Summer Camp Offers Environmentally Friendly Way To Get Creative

BY NANCY GAGNET | MIRROR REPORTER — Scavenging old art supplies, fabric swatches, discarded odds and ends and a variety of mismatched knickknacks may not seem exciting, but for art teacher Sarah Richey it can open a whole lot of possibilities for creative fun.

Richey will lead a seven-week summer camp series at Scrap 4 Art, an organization dedicated to finding ways to repurpose into art items that might otherwise end up in landfills. The shop, which is located on West Wayne Street in Maumee, is filled with donated items such as greeting cards, ribbon, wrapping paper, upholstery material, frames, mat board, photo paper, paint, brushes, crayons, tile, glassware and more.

“There are all kinds of things that can be repurposed,” she said.

Each week is geared to a theme and children may sign up for one week or all seven if preferred.

Week one will focus on magical art, with projects geared to fairies, dragons, witches, wizards, unicorns, kings, queens and knights.

“Everything that has to do with fantasy and magic,” Richey explained.

Week two will focus on craft projects such as bookmaking, macrame, cardmaking and woven wall hangings.

“We will focus on making things children may have seen but may never have had the opportunity to learn how to do,” she said.

Week three focuses on gaming, but with a twist in that children will create art inspired by video games. Projects that week will include creating 3-D art and board games and making glow-in-the-dark paint using highlighters.

Week four and week six will focus on creative sculptures and paintings using different mediums and methods. 

Week five promises to be messy and is designed for the youngest artists. The children will work with bubble, foam and splat paint along with slime to create murals and other works of art.

The last week will provide the opportunity to create items that children can use in the new school year, such as bookmarks, personalized notepads, tote bags and school toolboxes.

“They get to make unique pieces that they can return to school and show off and have personalized, so that gets them excited about returning to school, she said.

Ritchey is a papercutting artist who creates intricate cut-paper designs that are both unique and detailed. Her work depicts a wide variety of thematic elements from natural landscapes to figures to popular landmarks.

She holds a bachelor of fine arts degree from Ohio Wesleyan University and a master of arts education from The University of Toledo.

Previously, Richey worked in Seattle, Wash., where she served as the director of children, youth and family ministries at Sand Point Community United Metho-dist Church. She has also worked as an art instructor at the Toledo Museum of Art and St. Ursula Academy.

“I’m real excited to teach students how they can repurpose and be creative and use things in a way that is fun and exciting,” she said. “It will give them something that they can take real pride in.”

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Scrap 4 Art summer day camp takes place from Monday, June 14 through Friday, August 6.

Each weekly camp runs Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. to noon.

The camps are designed for students in grades 1-6, except for week five, which is created for children ages pre-K and up. 

The cost is $100 per student for one week of camp, and classes will be held outside under a canopy.

For information or to register, visit www.scrap4arttoledo.org.

Scrap 4 Art is located at 333 W. Wayne St. in Maumee.