I came up with the idea for Camp Dragon as a way for Kieran's friend Jena to earn $470 to pay for Earthlight Pictures Animation Camp, which begins next week. I believe Kieran and Jena are very marketable as artists and I had all the resources to create a crafting camp for the kids at Hope School who already know me as a Noon Aide (lunch lady). We needed eight campers to earn the money we needed. During two week-long sessions, we had 11 campers. What I didn't expect was that I would be shown my own soul's purpose so clearly.
WEEK ONE
We had four campers. Their artistic fortes spanned from sculpture to painting to beautiful wire work. During this week, I exposed the kids to sculpture, painting, vision boards, candle-making, book making and jewelry making. I realized the need for me to recognize natural talents and feed them. I had all the resources to feed their talents and passions.
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Sasank was a natural painter and sculptor. |
Kara was hungry for the overall experience. She wanted to DO everything.
Evan was a natural wire sculptor and made about a dozen beautiful wire and gemstone rings.
Srikar loved to write and found his passion in book-making. His story is handwritten and at about 40 pages so far.
Jena and Kieran are visual artists and absolutely thrive in sculpture, drawing and painting. Their talent is such a gift to the world.
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Wire figure with sword by Evan. |
WEEK TWO
The second week of Camp Dragon brought six new artists with new personalities and passions.
I had a feeling we were going to need squirt guns.
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I told Nick that this might be the last year he can hold his cousin, Aidan on his lap
so he should just GO WITH IT. |
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Jairo loved the playtime with all the other kids |
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Hall of paintings |
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Sofia was a skilled and gifted sculptor |
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Nick sculpted and painted these three pieces. |
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Chris was an inspired sculptor. |
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Kieran and Jena drew these dragons in about ten minutes on the first day of the first week, We turned them into awards during week two. |
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Sofia painted beautifully! |
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Claire painted this amazing abstract which reminded me so much of her- carefully planned out, executed with control; calming and full of love. |
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Aquatic Wolves by Sofia |
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This is my FAVORITE painting by Kieran. |
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Jena's incredible study of the trolls of Homestuck, all free drawn by a self-taught artist! |
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Painters |
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boys reading |
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This says "The planet does not need more 'successful' people..." |
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Art takes many forms |
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We had a movie afternoon and I brought out every sleeping bag in our arsenal. |
I realized that this group required the creativity of dynamic relationships. They needed more time to interact with each other and play. I made it a point to meet them all at their needs rather than forcing them into art projects if that wasn't what they really wanted.
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We made a "measurement wall" where everyone was measured. |
Part of what I do well is quickly implementing ideas. Kieran said, "we should measure everybody" and within three minutes, we had a measurement wall.
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The floor in our garage is a palate. |
This floor is a place to socialize as much as it to express ones self. The cacophony of colors may be unnerving for some, but I LOVE it. I get to touch the moments left by various kids. I always have them sign their name and write their age on each drawing.
This was one of the sweetest weeks of my life where I felt perfectly aligned with my purpose.
Lucky me.
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