Program Overview

Visual Arts Camp Overview ## Visual Arts Camp Overview ### About Visual Arts Camp If you're excited about art, we invite you to challenge yourself in a variety of art media at our Visual Arts Camp. You'll experiment with new materials and techniques while producing portfolio-quality work. You'll also experience: - Group art and recreation activities. - Performance art presentations. - Presentations by nationally known artists, art historians, and studio artists. You'll stay in Gilbert Hall during camp. Your experience will end with an art show open to your friends and family. All campers will receive a camp t-shirt! ### What to Bring - Comfortable/sturdy walking shoes or sandals - Umbrella or rain gear - Mosquito repellent - Sweatshirt - Alarm clock - Water bottle - Sheets and pillowcase (standard twin size) - Towels, blanket, pillow - Small amount of money for souvenirs and snacks - Old clothes for studio work ### Activities You'll attend two studio classes each day. When you register, you'll indicate your choices for classes. The class content changes every year, providing new experiences for both new and returning students. There is limited space in each class and classes with insufficient enrollment may be canceled. In addition to studio classes, you'll enjoy presentations by accomplished guest speakers as they share their career paths in the visual arts. You will receive your studio assignments at camp check-in. #### Morning Classes ##### Colored Pencil Exploration Cindy Hellyer-Heinz Using colored pencil, campers will experiment with a number of rendering techniques as they develop surfaces and implied textures to replicate objects from nature. Composition, concept, and expression will be explored through creative representation. ##### Portraits in Acrylic Tim Roloff Students will explore portraiture and personal narrative as they combine traditional and experimental painting techniques to create expressive self-portraits on canvas. Color and textures will be addressed specific to acrylic techniques. ##### Pastel Drawing Ashley Martinez Students will be introduced to the responsive and subtle surfaces created by pastel. Using artist-quality hard and soft pastels, this class will explore developing transitional layers of color to build smooth surfaces as well as expressive mark making. Imagery options will include portraiture and still-life. ##### Creating with Color Samantha Haring Explore unexpected and inventive uses of color in drawing. Students learn to build visually powerful surfaces with color in both representational and non-traditional ways. Using chalk pastels, we will play with a variety of color palettes to express different symbolic and personal ideas. ##### Figure Sculpting April Macatangay Students will learn accurate human proportions and how to sculpt the human form with modeling clay. This class includes experimenting with sculpting muscle structures, clothing, textures, and different postures to create figures that show depth and narrative. ##### Design Exploration Teacher TBA Exploring design, students will create a series of guided design works based on composition, layout, color, texture, and typography using concepts and techniques such as collage, symmetry, photography, and drawing. With step-by-step guidance, students will be introduced to design thinking and problem-solving skills using imagery that reflects student interests. ##### Experimental Drawing Practices John Zilewicz Exploring a multitude of media, methods, and techniques, students will use unconventional approaches to drawing to develop creative and imaginative approaches to art making. Skill building as well as producing works based on chance will allow students to examine the possibilities of mark-making, space, and surface. ##### Photography: Lighting Amy Leuhrs Explore photography as an art form that tells stories and addresses concepts through lighting. Using personal phones or iPads, the photo assignments in this class will challenge students to create images that address composition and value scale as they progress from the photo shoot through the editing process. Students will gain experience using LED lights in the lighting studio. ##### Life Drawing Teacher TBA Students will learn to draw the human figure while being introduced to college-level life drawing concepts and techniques. A variety of materials will be used while working from a live model within an art studio setting. #### Afternoon Classes ##### Drawing Realism Becki Miller Using a variety of drawing materials, campers will build mixed media still-life drawings replicating realistic imagery that addresses both composition and concept. Techniques are explored that allow artists to render images expressively or precisely, using layers of ink, colored pencil, and graphite. Mark making, visual texture, and subtle gradations will be a focus. ##### Printmaking Ava Simons Students will explore a variety of printmaking techniques and experiences. The focus of this class will be to develop a series of prints as students work in the NIU printmaking studio. Drawing and illustration techniques will be emphasized along with concept development. ##### Design Exploration Teacher TBA Exploring design, students will create a series of guided design works based on composition, layout, color, texture, and typography using concepts and techniques including collage, symmetry, photo, and drawing. With step-by-step guidance, students will be introduced to design thinking and problem-solving skills using imagery that reflects student interests. ##### Acrylic Painting Teacher TBA Learning traditional and expressive acrylic painting techniques, students will create dynamic and dramatic paintings that reflect technical excellence while experimenting with color and surface textures. ##### Dramatic Drawing Studies Elizabeth Nache Students will use charcoal drawing techniques in the creation of dramatic personal narrative imagery. Emphasis will be on identifying tonal values, accurate scale, and proportion while developing compositions that are visually dynamic and bold. ##### Life Drawing Ailysh Cooper Students will learn to draw the human figure while being introduced to college-level life drawing concepts and techniques. A variety of materials will be used while working from a live model within an art studio setting. ##### Sketchbook Reimagined John Zilewicz Benefits of a daily sketchbook practice include quick thinking, responsive drawing, sensitivity to visual stimuli, and immediacy of response. Students will focus on idea development and experimentation within a sketchbook format. Using collage, drawing, painting, and mixed media processes, students will concentrate on producing imagery reflecting their own personal voice. ##### Comic Art/Graphic Novels Abigail Krodel Students will illustrate their own stories using drawing and design techniques associated with comic art. Illustration tools, techniques, and materials will be introduced, practiced, and applied as students create finished graphic novels or "zines". ##### Photography: Alternative Processes Amy Leuhrs Students will explore historical processes through photography. In addition to digital photography, students will experiment with cyanotypes, pinhole, and lumen prints. ### Registration - Early bird registration fee: $995 (received May 1 or earlier) - Registration fee after May 1: $1095 - Registration deadline: June 10, 2026 - A $100 deposit is required when registering, with the remaining balance due by June 15. - Need-based scholarship assistance is available. ### Camp Staff Our Visual Arts Camp staff includes talented NIU faculty and students, alumni, guest artists, and award-winning area art teachers. The ratio of campers to staff members is about 12 to one. Staff members are assigned to each residence hall floor and accompany campers to all meals and activities. - Lynn Stockton (camp director) - Marisol Cervantes (acrylic painting) - Ailysh Cooper (life drawing) - Alexis Estrada (printmaking) - Amy Leuhrs (photography) - Samantha Haring (creating with color) - Courtney Haugdahl (drawing and design exploration) - Abigail Krodel (sculpture) - April Macatangay (figure sculpting) - Ashley Martinez (painting with pastel) - Becki Miller (drawing realism) - Elizabeth Nache (dramatic drawing studies) - Timothy Roloff (portraits in acrylic) - Emma Vitalo (photography) - John Zilewicz (experimental drawing practices, sketchbook reimagined) ### Schedule A general overview of the camp schedule is below. | Date and Time | Activity | Location | | --- | --- | --- | | Sunday, 1:45-3 p.m. | Check-in | Gilbert Hall lobby | | Sunday, 3:15 p.m. | Orientation | Jack Arends Hall, room 100 | | Sunday to Friday | Camp activities | Jack Arends Hall | | Friday, 5 p.m. | Closing ceremony/art show | Jack Arends Hall | After the show, pick up your luggage from Gilbert Hall.