Puppet mini-camp day 2

It was another busy day for the campers making new puppets and learning about shadow puppets and puppet shows from Bill Woodburn from Random Acts Puppets. Bill actually performed 2 stories and gave us some information about puppet boxes in history and the kinds of shows he does. The campers got to handle some of his puppets and ask lots of questions. As he began Rapunzel, campers slipped to their boxes and got out their Rapunzel's to act along with the story. Every where I looked puppets were creeping out into the audience!


We tried a new finger puppet using a rubber dish glove to make rain forest birds. A bit of fun foam for beaks, a handful of feathers, googly eyes and fun foam hearts for faces and we had an instant puppet.


Our last project of the day was making puppets from paper bags using one of the books from the library "Look What you can make with paper bags" as our guide. We'll finish them the last day and use some of them in our puppet show as the finale. One of the students has created the entire 3 pigs story to perform complete with props. Others are chatting up their mermaids and other people all the time. It is really hard to leave any of the puppets in the boxes for long. I heard plans of "play dates with my friends to use my puppets." How is that for art that shares?


The Arts mini-camp is held at the Wells Branch Community Library and taught by Dianne Koehler.

Puppet Mini-camp Day 1

Goodness this was fun! The mess got a bit out of hand at times but the originality and creativity it engenerded was well worth it. I thought I'd have to encourage interactive play when the kids got some of the puppets done but immediately the puppets started talking to each other and interacting. I made a demonstration small theater over the weekend which some of the kids used before they created their own personal stages out of shoe boxes complete with scenery and a few props. The kids had me cutting slits in the tops and bottoms so the puppets could be inserted to perform.


We used plastic spoons, mini records and wooden disks as the basis of the stick puppets. The campers were then able to add hair, pompoms, google eyes, and different fabrics, ribbons and foams to customize the puppets. Some of the donated yarn was gold and glitzy and became manes. Several Rapunzels appeared as very long braided yarn was located in the bags. I saw a snake and a tiger as well as a wolf at one of the tables. A mom who showed up a bit early was mobbed by all the kids showing off their puppets and what they could do with them.


Our last puppet activity was making finger puppets out of stretchy gloves and other donated gloves. Some of the kids wanted to use the whole glove and make a grouping of the puppets, most went with single fingers but used all the fingers on the glove. We'll finish this up Wednesday and add rubber gloves and test tubes as bases to use.


The Arts mini-camp is held at the Wells Branch Community Library and taught by Dianne Koehler.

What we made with shells@the Wells Branch Library

We used one of my favorite crafts books last night Look what I did with a shell. The room was full, we ran out of tickets but those who got in really got into it. We had a large box of shells from the discount stores and donations to pick from and create butterflies, unicorns, and lots of other critters that I am not sure exist. A few of the kids branched out creating necklaces, bracelets, and what looked to me like an entire undersea village. I had a supply of short wood straws that we put to use as legs and stabilizers of one type or another. We incorporated bottle caps as bases so the shells that open up don't fall over.



The Family Arts & Crafts group meets at the Wells Branch Community Library every Wednesday night at 6 pm taught by Dianne Koehler. The program lets us turn donations and imagination into great projects.

you may also want to take a look at the new Art & crafts database the library recently subscribed to for the patrons. check  the website for details.

Mosaics mini-art camp day 3 @ WBCL

What a busy and fun day! The campers really got into the art discussion today as we looked at Talavera tiles and tile murals. Lots of opinions on design and color use. 


They completed their flag/banners with a lot of extra design elements (if only I had time to take a few more photos!) We added sequins and other glitzy stuff to embellish the designs. 


The kids drew their own designs on the 2"x2"tiles then painted them with Glossies paints in the traditional bright colors. Some went back to the books on Mexico and Mosaics that I checked out for ideas, others used the ideas from the video tour and their imagination. We finished the tiles by attaching them to felt backing or magnets.  


Our last project was a bit of a stretch for the younger kids but they all got the frames for the stained glass done and some of the colored tissue attached. The "Oh WOW" moment was as each was completed, we held them in the sunny window to watch the light stream through. Thanks to my rrfreecycle friends for supplying the iridescent tissue to make the clear panes.


The Arts mini-camp is held at the Wells Branch Community Library and taught by Dianne Koehler.

Making mosaic tiles and T's @ art camp

The kids have been really working hard to master the art of mosaics. The did not have to break their own tiles but they drew their own designs then chose the tile pieces to complete them. We looked at a lot of different types of mosaics and designs including those in quite a number of books from the library to get our ideas. Some just came from imagination as I never saw a 2 headed dragon anywhere. Spreading the tile glue was a bit of a challenge--the kids did not like using the plastic gloves and soon had their fingers into the stuff with better results. We used small ceramics, broken pottery, broken mirrors, beads and colored river gravel to get just the right look. 


The T-shirts turned out great and are a bit different that the usual "paint a t-shirt" type of project. It was hard to get some of the kids to stamp the design on but once they got into it the results were great!


We are finishing up a banner/flag with thoughts of medieval tapestries that should be great to hang out, going back to Mexican art for a Talavera tile and creating a "stained glass" window from tissue paper to finish camp. 


The Arts mini-camp is held at the Wells Branch Community Library and taught by Dianne Koehler.

Making creations from egg cartons @ WBCL

What a fun project this turned out to be! The library gets so many egg cartons donated that we are always looking for more things to do with them than use them for paint pots. We got a great book to use as the basis for this project: Look what you can make with egg cartons, edited by Betsy Ochester. 


Creativity and imagination combined with the wealth of supplies on hand really produced results and such a variety. Very popular was the helicopter with a moving propeller. We have my volunteer to thank for helping the kids make it work and spin. Quite a number of creature treasure boxes, as did chicks in baskets, all kinds of critters and an alligator on the beach complete with palm tree. One lucky grandma is getting a bouquet of flowers in a custom vase.


The Family Arts & Crafts group meets at the Wells Branch Community Library every Wednesday night at 6 pm taught by Dianne Koehler. The program lets us turn donations and imagination into great projects. We are pleased to have our new orange aprons from our local Home Depot to wear.


you may also want to take a look at the new Art & crafts database the library recently subscribed to for the patrons. check  the website for details.