A Beauty to Behold – Visual Arts Opportunities at Maine Camps

When a child has an incredible summer at camp, they might need a way to express their excitement. Luckily, for those who are inclined towards the visual arts, they have an easy outlet – Maine Camp Experience (MCE) camps have rich, robust, and exciting arts programs that allow kids to experiment with a variety of different mediums, and have a whole lot of fun in the process! Of course, part of the top notch programming at MCE camps includes traditional arts and crafts activities. If you’re interested in drawing or painting, using watercolors or pastels, beads or bracelets, tie-dying, or a multitude of other “A & C” activities, then camp is the place for you. And there’s no place quite like Maine for burgeoning landscape painters to capture their surroundings, and at many MCE camps you will find many young Monets painting the natural beauty around them. Many MCE camps also offer ceramics and pottery studios – including potters’ wheels and on-site kilns – which allow kids to have a more “hands-on” experience with their artwork. In addition to these arts activities, campers at MCE camps also have the opportunity to experiment with unique visual arts mediums that they might not have as much access to during the school year. Camp was certainly the only time during my childhood when I got to try woodworking – and while my projects were always limited to small trinkets, I remember being amazed by the larger objects (including several pieces of furniture and a giant, accurate, totally unique “Risk” set) that campers would produce. Stained-glass making is another popular activity at some camps, and Batik – which is a cloth dying technique – is also a hit. This past summer, I had the opportunity to visit several MCE camps, and I was amazed by the projects that campers would produce in these activities. Knitting, weaving, and textile-making are also popular activities at some camps – and at some MCE camps, hybrid activities such as “boating & bracelets” are away to provide a new twist to the arts! And of course, the instruction at MCE camps is always first-class, and some camps will even bring in guest artists to help the kids develop a mastery in different mediums. At the MCE camp I work at, “Silver” is one of the most popular activities. The older campers love making rings, earrings, necklaces and all sorts of other pieces of jewelry in the silver shop. By the end of summer, the whole camp will be wearing their unique camp jewelry – which, of course, is made in the shape of the camp logo, the Color War mascots, and is full of camp spirit! Last summer, I even got in on the fun, making a commemorative ring with the other male staff members with whom I shared a cabin. One of the coolest aspects of the visual arts programs at MCE camps is the way that campers’ projects color all aspects of camp life. When you sit down for a camp play, it’s impossible to ignore the beautiful set pieces that campers design and produce. At banquets and other festive meals – or special events hosted by certain bunks or age groups –  the halls will often times be decorated with thematic artwork that campers create. And of course, bunks and dining halls are oftentimes colored by camper plaques that commemorate summers gone by. In the spirit of camp, the kids tend to truly commit to producing the best work they can, as they know it’s a way they can directly contribute to the place they love. — Maine Camp Experience Resources & Tools

You can share your own Maine camps memories & expressions of gratitude on our Memories of Camp section of our  website.

Looking for the perfect Maine camp for your child?  Try out our helpful tool where you can select a camp by choosing: type of camp (girls, boys or coed) and session length (1-8 weeks).  It helps to narrow down a few camps to a manageable list that includes rates.  Then you can research these camps in more depth.

Next, be sure to  to discuss these camps as well as for free, year-round advice and assistance on choosing a great Maine summer camp for your child.