Art Shack is the perfect place for imagination and exploration here at Catalina Sea Camp. To exert the body in adventures out on the water is one thing – to work out your mind, getting creative and imaginative, is another! Art Shack is a place where Junior Sea Campers can become superheroes and warriors, and where senior sea campers can connect through crafting together.
At the helm of the Art Shack, and part of this week’s spotlight, is Keira, an instructor truly fit for the ideas that spring from the canvas, construction paper, glitter and paint that find their home on the art Shack’s packed shelves. During the year, Keira is busy working as a costume designer in Massachusetts and New York City, but when summer comes around, she heads to Sea Camp to lead campers in bringing to life their most creative ideas.
Art Shack has a long history at Sea Camp, as art has always been a part of camp curriculum. The current Art Shack has been a haven for students on the hill for the past 20 or so years. And in that time, instructors like Keira have been guiding students in their creative endeavors. Every lesson starts with a creative idea, perhaps imagining what superpowers one might choose, or who and what one would defend as a knight in the Middle Ages. What is awesome about Art Shack, though, is the reflective takeaways Keira works into the lessons. Superheroes defend those in harm’s way, and knights represent gallantry and chivalry, and these ideas are turned into food for thought for the campers. Questions can be powerful in these times of reflection. Often these activities spur questions like, “what kind of knight’s ideals do I want to live out in my own life? Who can I defend on a day to day basis?” Or, “what is important to me to work towards in life?” These ideas are massive subjects for anyone to take on, but when they are packaged in the form of a creative activity, campers and counselors alike both have great fun in crafting and take away something deeper.
Art Shack is part and parcel of the balance we strive to seek here at Sea Camp of pushing our bodies to adventure and encouraging our minds to grow. Keira also strives for Art Shack to be a place of reflection and rest in the midst of the packed schedule that encourages campers to make the most of every moment. In doing so, she ensures campers are refreshed and ready to take on new challenges when they step onto the deck of the Art Shack.
