PENLAND SUMMER CAMPS
Join us this summer for a week (or two) of fun and exploration in the arts!
¡Únase a nosotros este verano para una semana (o dos) de diversión y exploración en las artes!
Last summer’s camps were held in the fresh air on the back porch of Ridgeway Hall to maximize safety during the pandemic, and some campers said they loved camp even more when it was all outdoors. For this summer, we will be keeping our eyes on the recommendations of local healthcare professionals and the CDC to determine whether we will be out of the “woods” by that time and be able to proceed without Covid-19 precautions.
Just like any Penland workshop, Penland Summer Camp is a very special experience!
We will be in touch as the time for camp draws near, but please know that we may have precautions in place, such as holding camp outdoors and requiring masks and social distancing.
We also offer Out of the Box! art kits in a range of media. These kits contain a week of projects to do at home on your own schedule. Details are here.
Registration
Please use the buttons below to register or apply for a need-based scholarship. If you are applying for a scholarship, it is not necessary to register as well.
Scholarship funds are limited. Scholarships are intended for students who are not able to attend Penland Summer Camps without financial assistance. Please consider applying for a partial (50% scholarship) if it is financially feasible for your family. Please do not apply for a scholarship if you are also applying as a full-pay camper.
Kids Camps
A Feast for the Eyes
with Anna Early
Two-week camp: June 13-17 and June 20-24
1:30 to 4:30 PM
Ages: 6 to 10
Tuition and materials: $255
This workshop is full. To sign up for the waitlist, please click HERE.
Este taller está lleno. Para incribirse en la lista de espera, haga clic AQUI.
Join us for two fun-filled weeks as we explore multiple ways to make place settings for artistic meals. We will hand build clay cups and plates, which will look fabulous atop placemats made from wool that we’ll dye and felt. We’ll also learn printmaking techniques to create tea towels or napkins. At the end of our session, let’s celebrate by setting our places and feasting together!
Anna enjoys guiding children of all ages to explore their inner artist and create! She has taught at Penland’s Kids Camp for many years, holds a Montessori Teaching Certificate, and has enjoyed working as a teaching artist in Mitchell and Yancey County Schools.
Out of This World!
with Christine Henry
June 20-24, 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM
Ages: 3 to 6
Tuition and materials: $135
This workshop is full. To sign up for the waitlist, please click HERE.
Este taller está lleno. Para incribirse en la lista de espera, haga clic AQUI.
Go out of this world with creative art activities: build a rocket, create an astronaut suit, and blast off on an educational and artistic tour of the solar system and beyond!
Christine is a glass artist and teacher at Spruce Pine Montessori School who has also taught at Kids Camp and with TRAC’s Enhanced Arts in the Preschools.
From Drawings to Tiny Treasures
with Samantha Kirk
July 4-8, 1:30 PM to 4:30 PM
Ages: 6 to 8
Tuition and materials: $140
Join us outside for a week of play and creativity with a nostalgic art medium: Shrinky Dinks! Students will brainstorm project ideas then let their imaginations run wild—the possibilities are endless! Your colorful drawings will be transformed into miniature objects that can become jewelry, action figures, suncatchers, tiny villages… the list goes on. At the end of the week, we’ll have a celebration to reflect on our hard work and creative achievements.
Samantha Kirk is a painter, muralist, and mixed media artist inspired by nature and exploring creative processes. She is a middle school art teacher in Mitchell County, NC, and has taught elementary art in Caldwell County.
Reptiles and Amphibians
with Mr. Jeff Menzer
July 11-15, 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM
Ages: 7 to 10
Tuition and materials $195
This workshop is full. To sign up for the waitlist, please click HERE.
Este taller está lleno. Para incribirse en la lista de espera, haga clic AQUI.
The southern Appalachian Mountains are home to some amazing lizards, snakes, frogs, toads, and salamanders. We will be drawing, painting, and making sculptures of these creatures in a fun way as we study the lives of these amazing animals who share our mountain home. Plan to bring a bag lunch to camp each day.
Mr. Jeff has taught art to children through the WNC Nature Center, the Little Middle Folk School at John C. Campbell, and Arts in the Schools programs in rural western NC since 1996.
Woodworking Adventure
with Mr. Sam
Ages: 9 to 12
July 25-29, 1:30 PM to 4:30 PM
Tuition: $145
Learn to use hand woodworking tools to make a variety of projects, from custom toy race cars, to spinning tops, to handmade boxes. We’ll test your car’s speed on the race track, learn lots of tricks you can do with the tops, and Mr. Sam will entertain with stories and songs from far and wide.
Sam Maren is a folk musician and woodworker. He has worked with TRA in the Enhanced Arts for Preschool program, as a resident artist in Mitchell County Schools, and with Penland’s children’s programs for many years.
‘Tween Camps
Silkworms and Sheep
with Lisa Rose
June 13-17, 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM
Ages: 11 to 13
Tuition and materials: $155
These two animals give us wonderful fibers for creating art! Your designs will emerge in brilliant color as you paint imagery on silk, then learn to sculpt objects from great clouds of wool and suds when felting. Add embellishments to your pieces with stitchery and other fiber magic!
Lisa is the Program Coordinator for Penland’s Community Collaborations and a teaching artist in local school and community programs. In a former life, she was a Waldorf handwork teacher.
Turning Furniture
with Wyatt Severs
July 4-8, 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM.
Ages: 10 to 14
Tuition and materials: $180
This workshop is full. To sign up for the waitlist, please click HERE.
Este taller está lleno. Para incribirse en la lista de espera, haga clic AQUI.
In this camp, we’ll learn the fundamentals of woodturning: learning basic shapes, creating mallets, building small projects, and learning to make a wedged mortise and tenon joints in preparation for designing and creating a stool. We’ll also cover design, then wrap up with how to safely apply an oil finish to bring out the color in our pieces and preserve them for years to come.
Wyatt is a furniture maker and sculptor. He has taught woodworking to young people through Anderson Ranch, Arrowmont, John C Campbell Folk School, Kentucky VSA, Murray Art Guild, Sprocket, and Penland Kids Camp.
Teen Camps
Many Universes to Explore: Small Metals, Fiber, and Mixed Media
with Melisa Cadell
June 27-July 1, 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM
Ages: 15 to 17
Tuition and materials: $210
From pods to seeds and flowers, insects and fungi, the world holds many universes of wonder for us to behold. As the starting place for ideas, we will spend time observing the natural world. Using jeweler’s tools, students will learn to create delicate shapes in metal to build into forms using cold connection methods. Dying and felting wool will allow for richness in color in juxtaposition with copper and brass elements. It will be an exciting week to bring forth small treasures of your own! Plan to bring a bag lunch to camp each day.
Melisa is the art teacher at Mitchell High School and has worked as a teaching artist for Penland for many years. She is well versed in many art media, from ceramics to printmaking to stop-motion animation.
Digging, Testing, and Working with Wild Clay
with Hanna Traynham
July 18-22, 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM.
Ages: 14 to 17
Tuition and materials: $200
These mountains hold a long history of potters working in local clay dug from the ground,, and you can help keep the tradition alive! Discover the geological phenomena that created various types of clays and learn to locate and dig clay in your own backyard. With our collected clay, we will scientifically test and adapt firing temperature and workability, then make pots using pinch and coil building methods. You’ll also craft your own tools that can be used well after the course is over. Plan to bring a bag lunch to camp each day.
Hanna has taught art in a variety of educational settings all over the U.S. for 15 years. She is currently a graduate student in ceramic arts at East Tennessee State University.
Pulp and Stitch: The Art of Papermaking and Books
with Ani Volkan
July 25-29, 1:30 PM to 4:30 PM
Ages: 13 to 15
Tuition: $145
Learn how to create your very own books from paper to stitch. This workshop will teach you how to make paper from scratch, using the pulp of recycled materials and plants. It will also lead you through various bookbinding stitches. Participants in the workshop will leave with a hand-stitched hardcover journal with a printed cover as well as various pamphlets and folded books.
Ani Volkan has taught with after-school arts programs, museums, universities, art centers, and nonprofits and Penland’s Kids Camps. She believes teaching is about playing within the process and encourages exploration and experimentation.