I had no idea they had summer camp for adults! No clue that there were wonderful
things that adults could sign up for for a week or even a full 2 weeks. You
could be a "day camper" or you could make it "away camp" and stay in the dorms
and be a full time camper taking as many classes as you can fit into the
day!
Common Ground
on the Hill is just such a camp, right in my own back yard, which happens
annually at McDaniel College. I know this isn't the only place that has these
wonderful camps, I met loads of people who had been elsewhere or were going
somewhere to do more summer camp!
The most wonderful thing about this
camp is it is totally dedicated to art and artists of all kinds. From making
native black clay into beautiful works of pottery art, making a gourd banjo,
taking women's blues singing lessons and yes- metalwork classes! Click on the
link above to see the myriad of classes available for all ages! Yes, there were
70 year old women taking beginning blacksmithing classes and there were high
school students with scholarships taking piano for the first time. So much fun
and so many wonderful new friends I met!
Of course I took a jewelry
class! I have always wanted to take a class from Linda Van Hart of
Tollhouse Studio. Linda is the director
of the arts program for Common Ground and is also a full time professor of art
at McDaniel, has a fabulous art studio and does shows all over the US. Her forte
is chasing and repousse, but she is so gifted a teacher, she is able to teach
all forms of metalwork to a class that includes rank beginners to those with
experience and makes it fun, challenging and exciting for everyone.
This
years class was Reticulation, along with demos for chasing and repousse, wire
work and forging. Reticulation is the process of taking a piece of silver a bit
different from sterling (sterling is .925, so only about 17% copper -
reticulation silver is 20% copper), heating and coolong it many times, and
rising the pure silver, then painting your design with a hot torch to make
beautiful hills and valleys of swirled silver on the surface. No two pieces are
ever alike.
This was my main project - a hydragea leaf from my garden,
cut to shape then reticulated. Later I added the stem and created a neck wire to
form the torque.
I hope you enjoyed my little story about adult summer camp- and I really hope
you will look into these wonderful programs for yourself or your kids to expand
and grow their love of the arts!
