Our last week of camp was a dream! Not only did all the campers get along swimmingly, but they were attentive and focused cooks and artists who delved deeply into all their projects. It was a joy to teach them this week and we hope to see them back at another Cookshop/Make Do camp soon!

This fall, both Cookshop and Make Do Art Studio will be offering after school classes, as well as joint No School Day camps. You can find more information and register for our Tuesday after school art class here. Registration for our Wednesday after school cooking class is here. All classes and camps will be held at Cookshop.

We hope everyone has a fantastic last few days of summer and a great start to their school year!

Here is what we were up to around the art table and in the kitchen this week (recipes are linked or follow at the end) …

Monday

Book- The Dot by Peter Reynolds

Monday was watercolor day. We looked at the art of Paul Klee, Sonia Delaunay and contemporary artist Leslie Roberts. We looked at how they used shape, color, grids and pattern to create their art. We created our own grids and shape patterns using rulers and pencils, and then got to work experimenting with color combinations using our watercolors.

Recipes: granola bars, guacamole, salsa, Cuban black beans

Tuesday

Book- Keith Haring: The Boy Who Just Kept Drawing by Kay Haring

On Tuesday, we created dioramas inspired by the art of German children’s book author and illustrator Antje Damm. We used watercolor to create the background, and then a variety of materials to create lots of little pop-ups and layers for their box. They created dioramas representing everything from cityscapes, to campfires in the woods, to bedrooms in Paris!

Recipes: blueberry muffins, rainbow rolls

Wednesday

Book of the day: Frida Kahlo and Her Animalitos

On Wednesday, we created acrylic landscape paintings inspired by the vibrant art of painter and designer Carolyn Gavin. We discussed different ways a painter can use shape to represent objects and places, as well as how to use color and line to express feeling and emotion. The campers all created some really colorful and beautiful work!

Recipes: handmade egg pasta, pesto (note: we subbed pecans for the pine nuts)

Thursday

Book of the day: Yayoi Kusama: From Here to Infinity by Sarah Suzuki

For Thursday’s project, each camper came up with their own idea for a storefront they wanted to create. They then created the facade of the building, including fun details like chimneys, windows, rooflines, and doors and then added all the little details of the inside of their shops. We used a lot of different materials for this project including gel pens, posca markers, brush pens, pastels, and colored pencils. The campers really seemed to enjoy this project and I was so impressed by their creative ideas and illustration skills.

Recipes: zucchini bread, teriyaki chicken, onigiri

Friday

Book of the day: A Life Made By Hand: The Story of Ruth Asawa by Andrea D’Aquino

2x2 Drawing Challenge

Inspired by London’s House of Illustration 1x1 drawing challenge, in which illustrators create a tiny 1x1 inch drawing every day for a specific period of time (say a month or a year), we decided to do our own 2x2 inch drawing challenge. Each child chose a theme and created six small illustrations to present as a grid. Some campers were inspired by food, nature, emotions, etc.- it was so fun to see the variety of themes and to see their final pieces.

Recipes: changing color lemonade slushies, pan pizzas