will go:

DAY 1
Warm-Up exercises - Each day we do 15 mins of quick gestural drawing and collages. This gets kids "warmed-up" and comfortable. This is usually a very silly and fun exercise that also allows kids to get to know each other and feel less critical about their work.


Alien Landscapes - Our first project is the alien landscape. These are created using styrofoam balls and tons of fun materials that they bring together to create flora and fauna from a world out of their imagination. They also create labels or flags for their special world and do a quick presentation about what they've made. We then photo document our work.

DAY 2
Nebula Paintings - Warm up will consist of using a variety of brushes and sponges to create experimental textures and shapes. I will then give a short lesson about nebulas (using power point so they can see how incredible nebulas are!) I will also show the kids different techniques they can use to create their paintings. Then, each student will receive a large canvas board, painted black (I do this before hand) that they will then spend the rest of the class using sponges and splatter techniques to create their own nebula. At the end of class the other students will try to guess what type of nebula they have created and talk about each others work using positive words.

DAY 3
Solar System Mobiles - After a painting warm up I will give a short lesson about planets and what they are made of. Then, the kids will use different size styrofoam balls to create 3-5 planets that will be in the imagined solar systems. Each ball will be painted using different colours and textures. When the planets are complete we will use hot glue and fishing line to hang the planets from a "sun." The mobile can be hung against a wall or from the ceiling.

DAY 4

Space Dioramas - Probably my favourite of the projects, the space diorama takes up the whole 2 hours. The warm-up consists of the kids looking through all of the materials and playing with different combinations until they have an idea of how to proceed. The dioramas are created inside of boxes that range in size. They use collage, paint, glitter, astronaut figurines and anything else they wish to create a space scene. We will photo document this work.

DAY 5
Alien Collages & Space Ship Design - Warm up will be a "exquisite corpse" session (not as gruesome as it sounds!). Exquisite corpse is a drawing game where participants collaborate to create strange drawings… each person can't see what the person before them drew. This is a great way to open up the imagination to the possibilities that collage can allow in creativity. I will then do a short lesson on the types of life that may exist in on other planets. We will then work with collage and watercolour to create aliens and space ships. The class will end with a giant collaborative space collage where we will all work together to create a "new" kind of life form!