Now with artCamp concluded, walking to the end of my driveway to fetch Saturday’s Carthage Press, I smile at my daily visitor. Arriving for breakfast, she swoops first to the suspended feeder then to one blossom then the next then back to the feeder before beginning her balletic dipping circle all over again—doing her hummingbird thing, being happy—finding pleasure in the gracious abundance my cottage gardens offer up for her delight and sustenance.

Following two weeks of full-on artCamp, my spirit, like my wee totem visitor’s, is swooping over artCamp’s lush garden of abundant, pleasing, nourishing memories:
 
The memory of a first-time, 8-year-old artCamper exclaiming, “This is the best artCamp ever! I’d pay a thousand dollars a day to get to come here!” The memory of another young artCamper, frustrated with the difficulty of a project, being encouraged to “do her own thing” with the materials of her choosing and turning her creative day into a grand success.
 
The memory of afternoon treat time announced by an ice cream truck’s unmistakable looping music, driving up to artCentral’s porch steps where each camper, intern, teacher and the director patiently waited to take a turn selecting their favorite confection delivered through the generosity of artCentral’s newest Board member, Lee Pound, and her husband, Mike.
 
Memories of classes—sometimes serenely silent with campers in focused concentration; sometimes rather raucous with stories passed around as exuberant discoveries are made; sometimes lyrical with a class selected soundtrack softly streaming on a teacher’s or intern’s digital device.
 
All my memories are abundantly infused with deep appreciation to our teachers, interns and donors to whom I send my heartfelt gratitude.
 
Teachers: Deb Bentlage assisted by Mark Adams, Alexandra and Sam Burnside, Sandra Conrad, April Davis-Brunner, Teri Y. Diggs, Anne-Marie Gailey, Kahlie Jones, Tom Jones, Tiffany Kunkler, Sam Lewis, Jane McCaulley, Sarah Serio and Landon Stark.
 
Interns: Maddie Capps, Sydney Hartless, Diane Heisner, Allie Lambeth, Owen Platt, Emma Pound and Katie Watson.
 
Donors: K. D. & M. L. Steadley Trust, Bank of America, N. A., Trustee; Helen S. Boylan Foundation; Ruth I. Kolpin Foundation; S & S Computers; Walmart; Carthage Council on the Arts; Crackpot Pottery and Art Studio; Phoenix Fired Art; Sandy Higgins; Bren and Betsy Flanigan; Ida Ruth Locarni; Elliott and Ruth Potter; and Mike, Lee and Emma Pound.
 
Thank you each and all for creating artCamp’s abundance!



​

The modest two and three bedroom, one-car-garage houses, often surrounded by white picket fences, were individually set on modest lots collectively carved out of the greater Cammack Woods.

Filled with folks moving through daily rhythms of raising families, our village had many basic necessities and amenities. Only a five block walk from my house, Jefferson Elementary School was conveniently located near The Village Store—the ideal stop-off for a nickel, after-school treat selected from the glass-cased candy counter.
 
In the basement of the Village Community Hall, grownups gathered to cast their Election Day votes. Upstairs was the meeting place for the scout troops led by our parents. The governing body of mayor and village council met here, as well. Eventually The Village Pool and The Village Tennis Courts were built to complete the complex.
 
Annual pet vaccinations were administered next door at the fire/police station. From here, once a summer, the fire/police chief and his cadre of volunteer firemen, drove the big, shiny red fire truck to The Village Park, beside my house, where children were collected from the slides, swings and merry-go-round then hoisted aboard for horn blaring rides around The Village’s perimeters.
 
The two-man (one for night, one for day) police force earnestly enforced public safety. When exceeding the 20 mph speed limit, my high school boyfriends paid the steep price of courtship, collecting handwritten tickets.
 
Like exuberant, love-struck teenagers enroute to artCentral, these last two weeks of July are moving fast, filled with the goodness of artCampers and teachers and interns and donors contributing to artCamp—artCentral’s magical mid-summer village.
 
We say a special “Thank You” to our seven artcamp Interns—Maddie Capps, Sydney Hartless, Diane Heisner, Allie Lambeth, Owen Platt, Emma Pound and Katie Watson—who’ve freely given precious summer days to nurture our aspiring young artists.
 
We extend our sincere gratitude to artCamp’s generous donors who make the magic possible: K. D. & M. L. Steadley Trust, Bank of America, N. A., Trustee; Helen S. Boylan Foundation; Ruth I. Kolpin Foundation; S & S Computers; Walmart; Carthage Council on the Arts; Crackpot Pottery and Art Studio; Phoenix Fired Art; Sandy Higgins; Bren and Betsy Flanigan; Ida Ruth Locarni; Elliott and Ruth Potter; and Mike, Lee and Emma Pound.

“I love your art. Do you want to meet for lunch?”
 
A fellow artCentral artist is texting from Mother Road Coffee on the square, where he’s viewing my “Beauty of Change” exhibit, while sipping a Kara Hardesty hand-crafted café.
 
Gosh. What to do? I already have a full day mapped in front of me. I’m planning to work through my artCamp preparation tasks. Do I really want to shift my focus?
 
“Sure,” I text back. We agree on Fleur de Lis at one, and so the day is perfectly punctuated with a satisfying interlude over Kathleen Gilpin’s sandwiches of apricot-garnished turkey on rye.
 
To have a light lunch and an artful conversation with a practicing artist is most pleasing. He tells me of his “green man” in progress and asks about my frequent use of blackbird images.
 
For me, after experiencing a series of “blackbird annunciations”, the blackbird is a “metaphor for love” (http://www.alicelynn.com/blackbird-annunciation1.html).
 
My lunch companion mentions that a group of black crows (as well as their cousin rooks and ravens) is called a “murder”. Apparently this sinister sounding term reflects a time when groupings of many animals had colorful and poetic names: an ostentation of peacocks, a parliament of owls, a congress of baboons, a knot of frogs, a skulk of foxes.
 
Our conversation continues. I’m blissed when the artist offers a lovely, uplifting description—“an exaltation of doves” which I promptly thumb into my phone on my list of “phrases to remember”.
 
According to Slavic legend, “the dove is a messenger and a symbol of a soul released from earth-bound duty. A dove is a clear sign of the soul's return to celestial realms.”
 
Forevermore I shall think of our bevy of artCampers as artCentral’s “exaltation of doves”—when gathered on the porch, in the classrooms and having fun frolicking across the lawn.
 
Oh how I cherish every artCamper—each a holy spirit released and flying freely into new realms of exploration, discovery, creativity and expression. They are our messengers, our teachers, too, in the art of unfettered exuberance.
 
Thank you to all the grownups who send your doves to us for these two precious weeks of end-of-July art-making. Your sharing makes artCentral blessed.
 
Blessed will be everyone who visits the artCamper Exhibition at Art Walk this Friday, July 22nd, 6-9 p.m. at The Palms. Just look for the exaltation wearing bright green artCentral t-shirts. You’ll be truly inspired by the awesome art created by artCamp’s “exaltation of doves”.

Plans are in place for two artCamp Exhibitions. The first will be Friday, July 22nd, 6-9 p.m. at Art Walk. Just follow the kids wearing bright green artCentral tshirts. Stop in at The Palms. View and be inspired by awesome artCamper creations. The following Friday, July 29th, 6-8 p.m., drop by artCentral to celebrate artCampers and their art at the Hyde House Reception and Exhibition.
 
Appreciation goes to two valued supporters of artCamp and artCentral—Doug Osborn owner of The Palms for sharing his beautiful salon space and Eric Putnam of UMB for donating display panels for displaying artCamper art.
 
Make sure your artCamper wanna-be gets in on all the fun of camp creating and exhibition sharing. If you haven’t gotten around to registering, there’s still time. Spaces are available in several classes. Call now (417) 358-4404 to sign up your aspiring artist. Each day will be filled with fun, friends and making art that really rocks.
 
My typical artCamp morning starts at my cottage, where I wake very early to ritually set the tone for a happy, creative day. I’ve practiced this energy invigorating “just-for-me” time since the days I was raising a family. Back then I put my “special time” in place up front, because once the household was awake, pure personal moments were scarce as we moved into our days of work and school and play.
 
Over the years in different seasons, I’ve used my “special time” in different ways. In recent months I’ve enjoyed beginning each morning with reading for an hour or two. By artCamp opening day I’ll just be finishing the last of the twelve Poldark novels written by British author Winston Graham.
 
Set in the late 1700’s and early 1800’s, the Poldark series tells the story of a rural Cornish mining family living on the challenging southwestern coast of England. Locally sourced foods provide everyday sustenance. Near distances are covered on foot or horseback. A trip by coach to London requires five days over randomly maintained roads. Though most landed gentry live comfortably and well, poverty and scarcity are familiar to many. Regular folks who find the time to learn their numbers and letters are home-schooled. Time for making art is a luxury.
 
At artCamp everyone gets to enjoy the luxury of art-making!
 
Walk, come by bike, horse (if you have one) or hitch a ride with your favorite four wheel driver. Bring your lunch. Arrive looking for fun. I’ll have our green door open!
 
 

Last week I promised you more class descriptions. Here they are:
 
 “Wearable Collage” with Sarah Serio explores the lost art of cut paper collage to make necklaces, wall hangings and notebooks for keepsakes or for school.
 
In “Upcycling Trash into Art”, Sarah and campers turn rubbish into wonders like water bottles into animals and birds.
 
She’ll also teach “Leather Cuffs and Coasters”—mastering basic construction and stitching techniques to make cool leather arm cuffs and funky coasters.

​Campers create music-making art using boxes and paints to construct their playing instruments and portable amplifiers with Sarah in “Build a Box Guitar and Speaker”.
 
Also with Sarah in “Robot as Tin Can Mini-Me” campers explore building 3D sculpture and make a robot or toad house or an imagined abstract construction.
 
In “Mexican Folk Art Clay Face” with Sam Davis artCampers paint sculpted clay sun faces they make with traditional red terra cotta clay.
 
In Sandra Conrad “Clay Magnet Threesome” artCampers design, create, oven bake and paint three low relief sculptural magnets.
 
Sandra’s “Comic Book Design and Creation” class pairs campers’ original stories with their fun artwork to make colorful comic books.
 
artCampers learn about figure drawing the human form, while creating their superhero fantasies in “Draw Your Superhero Self” with Sandra.
 
Terri Diggs teaches “Z if for Zentangle” using lines aplenty and colors galore.
 
In artCamp’s “Clay Birdhouse and Fairy Cottage” class with Tiffany Kunkle original birdhouses and fairy cottages are created with clay using slab and coil-clay building techniques.
 
Tiffany’s “Tie Dye Tee Shirt” and “Heady Gear Masks and More” teach artists to design and make wearable art of their dreams.
 
Also with Tiffany in “Sew Your Own Goofy Doll”, using various patterns and fabrics, campers create unique stuffed characters with hand embroidered details.
 
With Anne-Marie Gailey in “Alice in Wonderland Theater” artCampers enter Alice’s dream world then imagine and construct their favorite scenes with standing characters and props.
 
In “String Art Whales, Hearts and More” instructor Alexandra Burnside guides campers in building their own designs with hammers and nails. They use colorful string to paint their images.
 
Mandalas are the theme in two classes, “Made from Nature” and “Made with Fabric” taught by Cheryl Church-Saving.
 
Kahlie Jones will teach “Painting like the Aborigines” inspired by the storytelling of our “downunder” friends. She’ll also show artCampers how to mix secret ingredients to make a deliciously nourishing “Edible Mask” to nibble or wear.
 
Don’t delay—register your artCamper wanna-be today! For additional information call (417) 358-4404 and visit ​www.artcentralcarthage.org/artcamp-2016.html.