Visual Arts Camp

July 14 - 19, 2013

Grades 8 - 12, grade completion.

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Challenge yourself in a variety of art media!

Serious high school artists are invited to participate in exciting, diverse, and creative art experiences at the Visual Arts Camp. Working with faculty, students, and alumni from the NIU School of Art, campers are encouraged to be innovative as they experiment with new materials, techniques, and ideas while producing portfolio-quality work in a university environment.

Group art activities, performance art presentations, and recreational activities complete the schedule for this fun-filled and diverse week. Presentations by nationally known artists, art historians, and talented studio artists enrich and enhance the hands-on studio experiences. The week concludes with a gala art show in the Olson Gallery for families and friends.

The Visual Arts Camp thanks Prismacolor for its generous sponsorship of the Visual Arts Camp. We look forward to Prismacolor's continuing support of the camp in 2012, and to a seminar on tips and techniques for using Prismacolor products during the camp by Diana Garrett, consumer specialist for Sanford Corporation.

For more information about fees, need scholarships, discounts, housing, meals, refunds, etc., see the general information section.

Studio Sessions

Studio work forms the core of the Visual Arts Camp and campers will be fully engaged in two intensive studio classes that meet each day for the week. On the registration form, campers make a first, second, and third choice of classes from each studio session and are assigned to one class for each session. There is limited space in each class. Classes with insufficient enrollment may be cancelled.
NOTE:  The content of classes changes from year to year, providing new challenges for first-time and returning campers alike.

Morning Studio Sessions

• Drawing Realism - Lynn Stockton and Becki Miller
  Using traditional drawing materials, campers create realistic drawings that address both composition and concept. Techniques will be explored that allow artists to render images expressively, using mark making, visual texture, and subtle gradations.   
• Mixed Media Collage - Lisa Doll
  Experiment with mixed media in a collage form to combine found object material with traditional painting and drawing techniques.  
• Abstraction with Oil Pastel - Elizabeth Woodyatt
  Work with color using colored pencil and/or oil pastel to create dynamic drawings that emphasize contrast and depth.
• Life Drawing - Peggy Dee
  Draw the human figure while being introduced to college-level life drawing concepts and techniques.
• Acrylic Painting - Frank Matas
  Learn traditional and expressive acrylic painting techniques to create dynamic and dramatic imagery. 
• Sculpture/3-D Fiber Character Creation - Brian Hierstein
  Explore the creative development of a unique character while using three-dimensional fiber materials to create a sculptural form.    

Afternoon Studio Sessions  

• 2-D Design - Aleksandra Giza
  Explore two-dimensional design and the designer's use of imagery to create visual impact as well as the successful communication of concept. 
• Acrylic Painting - Frank Matas
  Learn traditional and expressive acrylic painting techniques to create dynamic and dramatic imagery. 
• Sculpture/3-D Experience - April Macatangay
  Using elements and principles of design, students create sculptures from a myriad of three-dimensional materials (both additive and subtractive methods) to convey meaning. 
• Self Portrait and Drawing Studies - Bjana Lunde
  Draw portraits and/or self-portraits while being introduced to the essential concepts and techniques of proportion, form, and dramatic value use.
• Life Drawing - Peggy Dee
  Draw the human figure while being introduced to college-level life drawing concepts and techniques.
• Acrylic Portraiture - Brandon Barber
  Both representational and abstract portraits will be explored in acrylic using a variety of painting techniques. 

Enrichment Sessions

Guest speakers present visual overviews of their life and works as they share their career paths in visual arts.

Evening Art Activities

Students participate in evening art-making activities, often experimenting with new materials while interacting and socializing with other young artists from a variety of backgrounds. Activities may include portfolio embellishment, campus art scavenger hunt, group sculpture building, and performance art. Campers have the opportunity to devote extra time to art projects during open studio sessions scheduled every evening.

About the Camp Staff

Learn more about camp director Lynn Stockton and her staff.