Natural Wonders - Art in Nature

Nature is both all around us and deep within us.

This camp will celebrate creative expression inspired by the natural world, highlighting different artists and techniques and allowing each child to access the creative spirit inside.

We will begin by tuning in to our surroundings, exploring the wonderful resources of both Brooklyn’s largest private garden (located on site at BSEC) and Prospect Park across the street. We will open our minds, engage our senses, and take time to be still, appreciate, and observe. Together, we will explore ways to express the beauty of nature through land art, printmaking, portraiture, photography, sculpture, mural art, still-life painting, and collage.  Materials will include found natural objects, organic materials, natural dyes and pigments, paint, ink, printing tools, recycled materials, and wood.

Each day will involve the study of an individual artist’s journey in finding inspiration from the natural world. We will enter our Art History Time Machine, “traveling” to a time and place via our imaginations to walk with an artist on their journey. Highlighted artists will include Andy Goldsworthy, Maya Lin, Claude Monet, and a very special instructional visit on wood artistry from local Park Slope artist Bernette Rudolph. In addition, we will touch on cave painting and other early forms of art, and explore contemporary artists who use recycled materials to demonstrate their care for the earth.

We will also foster a dialogue about the creative process through artist critiques where each child can share thoughts and feelings. This will help to provide concrete examples of how different people express the same thing in different ways, and help each child feel empowered in their own unique style and way of connecting to their environment. This camp will celebrate creative expression in various forms, allowing each child to be unplugged and connected with their surroundings and inventive spirit. Artists of all skill levels are welcomed and nurtured.