Weekly Themes/Schedules

Kids Camp (ages 6 - 10)
Young Artists Camp (ages 11 - 13)
Drama Camp (ages 11 - 13)

Kids Summer Art Camp

Week 1, June 20 - June 24: Curious Curators

Step into the world of artists throughout history and discover the way museums honor their work. Choose a painting from the Hermitage collection and write your own label for it, telling the story of the painting. Spend an afternoon with our Curators and take an adventure through the secret areas of the museum. Choose your favorite artists and imitate their painting style. Create your own art collection to take home!

Week 2, June 27 – July 1: Art and Nature

Walk through the garden gate and explore a world where art and nature commune. Learn about the Hermitage Gardens and take nature walks in the restored wetlands. Campers will explore the grounds and paint landscapes, real and imaginary! Learn about environmental sculpture artists and create one-of-a-kind sculptures. Use recycled materials to create unique works of art. Come have fun in the shade during Art and Nature week!

Week 3, July 11 – July 15: Water & Art

Did you know that water (H2O) is the most abundant molecule on Earth's surface, constituting about 70% of the planet's surface? How does water affect day to day life? How has water inspired artists throughout history? Examine Leonardo Da Vinci’s fascination with water as an artist and a scientist. Discover the way Vincent Van Gough created his “water lilies”. Campers will brainstorm about ways in which water inspires creativity. Campers will learn about liquid sculpture, water symbolism, and techniques to represent water in paintings and drawings. Discover the world of Water and Art!

Week 4, July 18 – July 22: World Travel

Join us as we circle the globe! See sites of far away countries through the window of the Sloane Collection. Learn to create ceramic sculpture inspired by styles from around the world! Each day, campers will experience a new country and its culture through objects housed at the Hermitage. Visit Spain, India, Russia, England, and Japan all in one week! Pack your bags for great adventures and embark on World Travel!

Week 5, July 25 – July 29: Imagination

Experience a fun survey of the fine arts in this week of activities designed to stimulate the imagination. Campers will learn techniques such as trip-tic painting, relief printmaking, block printing, paper mache sculpture, and character drawing. Kids will participate in a scrap yard challenge to create sculpture using found objects. The Museum grounds and structures will serve as the perfect inspiration for imagination!

Week 6, August 1 – August 5: Glass Art

Experience all the wonders of glass with various activities meant to inspire. Create jewelry with sea glass and wire. Design your own stained-glass windows. Learn about the various art forms and creative processes that are possible with glass. How can recycled bottles become a work of art? Campers will use their imagination to create new works of art using glass objects. Learn about the history of stained glass and the artist Tiffany by discovering all of the glass in the Hermitage collection.

Week 7, August 8 – August 12: Across Asia

Explore the Asian arts of kite making, silk painting and dragon costume creating! Make origami and participate in activities such as gyotako (fish print making). Visit the expansive Asian art collection housed at the Hermitage. See the Samurai sword and ancient artifacts from the tombs of royalty! Design and make your own Zhenmushou (guardian beast) out of clay. You’ll travel very far from home Across Asia!

Week 8, August 15 – August 19: Curious Curators

Due to popular demand, we are offering this week twice this summer! While the theme is the same as week 1, a variety of new activities will be offered! Campers will design their own mini-gallery and museum tour, discover what it’s like to work in a museum, and learn that even our gardens need a curator. Explore museums from around the country while learning about the exciting art right here in our neighborhood!

Young Artists Summer Art Camp

Week 1: June 20 - June 24

Monday:
Morning session: Photography - using a digital or disposable camera, learn the basics of composition, lighting and subject matter in indoor and outdoor photography.
Afternoon session: Pottery/Handbuilding - create pinch pots, coils or abstract pieces out of clay.

Tuesday:
Morning session: Photography - campers will fine tune their techniques for composition, lighting, subject matter (photos will be developed and returned to campers on Friday morning).
Afternoon session: Sketching - discover the foundations of drawing and improve hand-eye coordination by learning how to grip a pencil, basic line work and shading.

Wednesday:
Morning session: Creative Writing: Poetry - choose a piece of art from the Hermitage collection and learn the methods of creating a unique poem.
Afternoon session: Basic Drawing - continuing to build upon the previous sketching lesson campers will turn their sketch into a finished pencil drawing of a basic structure or object.

Thursday:
Morning session: Acrylics-Experiment with acrylic paints while learning more about the color wheel and the role that color combinations have in works of art.
Afternoon session: Open Studio to complete projects.

Friday:
Morning session: Open Studio to complete projects.
Afternoon session: Open Studio to complete projects/Mini-Portfolio Sharing – young artists will display their projects from the week, discuss their artistic progress and share thoughts about each other’s works.

Week 2: June 27 – July 1

Monday:
Morning session: Sketching - discover the foundations of drawing and improve hand-eye coordination by learning how to grip a pencil, basic line work and shading.
Afternoon session: Collage - campers will learn about the dynamic possibilities of collage and create a modernist photomontage: a collage made from cutting and pasting many different photographs to create one image.

Tuesday:
Morning session: Basic Drawing - continuing to build upon the previous sketching lesson campers will turn their sketch into a finished pencil drawing of a basic structure or object.
Afternoon session:  Creative Writing: Interpretation - Viewing a painting from the Hermitage collection, young artists will write the story of what they see.  Then, the true symbolism and meaning of the painting will be revealed and compared to the campers’ stories.

Wednesday:
Morning session: Oil Pastels - experiment with the possibilities of oil pastels including layering, blending, scraping, and shading.                      
Afternoon session: Origami - learn the Japanese art of “paper-folding” and create animals, flowers, shapes and more.

Thursday:
Morning session: Oil Pastels - continue to work with pastels to create an Impressionist landscape of the Hermitage grounds.
Afternoon session: Open Studio to complete projects.

Friday:
Morning session: Open Studio to complete projects.
Afternoon session: Open Studio to complete projects/Mini-Portfolio Sharing - campers will display their projects from the week, discuss their artistic progress and share thoughts about each other’s works.

Week 3: August 8 - August 12

Monday:
Morning session: Photography - using a digital or disposable camera, learn the basics of composition, lighting and subject matter in indoor and outdoor photography.
Afternoon session:  Sketching - discover the foundations of drawing and improve hand-eye coordination by learning how to grip a pencil, basic line work and shading.

Tuesday:
Morning session: Photography - campers will fine tune their techniques for composition, lighting, subject matter  (photos will be developed and returned to campers on Friday morning).
Afternoon session:  Basic Drawing - continuing to build upon the previous sketching lesson campers will turn their sketch into a finished pencil drawing of a basic structure or object.

Wednesday:
Morning session: Screenprinting - young artists will learn how Andy Warhol used this method of printmaking and will create their own prints on cloth.       
Afternoon session: Creative Writing: Characters - choosing an individual featured in a Hermitage work of art, kids will learn the method of creating and developing unique characters in their own stories.

Thursday:
Morning session: Recycled Art - Using found objects from the Hermitage grounds and their own homes, campers will create 3-D sculptures.
Afternoon session: Open Studio to complete projects.

Friday:
Morning session: Open Studio to complete projects.
Afternoon session: Open Studio to complete projects/Mini-Portfolio Sharing - campers will display their projects from the week, discuss their artistic progress and share thoughts about each other’s works.

Week 4: August 15 - August 19

Monday:
Morning session: Pottery/Handbuilding - create pinch pots, coils or abstract pieces out of clay.
Afternoon session:  Sketching - discover the foundations of drawing and improve hand-eye coordination by learning how to grip a pencil, basic line work and shading.

Tuesday:
Morning session: Basic Drawing - continuing to build upon the previous sketching lesson campers will turn their sketch into a finished pencil drawing of a basic structure or object.
Afternoon session: Collage - young artists will learn about the dynamic possibilities of collage and create a modernist photomontage: a collage made from cutting and pasting many different photographs to create one image.

Wednesday:
Morning session: Watercolors - campers will experiment with the many techniques used with watercolors.
Afternoon session: Creative Writing: Interpretation - Viewing a painting from the Hermitage collection, young artists will write the story of what they see. Then, the true symbolism and meaning of the painting will be revealed and compared to the campers stories.

Thursday:
Morning session: Watercolors - Campers will use their new understanding of watercolors to create an abstract painting.
Afternoon session: Open Studio to complete projects.

Creative Drama Camp

Weekly schedule coming soon... for questions contact Caitlin Harvey at 423-2052 x203.

Thank you again for your interest in Art Camp at the Hermitage! If you would like to receive updates on Hermitage Museum programming, including Summer Camp information, please join our mailing list.

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Contact Caitlin Harvey, Public Programs Coordinator, with any questions at (757) 423-2052 ext. 203 or programs@thfm.org.

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