THE LAST NIGHT

Hey everyone!

Dominica and Amrit here on our -- can you believe it -- final night here at Arts-X-Press! It was fantastic seeing you all at the Parent Presentation, and we're looking forward to sharing more with you about the day.

After a slightly delayed start due to late-night Pageant shenanigans, the campers visited their usual arts workshops for their final presentation preparation and last-minute run-throughs. Then, four members of the Pacific Symphony joined us for lunch: Nancy, a violinist, Andy, a cellist, Mike, PSO's principal trombonist, and Cindy, a flautist.

Lunches devoured, your campers proceeded to an Instrumental Spotlight workshop, where our PSO guest musicians introduced and demoed their instruments. The students then were joined by members of the Pacific Symphony's Youth Ensembles, who graciously volunteered their time to allow your campers to try out a variety of instruments from the violin to the French horn. A huge shout out to these wonderful volunteers -- without them, this amazing workshop and opportunity would never have been possible.

Next, your young Arts-X-Pressers were visited by the one and only Molly Pontin, the former director of Arts-X-Press. Molly led us in a group percussion activity and asked a profound question of the campers: have you ever seen a penguin dancing? (Ask your students about this one)

But these excited penguins were not done for the day yet. They then proceeded to the Parent Presentation, which was held in Vanguard's beautiful Needham Chapel. The presentation was a resounding success! Many "Standing O's" were given :) Thank you to those who made it out.

The young grasshoppers continued to the Heath building, where they shared their amazing talents with one another during our much-awaited talent show, which featured acts as diverse as trio singing and recycled percussion.

And after a long day of learning, experimentation, and creativity, your campers took their customary 3-minute showers and hit the hay.

Just as a reminder, please be on time to your child's designated bus stop, which is the same as the one that he or she departed from.

This is Dominica and Amrit signing off for the evening (morning? week? year?)... it's been a wild ride with your fantastic campers. We hope that, inspired by their Arts-X-Press experience, they'll continue their pursuit of happiness and achieve their goals both inside and outside the artistic world!

Parent presentation tonight at 6:45pm!!! We will be at Newport Mesa Church in Costa Mesa and can't WAIT to see everyone there!!

Cat's Creative Expressions Group

My "kittens" were busy creating great stuff right away.  I have never been so impressed by the quality and creativity of a group!  So amazing!  On Day 1, we started with the usual journaling and then went into an icebreaker activity which they enjoyed.  Then, they did an acrostic on the word "Happiness."  We had many truly wonderful results!  Some of the campers finished quickly and were able to go individual prompts.  Here is what Audrey created on her prompt:

I know it's a little hard to read.  It says: "List of things that have no weight: A feeling."  I just love that!

Mircea also created an amazing poem on a prompt.  It's called "The Horse and Rider."  Here's the beginning:



Rider and horse

We are one

I see the sky

Endless blue, a work of art

Little white shapes here and there

Horse and rider

We go further

Onto plains.

 

Isn't that beautiful?  What's more amazing is that he didn't even know he could do that!

 

On Day 2, we went a little serious.  Our first activity was to look at Norman Rockwell's painting entitled "The Problem We All Live With."  This is the famous painting of little Ruby Bridges being escorted to school back in 1960 which currently hangs in the White House.  The kids came up with some very insightful and heartfelt journal entries.  We moved from there to one of my favorite activities called "Ancient Doorways."  The students get into small groups (2 -3) and receive a photo of an ancient doorway.  The idea is to dig deep and think about what's on the other side.  Once again, they came up with some truly wonderful work.  Emma and Lara produced this gem:

 

A towering arch standing tall

A secret doorway leading all

Mysteries on the other side

Unknown happiness is waiting for me.

 

For Day 3, we lightened the mood.  The kids had seen "Tarzan: The Musical" on Day 2, so I gave them a fun assignment called "Who's Your Mama?"  Each camper got a picture of an animal and had to think about what it would be like to be raised by that animal. I don't hate to say that, once again, they were amazing!  This elegant diamante turned out by Lauren was so beautiful, I just have to share it:

 

Butterflies,

Colorful, graceful,

Floating, flying, caring

Wings, tongues, abdomen, antenna

Crawling, swiveling, running

Scary, cool

Insect.

 

 

Today was our final full class of CE, so the kittens were finishing up, getting ready for parent presentation (tonight at 6:45 p.m.!), and doing some additional writing and/or drawing on prompts from the Laguna Beach Festival of the Arts.  Needless to say, there were some wonderful results.  I would have loved to post it all, but I'm sure they'll be showing you what they did themselves and I do want to leave a few surprises!

 

This week's group has been so wonderful!  They have done so much and grown so much over the past few days.  Thank you, Parents, for sharing your talented children with us.  It has been a joy and an honor to have them in my CE class these past few days.  My CE class is Emily, Haydee, Cade S., Mircea, Lara, Audrey, Sydney, Donna, Lauren, Hollis, Samantha H., Carol, and Emma.



Llamas up! Our campers today began an early morning with llama and unicorn songs, followed by a scrumptious delicious breakfast. Of course, these well filled bellies were enough to get them energized for their arts workshops where they continue to take creative risks and prepare for the parent presentation! With everywhere they went, their heads bobbed to the many camp songs that they've been able to learn this week, bobbing and shaking with frustration as they try to figure out riddles and mind games.

With their minds flowing, and tummies filled with a tasty meal, we safely made it to the Festival of Arts in Laguna to explore the visual arts. Hands were busy with making wonderful creations: scratch art, raku pots, print-making. These curious arts-x-pressers were thrilled when we were able to tour backstage the Pageant of the Masters, voices oooooooohing and aaaaaaaaahing at the beautiful masterpieces, props, and meeting the famous pony, Zack.

The gorgeous Laguna Beach made a wonderful dinner setting, and with Carl St. Clair stopping by for a visit, campers were extremely inspired to be brave in their Pursuit of Happiness. These fired-up arts-x-pressers continued with more oooooooohing and aaaaaaaaahing at the many recreated masterpieces Laguna had to offer. Campers followed Washington and Jefferson in America's creation, rode horses across the great plains, danced under Japan's beautiful cherry blossoms, fawn over the first taste of coffee, dance with native Africans, celebrate with Hindu traditions, all in all living through many cultures and finding Happiness in its many forms throughout History.

The campers are all sound asleep now, ready to wake up bright and early to perform their hearts out at tomorrow's parent presentation. Arts-x-pressers dream happily tonight.

Daven and Dominica, checking out.

Good morning CE!

This morning's blog post is brought to you by Michal's CE class, also known as: Jackson, Sabrina, Chelsea, Presley, Maxx, Faith, Daiana, Timothy, Collin, Lydia, Xavier, Kaylee, Esther, Julia, Cassie, and Lea. Each morning, we start out with writing a goal, a discovery, and journaling what we did the day before. Then we dive into our activity. One day, we wrote Ancient Doorway poems. Another morning, we did Super Speedy Stories, and this morning, we did a PAUSE activity, using pictures from Pageant. Here are some examples of what we've been doing!

Ancient Doorway poem:
The door shrouded in shade
The branches arch over the path
The door slowly creaking open
The land of the fairies

Walking through the door we see wondrous sights
A glowing cave, blinding to the eyes
Beyond the crashing waterfall lies their secrets
The land of the fairies

Vines grasping at the walls
Flowers blooming from the ground
A rocky path narrowing into a home
The land of the fairies.

Super Speedy Story
There once was a brittle old man. He was very wise. He taught his grandson everything he knew. All the magic in the world now obeyed his loving grandson. One day the grandson asked the old man a question. "What is the most important thing for somebody to have?" asked the grandson."Only you can answer that." he said. Because of these wise words, he will always look for an answer to the question. As he grew up more something tragical happened. His dog died. He grew up with this dog. Despite this loss, he was determined to find the answer to the question. The grandson searched everywhere he could think of. He asked monks this question. They only said "You have to find that answer yourself." Two years later, he found the answer. The answer was that the most important thing somebody could have is one's family and one's self.

Ancient Doorways Poem:
Behind his door are a bunch of old ancient Greek ruins.
Also, there are a lot of tourists.
None of the locals ever come to the ruins, because they all know the story behind the walls already.
If you go behind his door, you will be surprised on how ruined these ruins really are.
You will realize how much money you wanted to go behind the door and you will be sad.

Super Speedy Story:
There was once a child named Bob. He was a kind person. Whenever he saw an old man, he'd help him. He was always there whenever he needed help. H helped with stuff like groceries and helping him clean his house. He also had a special ability that nobody had. He could read minds. This power proved helpful when the man needed something for Bob to do. Then one day something spectacular happened. Somebody knocked on the door. It was his role model. "Oh my gosh!" yelled Bob. He couldn't believe what his eyes were telling him. It was Captain Raven. Then Captain Raven and Bob lived together happily ever after.

PAUSE story:
Rob was walking down the street when he saw his old friend John. Rob decided to follow him, since he was bored and he was going home anyway. John seemed to go into a bar, so Rob went in as well. As he went inside, four cats went up to him and greeted him. John turned and saw his cats snuggling against Rob. John called them over and looked at Rob. "Rob, is that you?" John asked. Rob nodded and replied, 'Yes, it is, John. Where were you all this time? You never contacted me anymore!" John sighed. "I'm sorry, but I cannot tell you why." Rob guessed it was important but his curiosity took over him. "Tell me! I haven't talked to you in a long time and you're my friend! I have a right to know why!" "No, you don't." "Yes, I do!" "No." "Yes!" "No." "Yes!" "Fine! I'm a detective for the police, and it was supposed to be a secret!" "What?" "And you are arrested for robbing a bank last Saturday, Robber Rob!" John handcuffed him and took him to the police. Rob was enraged but he decided to listen to John because John was right about him robbing a bank, and because how as a good friend that helps the community.

PAUSE story:
Mrs. Gallagher was reading the book "Oliver Twist" by Charles Dickens. "This is boring," complained Jack. "You're right," Sandy said in agreement. Then Jack threw the book across the room and it hit Mrs. Gallagher. The teacher, fazed, quickly recovered and yelled, "Jack! I will not tolerate these shenanigans!" Go have a time-out!" Jack then fired back, "No! I'm leaving this dumb class, you tyranist! Good day to you!" Then Jack and his fellow gang stormed out of the room which left seven students. The teacher, flustered, put down her book and said, he face reddening, "um... well, children, it's nap item!" The seven students then napped as the teacher ran out of the classroom and moved to Ethiopia. The end.

We're excited to share more with you on Tuesday at the Parent Presentation!

While Your Little Dudes Are Catching Up On Some Well Deserved Z's

Today we started bright and (a little too) early at 7:15 am. Kids were woken up with loud music of the counselor's choice, ranging from Jump by Kris Kross or What Does the Fox Say? by Ylvis. Dominica and Helena used pots and pans to wake up their girls. We got our creative juices flowing at creative expression and got to experience a new, more artistic, side of ourselves in arts workshops. Some of us have found new arts that we love. After lunch we got to see Tarzan the Musical at Plummer Auditorium. We laughed, we cried, and we were extremely impressed by the flying actors and actresses. 10/10 must see! We got to have a conversation with the cast that really inspired our campers to pursue the arts and to always work hard. Later we got to experience all arts workshops (dance, vocal, and theatre) by making a dance, being in a scary movie, and singing some scout tunes. We ended the night with bonding where everyone took a risk and told us about one person at camp we are thankful for and one person outside of camp we are thankful for. Campers are in REM sleep a little early to prepare them for a busy day tomorrow.

Bye Felicia,
Emily and Wendy (Wemily)

Oh my goodness! What a great time we're having today! Your campers got their creative juices flowing in their Creative Expressions classes, where they use free-form writing, different styles of poetry, and learn how to verbalize their thoughts and feelings more clearly.

The next stop is their super-awesome Arts Workshop, where they are busy learning and growing in their visual or performing arts as well as preparing for their fun Parent Presentation. Here at a-X-p, we focus on the process and not the product, which takes pressure of the students and allows them the opportunity to take creative risks and find what works best for them; it's not about trying and failing or succeeding, it's about trying and finding out what works or doesn't and understanding why and finding the joy in the process.

We got to see a FANTASTIC production by 3-D Theatricals at Plummer Auditorium - Tarzan, the Musical! The campers really enjoyed it, with a lot of singing, dancing, flying through the air, beautiful sets, and even a Talk-Back session right after the performance where they got to ask different cast members about anything they wanted!

Right now, your students are off experiencing the other art forms they're not assigned to in Arts Workshop in what we call Spotlight Workshop; they cycle through Theatre, Dance, and Vocal tonight in three groups and visit a shorter workshop class of each art form. (Don't worry, they'll get a taste of Visual and Instrumental in other workshops on other days). That's right, they are immersed in EVERY art form while they're here! It's sooooo much fun!

Thank you so much for sharing your students with us this session. We'll consider returning them again on Wednesday. ;)

- Becky

Excursions and Immersions: Week 3!!!

Hello everyone!!! Our session 3 arts-X-press students are already having a wonderful time settling in and making new friends! Can't wait to see the amazing things that they learn throughout the week!





Tonight, we will be heading to the Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre to see our very own Pacific Symphony perform Rimsky-Kosakov's Scheherazade, Verdi's Overture to "La Forza del Destino," and Beethoven's Emperor Concerto with pianist Rueibin Chen! For those of us that have never been to the symphony, this is sure to be a magical and inspiring experience!








Tomorrow, we will be attending a production of Tarzan, put on by the wonderful artists at 3D Theatricals! We are excited to experience a new telling of this Disney classic that so many of us already know and love. Tarzan is sure to keep us on the edge of our seats with a timeless story of self-discovery, family, and friendship.









On Monday night, we conclude our excursions at the always-amazing Festival of Arts and Pageant of the Masters in Laguna Beach! We will get to explore different art exhibits and even create some of our own art together that the students can take with them! During the Pageant show, we'll get to watch as people are transformed into living representations of both ancient and modern art pieces. This year's theme for the Pageant is "The Pursuit of Happiness," and we are beyond excited to learn about the way we can explore happiness in our own different art forms.

Off we go! Stay tuned for more updates and photos as the week goes on!!! 

OUR LAST DAY :'(

Welcome to the LAST blog post of week 2 AXP (cue tears). This blog post is brought you by the actual coolest counselors: Marissa and Naomi.
     After a final day of CE classes and our arts workshops, campers were surprised with special guests: musicians from the Pacific Symphony Orchestra! The kids were able to sit with these incredible artists during lunch, and invigorating conversation was had by all.
     Following lunch, campers got a quick sampling of instrumental music. Our musicians demonstrated their own instruments before the kids got to try out instruments themselves in an instrument petting zoo. There was definitely some creative risk-taking happening ;p
     Kjersti, one of our wonderful CE teachers, led campers in a percussion workshop in which kids learned the power of details, and the value of taking your time in life.
     Dinner was delicious as per usual, and from there it was full speed ahead for parent presentation.
     Every workshop and CE class showed us what they've been busy doing this week, and we finished with a grand finale of a full cast "Under the Sea" rendition.
     BUT WAIT, there's more!
     At the talent show, campers showed off their unique artistic abilities to the AXP family. From singing to playing an instrument, and beyond, your kids are INCREDIBLE.
     Finally, we surprised the young artists with a quick party to celebrate our week together. It was a perfect ending to a perfect week.
     From the AXP staff to you, we thank you for letting us borrow your wonderful, talented, and inspiring children for these 100 hours :D
   

Cindy Ellis, a flutist from PSO, teaches us about her flute

The Visual Arts workshop at the Parent Presentation

Parent Presentation Tonight!

Hello families and friends of our wonderful arts-X-press students!

So excited for tonight's PARENT PRESENTATION at 6:45 PM!!! The students are currently rehearsing right now, and it's going to be amazing!

We have been moved to the Event Tent, which will be set up behind the Vanguard University Gymnasium. Here is a map of Vanguard University. The gymnasium is marked as Building 6, and you will see the words "VANGUARD LIONS" marked on the building when you get here. 

For directions, we recommend entering Vanguard University by the dorms via Newport Blvd (parallel to the 55 South). Easiest parking will be by Balboa Hall, through the third driveway off of Newport Blvd. We will have signage directing you from Balboa Hall.

We will see you all very shortly, and can't wait for you to see the amazing things that all of your young artists have been working on!

Kjersti's Creative Expression - Session 2

On day 1, we explored our session's theme...OPTIMISM....by creating a group acrostic poem:

We continued expressing ourselves through various poetry forms and free writes, along with a song riddle titled "Rain, Rain".  Students figured out the answer to the riddle on day 3!!!

Yesterday we explored 4 pieces of artwork that we then saw presented during the Pageant of the Masters last night.

This morning, we began our class session with our "Candlelight Reflection"..... expressing what arts-X-press has meant to us so far.

We can't wait to share a piece of our written expression for our family and friends tonight at the parent presentation!!!

Hello Parents!

This is Brendan and Maggie, the two coolest counselors here at AXP! We had a super busy day today:

First, we started off with Creative Expression and our arts workshops, where the students prepared for the imminent parent presentation (7/21/15 at 6:45. Be there).

Then, we hopped on a bus and headed to Laguna Beach for the famous Festival of the Arts. We even got a super awesome backstage tour of the Pageant of the Masters! The students got to see how the sets look up close, not to mention costumes, makeup, headdresses, and even got to meet the star of the show: a pony named Zach!

The campers then split up into their CE groups and rotated through three different visual arts workshops: scratch art, raku pot painting, and print-making. (The art all looks fantastic, you will love it!) After some time at these stations and a quick naturally-grown snack, we looked around at some of the cool art booths and even got to talk to some of the artists--they were all super inspiring and the kids were eager to make their own art after meeting them.

We spent some time wandering around the festival, and then hiked  up a massive hill where we then prepped for the talent show and had a surprise visit from Carl St. Clair and his family, along with a delicious pizza dinner. After dinner, we headed back to the festival, hung out some more, and then finally watched the Pageant of the Masters. The theme this year was "The Pursuit of Happiness" and the students really enjoyed seeing some of their favorite paintings and statues come to life, not to mention a great deal of cultural exposure. 

The show ended very late, so after a long bus ride back home, the students took their (3 minute) showers and immediately went to bed. 

That's all we have for now, and we look forward to seeing y'all tomorrow at the Parent Presentation! 

Much love,

Maggie and Brendan :) <3 nbsp="" p="">

Let's Be Optimistic!!!

Greetings from Linda's Creative Expression Class!! We have been learning about how it is so important for teenagers to be optimistic and have a positive attitude each and every day.  We have discussed quotes about optimism and attitude and the students have been given the opportunity to write about optimism in their lives.  Students are working together on a Top Ten List for teenagers about why it is important to be optimistic and have a positive attitude.  Each student has composed several poems on optimism as well as reflections on how they view themselves.  I am so proud of these young artists for their honesty and enthusiasm in our class this session. 

Our students were completely flexible with moving in and around the rainy conditions here in the OC on Sunday.  Not a single complaint was heard by any of them.  They are aware of how much we need the rain here in Southern California and have been totally positive as we have navigated our way through it.  All of our students were so impressed with their visit to hear the Pacific Symphony perform in the Segerstrom Concert Hall on Sunday night.  After an inspiring personal presentation from conductor Carl St. Clair, students were given front row seats to hear the symphony perform. They even got to hear some local college singers perform selected songs from "The Sound of Music" while being accompanied by the Pacific Symphony.  A standing ovation, the deepest form of appreciation for a live performance, was given to Pacific Symphony and the young singers by the entire audience including our campers!!  It was a magic moment for us all!!!

It is, indeed, a pleasure to work with such positive, young people here at artsxpress.  We are excited to share what we have been working on with family and friends on Tuesday night!!  

Sunday With the Symphony

Hello Parents,

These are your children's amazing counselors, Rebecca and Jessica! This morning we woke up bright and early and headed to the cafeteria for some yummy waffles. Then we got started right away with a few hours of Creative Expression time, where students explore the arts through creative writing, discussion and many more mind opening activities.

Up next was our second day of Art Workshop time where everyone was immersed in their respective art form or possible being exposed to a brand new art form. Even though it's only day two, we have seen an incredible amount of growth among all the campers. We can tell that they are really embracing the Arts-X-Press spirit and taking new creative risks.

Our exciting excursion for today was a trip to the Segerstrom Center Concert Hall to witness a fantastic performance by the Pacific Symphony! We started off with an amazing opportunity to meet the symphony's conductor, Carl St. Clair, who spoke to the students as well as answered several questions that they had. The concert featured a wide variety of music ranging from Mozart and The Sound of Music to upbeat patriotic songs such as America the Beautiful and Stars and Stripes Forever. The students also had a chance to conduct a march with Carl St. Clair himself!

It truly was an amazing day full of magic and new experiences! Can't wait for another fun filled day tomorrow!

Anna's Creative Expression Class

Good Morning from Anna's Creative Expression Class!

We started off today talking about our excursion last night watching TARZAN The Musical! As a class we came up with some themes from the play. This is what we came up with:

COURAGE
AMBITION
TAKING RISKS
MAN VS. NATURE
FAMILY

After brainstorming, we each took 5 minutes to do a free-write about any of the above themes and how they relate to our own lives. Here's some quotes from the free-write:

"Ambition is to take risks, never give up, and keep a positive attitude." 

"In real life, nature and animals are just trying to survive just like we are. They only want their place in this very complicated, competitive world." 

"Courage is having enough bravery to stand up for your thoughts." 

"When I think of a family, it means no one is left behind." 

Clearly, the themes from Tarzan were able to resonate in our own lives. After the free-write exercise, we talked about how creative expression class is a place where we can express our thoughts and feelings through writing and art. In CE, just like throughout the entire week at ArtsXPress, we are TAKING RISKS and FINDING MAGIC MOMENTS. Throughout the week, we will be doing this while creating zines. Zines are do-it-yourself magazines of self-expression. They can be made with limited supplies and budget, by anyone for anyone! They can be writing, art, or a combination of both. For the rest of class, each student worked on their own zine and/or a page for a class zine. There was some really great writing and collage happening all the way up until the end of class, when we had to quickly clean up and head over to our Arts Workshops for the day. CE is a great way to focus and start the morning... kicking off another exciting day of workshops, activities, bonding, and excursions!

New Games

Campers had soooooo much fun learning new games while getting to know each other. They then got to meet our wonderful counselors and staff!

TARZAN

Tonight we changed up excursions due to the rain and got to see the AMAZING TARZAN! The kids had so much fun and enjoyed all of the show.

Excursions and Immersions: Week 2!!

Welcome to Week 2 of arts-X-press!

Everyone is having an amazing time so far, settling in and meeting all of their wonderful new friends! :) 

This evening, we will be going to Mission Viejo for Symphony in the Cities, a fun outdoor concert by our very own Pacific Symphony! The concert will feature excerpts from The Sound of Music, as well as some classic American tunes by John Philip Sousa! 


Tomorrow, we are heading to see "Singing in the Rain" at Musical Theatre West! Can't wait for a night of love, laughter, and so much FUN at the theater!!! "What a glorious feeling..." :) 










And on Monday night we'll be over at Laguna Beach's Festival of Arts and Pageant of the Masters! We will get to make some of our own beautiful art at the Festival, and walk around the various different arts exhibits as well. The theme for this year's Pageant is "The Pursuit of  Happiness." We will explore the ways that happiness can be expressed through art, as we watch both classic and modern art pieces come to life on the stage! 

Can't wait for an amazing week of fun, creativity, and art with these young artists! Stay tuned for more updates! 

Hello from Visual Arts! Here's the video that was shown during Parent Presentation and our group photo!! Enjoy!

Yo yo yo it's ya girl Ashley! We had a pretty hectic day which was mostly spent working on the campers presentations that most of you saw. The Pacific Symphony's very own musicians came and demonstrated their instruments and helped the students in an instrument petting zoo. We had a chance to play the viola, violin, saxophone, clarinet, and flute. The campers also participated in the Arts-X-Press talent show, which was phenomenal. It was awesome to see all of the great talents and was pleasantly surprising. And speaking of surprises, our surprise party really threw off the campers! We had a 15-20 minute party with lots of balloons and glow sticks which was the best way to end a fun day. We are all going to miss everyone so much but don't worry! The campers got all of each other's contact information and will definitely be staying in touch after Arts-X-Press comes to a close. We will see you in a few hours at the bus stops! That's all for now, folks :)

Ashley & Jordan, Counselors

Good Morning from Kameron's Creative Expression Class!

Yesterday was a wonderfully busy day at the Pageant of the Masters.  Here is what our campers had to say about it:

"We got to make our our art, we called them ART-ivities!  We made Raku Pots by painting a pot with three layers of paint, and we can't wait to see how they turn out.  At Scratch Art we they gave us what looked like a blank piece of paper, but when we used our various tools to scratch designs into it, revealing the colors underneath.  In Print Making we pressed designs into a piece of foam, which paint was applied to and then pressed into a piece of paper.  Doing these activities with friends made them EVEN BETTER!"

"We then continues in our family groups, walking around the Festival of the Arts.  We discovered many mediums, such as watercolor, acrylic, oil, wood working, jewelry, trash art, and many more.  We also explored the Junior Art Exhibit that features work from students from Pre-K through Grade 12.  We will never forget the beautiful artwork we saw."

"Afterwards we took a long, uphill walk to the beach.  After we arrived we played some games in a circle, then sat in our family groups and worked on a riddle and had pizza.  We had so much fun!"

"We ended our evening by seeing the Pageant of the Masters.  People stood still for 90 seconds to recreate famous pieces of art.  There were different forms of art ranging from de Vinci's The Last Supper to the Thomas Jefferson Memorial.  The performance was both breathtaking and remarkable."

It was a wonderful day!

We've been reflecting on our experiences in different ways.  We've experimented with different forms of poetry and have created a friend in a button to spend the day with (and written from his perspective).  We've created Mandalas to artistically represent ourselves in all the different roles we play.  We've created stories using the artwork we saw last night to guide us.  We can't wait to share them with you when we get home!

Hey y'all, AXP counselors Jordan and Erica here! Day 3 of camp was a huge success, starting with Creative Expression and Arts Workshop, working on the final elements for the parent presentation. After lunch and some games, we loaded the buses to head over to Laguna Beach for the Festival of the Arts. Not only were we able to browse the galleries of SoCal's best artists, but we also had the opportunity to create our own pieces of art at three different exhibits. The most exciting exhibit was the raku pot making station, where we painted our own clay pots to take home. After an exciting afternoon at the Festival of the Arts, we headed up to Heisler Park to play a giant game of flute flute drum (the AXP version of duck duck goose) and eat a pizza dinner overlooking the ocean. As the night rolled in, we walked back to the Festival of the Arts to watch the Pageant of the Masters. We were all blown away by the actors' ability to stand still for a whole 90 seconds, even though we were all the way at the top of the bleachers and had to take turns watching the show through binoculars! All the kids went right to bed after another packed day, resting up for our last full day tomorrow. Cant wait to see all you parents tomorrow!

WELCOME- From Edward's CE Class Arts X-Press Week One.  

Today our CE Class studied the concept of the 6,000 Word essay prompt. 

 (well... technically they looked at 6 famous works of art to inspire their writing- But since a picture is worth a thousand words....)  

 
                      "Tell us the story that is being depicted in these works of art".  Quoth I,

                                                    "Who are the characters depicted? "

                   
                              What is going on?  Write out your story to share with the world.

 Now a twist.... A change in the realm of the POSSIBILITY you have presented.... Shuffle the papers around and give these to brand new people

 They now get to pick up where you left off, but with their own new take on the story.  Is the twist moving to make the story positive? Negative? Happy? Sad? Scary?

                                                       Only The Shadow Knows!!!!

                                   
                                                              Well.... actually......
                  Only our Arts X-Pressers know, and only they will  determine the Possibilities.....

We are having a wonderful time, sharing writing, Talking about Guatemalan Best Friends and Matador Capes.  Creativity through Poetry and Writing abound.  We're off to a super- fun excursion later today- with lots more inspiration for tomorrow!!!!

Day 2

Hello everyone! Counselors Michelle and Bryan here to talk about Day 2's fun filled and eventful day! Campers have continued to make strong friendships throughout their art workshops, CE groups, and other activities! We swung over to the Plummer Auditorium in Fullerton to watch the musical Tarzan based off of the Disney movie! After, the cast came out to do some Q&A for the campers about what it's like to put on a production. A lot of campers took creative risks and stepped out of their comfort zone in our various spotlight workshops that featured theater, vocal, and dance! And to end the night we had appreciation, which each person named someone they were thankful for at home and someone they were thankful for at camp. After everything was said and done, we went to bed nice and early so we can prepare for day 3 :)

Hello from Cat's CE Class!!!

Hi Parents, our Creative Expressions group is off to a roaring start.  We had a great first day in our CE class.  We opened Day 1 with daily journaling, followed by a fun icebreaker activity where the kids get to ask each other silly questions like:  “If you could be a cartoon character, who would it be and why?” and “What is the weirdest thing you’ve ever eaten?”  We got some fun and interesting answers:  Phineas (because he can build anything) and Deadpool (because he can’t die); octopus tentacles and cow’s tongue topped the list of weird foods.  We also did an acrostic on the word Possibility and got some really interesting results.  We finished Day 1 with an “I Am” poem.  I particularly liked Ashley’s first stanza, it has a very concrete progression:

I Am a person with a goal,

I Wonder if I might complete that goal,

I Hear you have to work for it,

I See that I am on a path to complete my goal,

I Want to complete it,

I Am a Vet.

Last night, the campers got to see a performance of “Hairspray” at the Chance Theater.  What a great show!  Like many musicals, it was lighthearted but also had a very serious side, set as it is during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s.  As a tie in, this morning I showed the campers a copy of the Norman Rockwell painting “The Problem We All Live With.”  The work is a depiction of the 6-year-old Ruby Bridges, an African American girl, being escorted to school by federal marshals.  Many of the campers were familiar with the work and had some insightful things to say.  I asked the campers to do a free write about the work and Alyssa produced this great haiku:

Black girl off to school,

Whites protesting on the street,

She’s brave, she walks on.

Thanks to our great director, Kjersti, for this idea, it really got the campers thinking.

We finished today by doing a group poem write I call “Ancient Doorways.”  Each small group (2 or 3 campers) gets a small photo of an ancient doorway.  Each camper must contribute at least two lines to the poem.  The idea is to discuss what the possibilities are if you go through the door.  The results were really wonderful!  Here’s an example from Crystal and Elmier:

The dark blue door

Separates us from the dungeon

In between the stone walls

Buried deep under the ground.

I wish I could include all they have done so far, there is so much they have written already and I’m really impressed with the group.  They seem to have little trouble expressing themselves creatively!  My CE group is Rosamund, Crystal, Mowpheth, Sofy, Jacob, Ella, Sami, Kole, Trish, Jenna, Elmier, Jenny, Alyssa, Desiree and Ashley.  Thanks for sending your kids to Arts-X-Press, I am enjoying working with them and getting to know them, they are truly amazing individuals!

Cat

Day 1!!!

Hello everyone! Day 1 has been filled with so much fun. What an amazing start to the week! The students met their counselors, participated in Creative Expression, and immersed themselves in art forms (both new and familiar!) during their arts workshops. Here are a few photos from the day! 

Right now, the students are at the Chance Theater, ready to watch Hairspray! And then we will be heading back to Vanguard, ready for a good night's sleep. We have another big day ahead tomorrow! 

Excursions and Immersions: Week 1!!

Welcome to Week 1 of arts-X-press! 

Everyone is getting acquainted, settled in, and just beginning to form the wonderful friendships they will have here at arts-X-press. Energy is in the air! We are so excited to begin thinking, creating, and learning with our young artists!

Tonight, we are heading to the Chance Theater for a performance of the classic Hairspray! We will be immersing ourselves in an experience of beautiful music and dance, and be inspired by the way Tracy Turnbald uses the pure joy of music to overcome the challenges she faces in 1960's Baltimore. This show is sure to inspire our young artists with stories of love, friendship, and art. 

Tomorrow evening, we will be attending a production of Tarzan, put on by the wonderful artists at 3D Theatricals. We are excited to experience a new and inspiring telling of the Disney classic that so many of us know and love. Tarzan is sure to keep us on the edge of our seats with a timeless story of self-discovery, family, and friendship. 

But the fun doesn't stop there! On Monday afternoon, we will be heading to beautiful Laguna Beach to spend the day at Festival of the Arts. We will get to explore all the different art exhibits, as well as create some of our own art! We will finish up the evening at Pageant of the Masters, a favorite performance among arts-X-press-ers year after year. We will watch as people are transformed into living representations of classic art pieces--dressed up and posed to look exactly like their counterparts in the original art pieces. This year's theme is "The Pursuit of Happiness" and we are excited to discover the way happiness takes its different forms in art, both ancient and modern, and in the art we come across in our everyday lives. 

Off we go on these exciting adventures with our inspiring young artists! Stay tuned!