University of Findlay’s Mazza Museum welcomed more than 50 children to its annual art camp, July 24-28. Previously known as the Young Artist Workshop, the week-long camp allowed students in fourth through eighth grades to explore “Unusual Media.”
Participants spent each day in one of five different classes, all offering hands-on opportunities with unique types of arts. While some students painted on non-traditional black canvases, others wire sculptures and hula hoop looms. Students were also offered the opportunity to see Mazza’s curator, Daniel Chudzinski, demo how to sculpt figures using monster clay, a medium used in for creating detailed sculpting. Students were then able to create their own sculptures including beavers, ostriches, and other animals using the same monster clay.
Maddie Steffen will enter fifth grade at Findlay’s Saint Michael Catholic School this fall, but this summer, she was excited to attend her first Mazza Art Camp explaining, “I like art! I feel great knowing that I get to go home and show everyone what I made,” she said.
Maikaela Rosenberger will also be entering the fifth grade at Saint Michael this fall. This was not her first experience with Mazza’s Art Camp. “I was here last year, and it was a lot of fun. I learned so much, and I was excited to come back,” she said.
As the education manager for Mazza Museum, Heather Sensel’s goal is to make sure that the students at camp not only learn more about different types of art but also have fun. “They’re not being graded on what they do at this camp. They don’t have that pressure, so they are able to dive in a little further and be a little more creative,” said Sensel. “We can build kids’ confidence through art and let them express themselves without feeling like they’re going to be told to do it a certain way. When we get those creative juices flowing and spark an interest in the arts, that is amazing!”
Van Buren middle schooler, Matthew Puperi, has been attending art camp for the past five years. At this year’s camp, he took Sensel’s words to heart and says he learned something extremely important. “Everything is going to be different, and it doesn’t have to be perfect. It can look not exactly how you wanted but could end up being better than you expected,” said Puperi.
Students spent the week creating and learning, but took Friday to showcase their art to friends and family at the end of camp. To see pictures from the 2023 Mazza Art Camp, visit the Mazza Flickr page.