Creativity flows at Charlo Art Camp

CHARLO - Pop bottles and scraps of fabric usually end up in the trash, beans and glue aren't normally found at the same table and a room full of quiet fourth and fifth graders is a shock to many parents and teachers.

Not at the Charlo Arts camp.

About 80 participants traveled to Charlo High School last week for the 10th annual four-day camp.

This year's theme was centered on nature, but a favorite past theme was Van Gogh.

The three groups had teachers leading the projects plus many volunteers for support.

"All of the art teachers have 20 to 30 years of teaching art," Judy Shafter said. She started the camp 10 years ago and has continued to help run the camp.

In one room, sixth through ninth grade campers were using everyday objects to create art figures, as instructor Olivia Olsen called them, or statues of people.

Thirteen-year-old Courtney Vaughan, of Charlo, created a singer out of a pop bottle, complete with a purple polka-dotted shirt, shoes and a dog.

"You could do whatever you wanted," Vaughan said of the endless options the project held.

Origami was another favorite of Vaughan's, as the group was taught to make balloons and cranes among other shapes.

Down the hall in the first and second grade room, beans and glue combined for a messy mosaic project.

Molly Kate Sullivan, of Dixon, created a lady bug of red and black beans next to a sun and flower.

"I love art," she said. "I do it every day. I'm really good now but when I was young, I just scribbled."

Her favorite part was when her group got to make art dolls out of wooden kitchen utensils.

"It wasn't that hard," she said. "Mine had long yellow hair and a pink dress."

On previous days, the group had learned about trout and made dioramas featuring different kinds of fish.

On the opposite end of the hallway, the fifth and sixth grade room was more peaceful during a drawing lesson. Campers quietly concentrated on drawing pheasants and ducks. The day before, however, was noisy as kaleidoscopes were created.

The art ended at 12:30 p.m. every day but a musical program was held in the afternoon. On Monday, there were hula hoopers, Tuesday featured the Missoula Super Skippers and on Wednesday, singers and a guitarist made an appearance. Thursday's time was used for the large group to practice its skit "Rock Cycle and Geologic Circus" that was to make its world premier that night at the art show. All projects were put on display at that time for campers to show off their creations to family and friends.

Not much has changed since Shafter started the camp. Kids still come from across the Mission Valley, not just Charlo, and enrollment has stayed right around 80 campers each year, Shafter said.

"The only difference is now I don't really know any of the kids," she said. "When my son was small I used to know a lot of the kids."

A bus from Missoula shuttles campers back and forth for the experience, which this year had only its second rainy day in its history.

The camp's organizer is the Ninepipe Arts Group, who also funds the camp, along with grants and donations. The main fundraiser for the camp is the Valentine's Day dance in February. Help from the Lower Flathead Valley Community Fund as well as help from the 21st Century Grant allowed the camp to purchase supplies and helped to create scholarships for some of the campers.

"It's nice for some of the kids to get a taste of something they might not be exposed to otherwise," Shafter said.