Summer Camps
2025 | Ages 13-18
Teen summer camps introduce artists to the Arts Center’s studios and classes through in-depth exploration of art mediums, techniques, and ideas. Teen camps are led by local artists to provide insight into their creative processes through fun exercises, projects, and collaboration.
Click the links to view each camp in our course catalog for full details and pricing.
Week: |
Camp Title: |
Week 1 |
June 2 – 6 |
| 9:30AM-12:00PM |
Gain confidence in drawing the human face with a dynamic approach to rendering. Students will spend time investigating human anatomy and skeletal structure using still-life models and photo studies. |
| 9:30AM-12:00PM |
Learn the fundamentals of digital animation using Photoshop tools and tricks. We’ll spend time sketching character designs, storyboarding, and learn about traditional animation techniques to bring our drawings to life. |
| 1:00PM-4:00PM |
Learn the skills to create hand built sculptures and functional objects with clay. We’ll roll out slabs, pinch, coil, shape and texture clay to make pots for plants, dishes, whimsical sculptures and more. |
| 1:30PM-4:00PM |
Give those thrift stores new life in this camp that will teach you easy alteration and transformation techniques to make old stuff new. After scouring the racks at downtown thrift stores, we’ll learn simple hand stitching and how to use a sewing machine to make one-of-a-kind fashion statements. |
Week 2 |
June 9 – 13 |
| 9:30AM-12:00PM |
Who is your main character? What motivates them? How did they get that scar? We’ll ask these and other character development questions as we explore archetypes to learn what’s typical… and then how to break the rules! Conjure believable yet interesting characters and come away with a slew of new people (or animals, or aliens, or…) to populate your writing. |
| 1:00PM-4:00PM |
This camp will introduce students the skills to create a pot on the wheel as we practice creating functional forms. When not on the wheel, students will have opportunity to explore hand-building techniques to create small objects and sculptures. |
| 1:30PM-4:00PM |
Learn the basics of 35mm photography, including composition and camera mechanics, film development and darkroom printing. Film, chemicals and paper provided. Students are encouraged to bring their own 35mm film camera or one can be provided by the Arts Center upon request. |
| 1:30PM-4:00PM |
Push the possibilities of painting to the limit in this camp that will get you thinking beyond the frame of the canvas. We’ll experiment with wild paint additives, paint on found objects, make patterns with spray paint, and even draw with fire and heat to make extreme compositions. |
Week 3 |
One Day Camps |
Monday |
June 16 |
| 9:30AM-12:00PM |
Make intricate sculptures with oven-bake polymer clay as we learn to use specialized tools to model, shape, and assemble our material to produce small charms, pins, earrings, and other fun things. |
| 1:30PM-4:00PM |
Create stunning, three dimensional flowers from paper, wire, and other materials. Learn sculpting techniques to manipulate, shape, layer, and color paper into beautiful, handcrafted sculptures. |
Tuesday |
June 17 |
| 9:30AM-12:00PM |
Teen Screen Print Crash Course Jump into screen printing and learn the process from start to finish. Students will create an original design to print onto a t-shirt and posters. |
| 1:30PM-4:00PM |
DIY mini publications: zines! Learn different printmaking techniques and ways to assemble your own zines filled with drawings, art, poetry, and more. |
Wednesday |
June 18 |
| 9:30AM-12:00PM |
Cut, layer, and fuse your way into creating one-of-a-kind textile embellishments that can be added to fabric, clothing, handbags, and more! |
| 1:30PM-4:00PM |
Learn the art of macramé in this hands-on, introductory workshop. Master basic knots and techniques to create your own stylish wall hanging or decorative piece from rope. |
Friday |
June 20 |
| 9:30AM-12:00PM |
Learn about Mehndi, the long tradition of creating decorative designs on hands, feet, and the body using the dried leaves of the henna plant. We’ll look at traditional designs from India, Africa, Pakistan, and other places throughout the world before creating original designs on paper and then our hands or feet using traditional and contemporary tools and materials. |
| 1:30PM-4:00PM |
Learn the art of spray paint portraiture! Experiment with stencils, shading techniques, and bold color choices to create striking, one-of-a-kind portraits. |
Week 4 |
June 23 – 27 |
| 9:30AM-12:00PM |
Draw What you Eat: Food Illustration Love to eat? Like to draw? Bring your favorite foods to life in 2D. Learn techniques for capturing texture, depth, and detail while sketching everything from realistic treats to imaginative food-inspired art. |
| 1:00PM-4:00PM |
Make a dinner setting with a plate, cup, bowl, and spoon in your personal art style. We will look to see how artists design dinnerware in a unified motif and learn to use handbuilding techniques to transform slabs of clay using geometric templates, drape molds, and more. We’ll finish with colored slip and glaze so you’re ready for your next big meal. |
| 1:30PM-4:00PM |
Learn the basics of crochet stitches, patterns, and techniques to create your own unique accessories, plushies, and more from yarn. |
Week 5 |
June 30 – July 3, Closed July 4 |
| 9:30AM-12:00PM |
Working with paper folding, cutting and engineering techniques, this camp will focus on the unlimited creativity of each student. Students will experiment with 3D paper prototypes that will be transformed into one-of-a-kind sculptures. |
| 9:30AM-12:00PM |
Explore the basics of acrylic painting while creating a finished canvas painting. Students will learn to lay out a composition, mix colors and experiment with paint application. |
| 1:30PM-4:00PM |
Design and build your own lamp from special found objects and recycled materials. Once assembled, we’ll spray paint, add surface decorations, then install a light bulb socket with a plug in cord. |
Week 6 |
July 7 – 11 |
| 9:30AM-12:00PM |
Create your own t-shirts, totes and posters in this camp that will teach the foundations of screen printing. Students will experiment with hand-drawn stencils, color and design to create piles of prints and wearable works of art. |
| 1:00PM-4:00PM |
This camp will introduce students to the skills needed to create a pot on the wheel with guided instruction as we practice creating functional forms. When not on the wheel, students can explore hand-building techniques to create small objects and sculptures. |
| 1:30PM-4:00PM |
Shrink the great works of the masters down to the size of a matchbook or spoon! We’ll learn to carefully control our brush to paint on tiny canvases and found objects, making small-scale artworks that pack a punch. |
Week 7 |
July 14 – 18 |
| 9:30AM-12:00PM |
Dive into the hypnotizing world of watercolor to learn the fundamentals of color mixing, practice brush strokes, and explore special effects. Students of all skill levels will work to create finished artworks and set up their own watercolor palette to take home at the end of the week! |
| 9:30AM-12:00PM |
This intro to metalworking will encourage students to transform sheet metal into jewelry and decorative objects. Learn the basic skills to transform raw materials into art. |
| 1:30PM-4:00PM |
Learn the basics of 35mm photography, including composition and camera mechanics, film development and darkroom printing. Film, chemicals and paper provided. Students are encouraged to bring their own 35mm film camera or one can be provided by the Arts Center upon request. |
| 1:30PM-4:00PM |
Stitch and sew soft sculptures that combine machine sewing with hand stitching to make playful three-dimensional forms. We’ll practice sewing simple forms and experiment with upcycling stuffed animals in a Frankenstein style to create wild new creatures. |
Week 8 |
July 21 – 25 |
| 9:30AM-12:00PM |
Printed Stickers, Patches & Pins Turn your drawings into bold, wearable art in this week-long teen camp about relief printmaking! Learn to carve, ink, and print multiples of your own custom stickers, patches, and button-back pins. |
| 9:30PM-12:00PM |
Create jewelry that showcases the beauty of natural stones. Students will select a stone to inspire their design, then learn to saw, file, sand, and polish metal to create a one-of-a-kind piece of jewelry. Our finished jewelry will be ready to wear on a chain or cord. |
| 1:30PM-4:00PM |
Learn the fundamentals of observational drawing to accurately render proportion, perspective, mass, and value. Students will explore various drawing media, including pencil, charcoal, pen and ink to draw things as they really are! |
Week 9 |
July 28 – August 1 |
| 9:00AM-12:00PM |
This camp will introduce students to the skills needed to create a pot on the wheel with guided instruction as we practice creating functional forms. When not on the wheel, students can explore hand-building techniques to create small objects and sculptures. |
| 9:30PM-12:00PM |
Explore the vibrant world of acrylic painting! Experiment with color, texture, and techniques to create expressive and unique works of art on canvas and more. |
| 1:30PM-4:00PM |
Sample a variety of fiber arts techniques such as dyeing, creating stamped patterns, appliquéing, and embroidering. We’ll bring it all together as we learn to use a sewing machine to create a simple bag using our fiber experiments. |
Week 10 |
August 4 – 8 |
| 9:00AM-12:00PM |
This camp will introduce students to the skills needed to create a pot on the wheel with guided instruction as we practice creating functional forms. When not on the wheel, students can explore hand-building techniques to create small objects and sculptures. |
| 1:30PM-4:00PM |
Create fashionable clay adornments using hand-building techniques to create pendants, earrings, pins, and bracelets. Students will also make a ceramic jewelry box, ring holder, or earring tree to hold our ceramic treasures. |
| 1:30PM-4:00PM |
Learn to tell visual stories with original characters or fan fiction. We’ll spend time sketching storyboards and designing characters, then work to produce a colorful panel page using alcohol markers, pen and ink. |